Tag Archives: AGM

AGM News, Notices, Right To Practice

2023 AGM Announcement

Leave a comment

The NBFTA will be holding an in-person AGM this year with a virtual option for those who cannot make it in person.

The AGM will be held on March 25, 2023 @ 10am at the Maritime College of Forest Technology in Fredericton, NB.

We expect the AGM to run as it has in past years, including an update from MCFT on CE events, as well as updates from the NBFTA Executive and Committees.

We will be continuing our discussion with Right to Practice and deciding if we would like to conitinue with this initiative in partnership with the ARPFNB. It is important for you to attend in order to hear what is being proposed and for us to hear your voices and perspectives.

To attend the AGM, you must have your membership paid in full (or a commitment from your employer that the membership will be paid for those in a group situation). Most should have received an invoice from the Treasurer, Chris Finnamore, if you have not received an invoice, please contact Chris at ckfinnamore@rogers.com . To pay your membership, an e-transfer can be sent to: nbftatreasurer@gmail.com or cheque can be mailed to:
New Brunswick Forest Technicians Association
1350 Regent Street
Fredericton, NB
E3C 2G6

To register for the virtual option of the AGM, please send an email to Dusty Corey at dcorey@acadiantimber.com.

Thanks,
Riley

Riley Côté-DeMerchant
Secretary
NBFTA


AGM News

2021 AGM Annoucement

Leave a comment

Good Morning Everyone,
I hope this message finds you well.

The NBFTA will be holding a virtual AGM this year on Saturday April 24 from 9am until 12pm.

We expect the AGM to run as it has in past years, including an update from MCFT on current operations, as well as updates from the Executive and Committees.  

A main point of discussion will once again be Right to Practice forestry in New Brunswick and if there is a desire to pursue legislation with the Association of Registered Professional Foresters of New Brunswick (ARPFNB).  Over the past 6 months, a joint Committee of the ARPFNB and the NBFTA have been engaged in discussions to develop proposed legislation to achieve Right to Practice (RTP) for professional forestry in New Brunswick.
The current definition of “Professional Forestry” under the proposed new Act would include:

The provision of services or undertakings which, because of their scope and implications respecting forests, forest lands, forest resources and forest ecosystems, require the specialized education, knowledge, training and experience of a registered member, and includes:
(a): designing, planning, directing or advising with respect to:
(i): the inventory, classification, appraisal, evaluation, and certification of forests and forest lands,
(ii); silviculture prescriptions and treatments of forest stands, including the harvesting of timber,
(iii); planning, locating and approving forest transportation systems, including forest roads,
(iv); conservation, reclamation, and renewal of forests and forest lands, and
(v); the protection of forests and forest lands;
(b): the preparation, review, amendment and approval of forest management and operating plans and administration of forest lands;
(c): assessing the impact of planned activities on forests, forest lands and forest ecosystems;(d): auditing, examining and verifying the results of planned activities on forests, forest lands and forest ecosystems;(e); assessing, estimating and analyzing the capability of forests, forest lands, and forest ecosystems to yield a flow of timber and other values;(f); teaching core forestry subjects as defined in the by-laws at a college, technical institute or university;

Though the Executive has views on the matter of RTP, we need your input as members on what the collective sees as the road ahead.

To attend the AGM, you must have your membership paid in full (or a commitment from your employer that the membership will be paid for those in a group situation).  Most should have received an invoice from the Treasurer, Chris Finnamore, if you have not received an invoice, please contact Chris at ckfinnamore@rogers.com .  To pay your membership, an e-transfer can be sent to: nbftatreasurer@gmail.com or cheque can be mailed to: New Brunswick Forest Technicians Association,1350 Regent Street, Fredericton, NB E3C 2G6
To register for the AGM, please send an email to Dusty Corey at dcorey@acadiantimber.com

I look forward to speaking with everyone and hopefully next year we can be back in person.

Thanks,
Riley

Riley Côté-DeMerchant
President, 
NBFTA 506-471-5342
riley.demerchant@gmail.com

AGM News, From the President, Meeting Announcements

Spring Meeting of the Canadian Woodlands Forum

Leave a comment

Below is the agenda with all dates and times for the Canadian Woodlands Forum.

To see a bigger version of each page just click on it. There is a registration forum on the last page.

The event kicks off on Tuesday, April 5th at 9:00 AM with a Directors Meeting.

Our AGM will be at 1:00 PM on Thursday, April 7th at 1:00 PM. I will post an Agenda in the next few days.

To download this entire document go to http://cwfcof.org/app/newsletter/article_pdf/121.pdf

AGM News, From the President, Right To Practice

ARPFNB Set to vote on Right to Practice

3 Comments

Hello

The Association of Professional Foresters of New Brunswick have sent a cover letter and a copy of the proposed Act to its membership as a precursor to a to an online vote scheduled to run from February 21, 2011 – March 4th, 2011.

From the cover letter:

On February 21st , you will receive an email from ClearPicture, a company from Nova Scotia that will conduct a fair and anonymous electronic voting procedure. Please follow the instructions and respect the deadlines indicated. Voting will open on February 21st and close March 4th, 2011. If the Association does not have an email address for you, then you will have received this notice and instructions for voting by post mail.

For years the NBFTA Executive has been working on Right-to-Practice on behalf of Technicians and Technologists working in New Brunswick. Based on a membership vote, at a Nov 2009 emergency meeting, the Executive was giving a clear mandate on how to proceed with RTP. Our mandate was lost for two reasons:

1 – There are no letters of support from stakeholders.
2 – The definition of forestry in the final draft of the Act has changed.

We, as an organization, need to decide what is best for New Brunswick Forests and what is best for Forest Technicians and Technologists.

I have attached the cover letter and French and English versions of the final draft of the Act. This is required reading for anyone who wants to see how this document, if becomes legislation, will affect your profession.

As I outlined in my previous blog post you really need to be involved in this process. We do not want the decisions of a few influencing the lives of so many so get involved and show up at our AGM on April 7th, 2011 at 1PM in Moncton.

COVER LETTER | FRENCH VERSION OF ACT | ENGLISH VERSION OF ACT

You can view the ARPFNB announcement on their website by clicking here.

Bye for now.

Todd MacPherson,

President

AGM News, From the President, Meeting Announcements, Right To Practice

NBFTA AGM Announced

1 Comment

Dear Forest Technicians and Technologists of New Brunswick;

The 2011 NBFTA Annual General Meeting will be held in Moncton at Ramada Crystal Palace on April 7th beginning at 1 PM Sharp. Although the Agenda has not yet been released, the primary topic will be Right to Practice. Your Executive and, in particular, Chris Finnamore, has been hard at work with this on behalf of the membership.

As you may recall we held an Emergency Meeting of the NBFTA on November 14, 2009 at which time the Membership voted to support Right to Practice Legislation. We, as an Executive, were tasked by the Membership to meet with the ARPFNB and tell them our conditions of support. We did that. To freshen your memories of those conditions I have copied and pasted them here:

It was motioned and accepted that  the NBFTA Executive meet with ARPFNB Executive to confirm support of Right-to-Practice by contributing $5000.00 toward legal costs incurred to date, conditional on :
– no more money be spent on legal fees until stakeholder support is given
– consultation process to begin immediately, including written letters of support from stakeholders including, but not limited to :

  • DNR
  • NB Federation of Woodlot Owners
  • Crown Licensees and Sub Licensees
  • MCFT
  • UNB
  • U de M
  • NBCC Miramachi

The NBFTA Executive met with the ARPFNB Executive on December 5th, 2009 and presented them with our conditions of support. They unanimously accepted the conditions as outlined above.

A joint letter from both Associations was mailed out to approximately 120 stakeholders province-wide late December – early January 2010. No letters of support were received, so at an NBFTA Executive Meeting on October 16th, 2010 it was decided that ample time had passed. The Executive felt that we no longer had a mandate and would bring this to the attention of the Membership at our AGM to decide which way to proceed.

On Friday January 28th, 2011, Chris Finnamore and myself were invited to attend the ARPFNB AGM. At that meeting their Membership voted to change the definition of Forestry from the original draft that the Membership of the NBFTA had supported. With this change in hand, their membership in attendance, which included representatives from two large Crown License holders and one Marketing Board, offered support, through their vote of presenting the document to their membership via a mail-in vote.

The ARPFNB felt that they did not have a strong enough quorum at their AGM to hold a vote to accept the document and begin the public process of having it become Legislation. They decided to send a cover letter and copy of the document to their membership, soliciting a mail-in vote in support of the draft Act.

This may be changing somewhat because recent correspondence that I have received shows that the ARPFNB may hire an on-line voting house to prepare an electronic ballot for their membership who have Internet access.

On Saturday, February 5th, 2011 the NBFTA Executive met and this was the main topic on our agenda. We, the Executive, felt that the NBFTA can not support this new draft of the Act because, with the change to the definition of forestry, we no longer have a mandate from our Membership.

Further, although three representatives of major players in the forest industry voted at the ARPFNB AGM to support the new version of the Act, there are no official letters of support, that our Membership had requested.

Acting on your behalf today, we decided that we would not be joining the ARPF in their mail-out / electronic vote campaign. It was decided that is beyond our scope and mandate and that we need to take the new draft of the Act directly to you, the member, at our upcoming AGM.

If you are a Forest Technician or Technologist working in New Brunswick you need to be at our AGM in Moncton on Thursday afternoon April 7th, 2011. Decisions made at this meeting will chart a course for your career in Forestry. I can not stress enough how important this meeting is. Even if you are not a member, you still need to come. While it would be nice to recruit new members into the Association, you are welcome to come and sit as an observer and listen to the work that has been done, on your behalf, to protect your interests. If what you see and hear inspires you to participate in the process, you are more than welcome to join the NBFTA.

Again, to all Technicians of New Brunswick. I implore you to be present at our AGM. This will be, without a doubt, the most important meeting that we have ever had. You need to be informed. You need to be involved. You need to be there. If you are reading this and are coming, I want you to bring at least one other Technician or Technologist with you.

It is estimated that there are over 1200 Forest Technicians and Technologists currently working in New Brunswick. It is my hope that every single one will be present in Moncton on April 7th. Please do not let the decisions of a few affect the careers of so many.

Respectfully Submitted;



Todd MacPherson, President
New Brunswick Forest Technicians Association