Governance

Mandate

1. The National Committee of Federal Public Servants with Disabilities (NCFPSD) represents the interests of federal public servants with disabilities in areas including but not limited to those of:

• recruitment
• retention
• return to work
• career progression, promotion and advancement
• accommodation and accessibility
• training and development
• insurance
• succession planning
• inclusive workplace environments
• raising awareness
• information, advice, analysis and recommendations to senior federal public service management
• employment equity

2. This document entitled NCFPSD Guiding Principles replaces the NCFPSD Terms of Reference dated June 30, 2005.

Definition

3. "Federal public servant" is defined as an employee of any federal government department, agency, office or Crown corporation as defined under the Financial Administration Act.

NCFPSD Executive Committee

4. The NCFPSD Executive Committee, hereinafter referred to as the "Board", is composed of nine (9) members:

• Three (3) elected members from the National Capital Region (NCR), and
• Six (6) elected members from the regions, more precisely one from each of the following regions:
  • Atlantic
  • Quebec
  • Ontario
  • Prairies
  • British Columbia
  • The North

5. All Members of the Board shall maintain an office in the region that they represent. They must also live and work at least 70% of the time in the region which they represent.

6. All Members of the Board must be federal public servants with disabilities.

7. Members of the Board will make all policy-related decisions, including the setting of priorities and the approval or amendment of the budget. Although primary responsibility remains with the Members of the Board, they may delegate decision-making responsibilities, where they deem fit.

8. The Members of the Board will make every effort to arrive at decisions on a consensual basis.

9. If a consensus cannot be reached, only a simple majority of all Members of the Board who are voting on the particular motion or decision will be required for any motion or decision to be carried.

10. The terms of all Members of the Board begin at the Tri-annual General Meeting of the year of their election and will end at the following Tri-annual General Meeting. Hence the term of office of Members of the Board is generally of three (3) years, varying slightly in number of months from term to term to take into account the actual date of the Tri-annual General Meeting .

11. A quorum at a meeting of the Board, whether in a face-to-face meeting, a conference call, an electronic meeting (e.g., when voting on a motion by electronic mail) or in any other circumstance where the Board seeks to arrive at a decision, shall consist of two-thirds of the Members of the Board.

12. Members of the Board are expected to bring national, regional, and local perspectives to the NCFPSD, and to develop and bring forward initiatives relevant to the mandate, goals, and objectives of the NCFPSD.

13. Members of the Board will be active in subcommittee work as required, and may be requested to be involved with specific issues on behalf of the NCFPSD as a whole.

14. No one may occupy simultaneously the position of Member of the Board (elected or appointed) and the position of Executive Director or of any other personnel in the NCFPSD Bureau.

NCFPSD Members - Other than the Executive Committee

Ex-Officio Members

15. Ex-Officio members are all former members of the Board while still employed with the Federal Public Service.

16. Ex-Officio members may be called upon to contribute their expertise, knowledge, experience, and perspectives to some or all aspects of the NCFPSD's work, and to provide advice, feedback, and suggestions on initiatives relevant to pursuit of the NCFPSD's mandate, goals, and objectives.

Associate Committee Members

17. Associate Committee members must be employed by the federal public service and may or may not have a disability.

18. Associate Committee Members will be expected to contribute their own or their organization's expertise, knowledge, experience, and perspectives to some or all aspects of NCFPSD work, and to provide advice, feedback, and suggestions on initiatives relevant to pursuit of the NCFPSD's mandate, goals, and objectives.

19. Associate Committee Members will also be invited to participate in subcommittee work as their interests and time availability allows, and will bring forward for the NCFPSD's review, consideration, and deliberation whatever specific issues they consider relevant.

Special Advisors

20. On occasion, persons from outside the federal public service may be called upon to provide advice, in the capacity of Special Advisors to the Board.

NCFPSD Subcommittees

21. The Board may establish NCFPSD Subcommittees. The Board determines the broad objectives of each Subcommittee, appoints a Project Lead and a Co-Lead and appoints the other members of each Subcommittee. The Project Lead and Co-Lead of each Subcommittee may make recommendations to the Board as to the membership of the Subcommittee, for approval by the Board.

22. Subcommittees should be composed of:

a) Both Regional and NCR members, where possible

b) Have a minimum of three (3) members in addition to the Project Lead and Co-Lead, and

c) Include at least one Member of the Board.

23. The Project Lead and Co-Lead of each Subcommittee report to NCFPSD Board on a quarterly basis.

24. Each Subcommittee will develop a plan of action, including timelines, and will present it to the NCFPSD Board for approval. Subcommittees must maintain documentation regarding their activities. Subcommittee will proceed with updates and present these to the Board as well, whenever necessary or at least on a quarterly basis. The same information must be shared with the Executive Director and the Bureau. All information on activities has to be available on request and stored in NCFPSD files.

25. Each Subcommittee is accountable to and must report to the NCFPSD Board on a quarterly basis. Reports should refer to Subcommittee progress, impediments and recommended actions with respect to its plans.

26. In the event that a Subcommittee receives funding from any source, including a federal government source, this must be directed to the Board for acknowledgement and then to the Bureau for financial management.

27. The Board has formal oversight of any funding committed through the NCFPSD for Subcommittee activities.

Financial Resources

28. The Executive Director and/or the Bureau will prepare the budget according to the operational requirements. The Board has the responsibility to review and approve the budget.

29. Funding may be from a broader base of federal government sources, and not limited to that available from Deputy Ministers.

Board Meetings

30. Members of the Board will meet as a group at least twice a year, preferably with a majority of Board members physically present. Members may also validly attend such a meeting by teleconference, video-conference, MSN or other electronic means, subject to funds being made available for the purpose of holding such meetings.

31. Members of the Board will be in continuous contact with each other via electronic mail, as per the policy regarding this issue.

Tri-Annual General Meeting

32. The first meeting of the new Board will be conducted on the day immediately following the end of Tri-Annual General Meeting.

Election of the NCFPSD Executive Committee and of the Co-Chairs

33. The election of the NCFPSD Executive Committee and of the two Co-Chairs, one elected Board member from the NCR and one elected Board member from the Regions, is to be effected in the manner set out in Appendix A.

NCFPSD Policies and Procedures

34. The Board may establish, amend and repeal NCFPSD policies and procedures as may be required from time to time.

NCR and Regions Co-Chairs

35. The Co-Chairs, with the support of the Board, are responsible for the overall management and coordination of NCFPSD activities, the provision of leadership and direction as required in pursuit of the NCFPSD's annual and longer-term goals and objectives, and ongoing linkages to the NCFPSD Champion/Co-Champion(s) and Deputy Ministers. Some of roles and responsibilities can be delegated, by the Co-Chairs, to other Members of the Board.

36. Refer to Appendix B for the NCFPSD Co-Chair and Board Responsibilities.

NCFPSD Bureau Responsibilities

37. The Board shall be supported by a NCFPSD Bureau located in Ottawa, Ontario.

38. An Executive Director shall be appointed by the Board and shall report periodically to the Board on the day-to-day management activities and operations of the Bureau.

39. The Executive Director and/or personnel employed in the Bureau are not eligible to seek election to the Board unless they resign from the Bureau.

40. The responsibilities of the NCFPSD Bureau are outlined in Appendix C.

NCFPSD Board Responsibilities

41. The NCFPSD Board will provide information, advice, analysis, and recommendations to the Clerk of the Privy Council, the Champion/Co-Champion(s), and the Deputy Ministers on the issues of interest to federal public servants with disabilities in the Public Service of Canada.

42. The NCFPSD Board shall make assessments and recommendations on the legislation, policies, practices, guidelines, and procedures affecting federal public servants with disabilities.

43. In addition, the NCFPSD Board shall develop a website and establish communications networks with federal public servants with disabilities across all regions of Canada.

44. The NCFPSD Board shall develop and deliver information and materials to address the lack of knowledge and understanding of public service managers regarding disability issues in general and the resources available to address these issues in particular.

45. The NCFPSD Board shall monitor, assess and make recommendations concerning existing accountability mechanisms for ensuring the implementation and effective delivery of federal government programs, policies, and intentions for overcoming barriers and improving workplace environments for federal public servants with disabilities. The NCFPSD Board shall establish networks with other Employment Equity (EE) groups and non-EE groups, including non-government organizations. The aim of this is to obtain information and to access knowledge of best practices and innovative approaches to addressing disability issues, in both Canada and elsewhere.

Standard Limitations

46. The following Standard Limitations apply to the National Committee of Federal Public Servants with Disabilities, its Executive Committee Members, the members of all NCFPSD Subcommittees, the Executive Director and all personnel working in the NCFPSD Bureau.

a) All applicable laws and regulations are to be respected. No illegal activity is to take place, whether by action or by omission.

b) The budget, as approved by the Executive Committee Members, must be adhered to at all times. The budget may be amended only by a duly passed motion of the Executive Committee Members. All financial considerations, whether income or expense, must receive the prior confirmation in writing from the Executive Director or designate that such transaction is in accordance with the parameters set by the budget.

c) All current government Conflict of Interest guidelines are to be respected.

d) The Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service of Canada is to be respected.

e) The reputation of the following is not to be infringed in public: 

Executive Committee Members
Ex-officio members
Associate Committee Members 
Executive Director or any personnel in the NCFPSD Bureau Sub-Committee or Working Group Members

f) No person can speak in the name of or represent the NCFPSD on any issues if the issue has not been previously presented to the Board.

Other Policies Required

Human Resources Procedures

Record Management, File and Document Sharing Procedures

Bureau and Board Policies on Roles, Responsibilities and Ethics

Regional Representative Responsibilities and Procedures

Election Procedures - This is the exception this can take twenty four months later.

All these procedures and policies will have to be voted into the guiding principles within twelve months after the guiding principles becoming official.