The 2020 Equestrian Canada (EC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on Sept. 22, 2020, with the current and incoming EC Board of Directors and EC Voting Members attending via conference call and the community invited to tune in through Facebook livestream.

The AGM agenda included five items of business, as well reports and updates from EC leadership and the Audit and Nominating Committees. In addition, a Q&A period was held, with EC President, Meg Krueger addressing questions submitted by the Category A, B and C Voting Member groups.

Approval of Agenda & Adoption of Minutes

After Nicole Duplessis (Category B) motioned to approve the agenda, with Gilles Seguin (Category C) as seconder, the motion was carried with none opposed.

Terre O’Brennan (Category A) followed with the motion to approve adoption of the minutes from the 2019 AGM. The motion was seconded by Liz Saunders (Category B). With none opposed, the motion was carried. The adopted minutes from the 2019 AGM are available on the EC website here.

Updates from EC Leadership

After completing the first two items of business, Krueger provided an opening address that encompassed a high-level overview of information contained in the Board of Directors Annual Report of Activity and CEO Management Report for the fiscal year 2019-2020. Click on the links below to view the full reports.

Finance and Audit Committee Report

Robert Mitchell, Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, delivered a report outlining the financial activity of EC over the past year. He then welcomed Kirsten Gilles from Auditors, KPMG, who provided a recap of the 2019-2020 Audited Financial Statements report.

The next agenda item was the Acceptance of the 2019-2020 EC Financial Statements, which was carried with none opposed. Click on the links below to view the full report and 2019-20120 Audited Financial Statements.

Appointment of the Auditors

Regarding the appointment of the Auditors for 2020-2021, Mitchell recommended EC remain with KPMG. The motion was made by Saunders and seconded by Caitlin Grguric (Category C). None were opposed, and the motion was carried.

Approval of Bylaw Changes

Charles Cue, Chair of the Governance Committee, presented proposed bylaw changes to improve governance structure after two full cycles of operation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. The motion to approve the bylaw changes was proposed by Seguin and seconded by Peter Chiddy (Category B). The motion was carried with none opposed. Click on the link below to view the full bylaw changes.

Q&A Period

Prior to the 2020 AGM, the community had the opportunity to submit questions to the EC Voting Members, with each Category bringing questions forward for the EC Board to address during the AGM. Any questions not addressed during the AGM due to time restrictions will be responded to directly. Click the link below to view the full Q&A transcript.

Nominating Committee Report

Dr. Wayne Burwash, Chair of the Nominating Committee, introduced the new Directors elected for a 2021-2023 term: Krueger, Cue, Mitchell and Lisa Robertson, who is new to the Board in 2020. Information on the current Board of Directors can be found at www.equestrian.ca/about/governance/board and the full Nominating Committee’s report can be found below.

Listen to the Full Recording of the 2020 EC AGM

The AGM was recorded and streamed live on EC’s Facebook page, and the full audio is available below and at www.equestrian.ca/events-results/general-meeting.