1. Elected positions

The Nominations Committee seeks out suitable candidates for Directors who are elected, unless indicated otherwise, by ballot at the Annual General Meeting of the Society and serve for three years, starting at the first meeting of the Board after the Annual General Meeting. All Directors are elected for a three-year term that can be renewed once (Bylaw section 4.4, Term of Directors).

Current STLHE Board members can apply for vacant positions on the Board but must inform the Board of their intention. After completion of a three-year term, a current Board member may choose to stand for re-election by submitting their nomination as described in the call for nominations.

The Secretary of the Society is responsible for governance issues for the Society and provides guidance and direction to the Nominations Committee.

2. Nominations Committee Members

Subject to the approval of the Board, the Nominations Committee consists of three members of the Society appointed sometime after the last Annual General Meeting when a call for interested members is circulated to all members of the Society. It is important that the Nominations Committee maintain an arm’s length relationship with the existing Board and, that it conducts its work in an unbiased fashion. For this reason, Board members and those with conflicts of interest with the nominations process are excluded from serving on the Nominations Committee. The Secretary or designate provides guidance and assistance but does not attend committee meetings or vote. In the event that a member of the Nominations Committee wishes to stand for election, they must formally resign from serving on the committee.

3. Nominations and elections

a. Call for nominations

In February/March of each year, the Nominations Committee prepares and circulates to all Members of the Society a call for nominations which includes:

• A request for nominees, self-nominees or identification of possible potential candidates from current members of STLHE.
• A description of Director responsibilities
• A request from nominees for a 500 word expression of interest, written in their preferred language of either French or English (the Society will prepare the translation of the expression of interest).The expression of interest should include information about the nominee’s experience and background (approximately 200-250 words) and about the nominee’s motivation and desire (approximately 200-250 words) 
• The Chair of the Nominations Committee receives the nominations and responds to any questions or requests for additional information.
• A deadline for nomination submission should allow for a minimum two-week nomination period.

b. Ballot, voting, and announcement of results

The Secretary of the Society or designate confirms that any nominee is both a current STLHE member in good standing and that the nominee is willing to stand for the vacant position.

If, at the end of the nomination period, there are Director vacancies for which there are no nominations, the Chair of the Nominations Committee informs the Board. The Board will then decide whether to extend the nominations period or to leave the position(s) vacant and reopen the nomination process at a later date.

If at the end of the nomination period there is only one nominee for every Director vacancy, the Chair informs the Secretary who seeks the Board’s approval for acclamation or extension of the nomination period. Subject to the approval of the Board, an acclaimed candidate appears on the ballot for ratification of their position by the membership with the choices: approve, disapprove, or abstain.

The Nominee’s statements of interest will be posted on the STLHE website at least five weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting of the Society and a link to the nominees and ballot information will be included in the Notice of Annual General Meeting that is circulated at the same time.

If they choose, candidates may share, through social media or email, the link to the STLHE website with the written expression of interest and its translation. A candidate may not provide any physical goods as a means of campaigning for the role or undertake any activities to coerce members to vote for them. 

Online ballots for voting include: a page with voting instructions, a page for each position being elected containing the statement of interest of each nominee, with the ballot at the bottom page for each position with choices that include a list of the Candidates’ names and an option to abstain from voting. Each member of the Society receives a link and unique access to the ballot three weeks before the start of the Annual General Meeting; voting starts immediately and runs for two weeks, closing one week before the day of the Annual General Meeting. This two-week period allows for members from across the country, not just those at the Annual Conference, to participate in STLHE elections.

In the 7 days prior to the Annual General Meeting, the Administrative unit counts ballots and the results are given to the Chair of the Nominations Committee who forwards the election results to the Secretary. The Secretary then informs the Board of the results and prepares a motion for ratification of the elected board member(s) at the Annual General Meeting, and includes for review: information on the participation rate and a list of all individuals elected to the Board of Directors. Example motion: I move that the following individuals, elected to the STLHE Board of Directors, be ratified: [full list]

At the Annual General Meeting of the Society, the Secretary moves the motion for ratification of the elected members to the Board. The list is ratified or rejected in its entirety by a simple majority (an ordinary resolution) of members present at the Annual General Meeting.

If the election vote results in a tie for a Director position, a by-election may be called by the Board of Directors.

The Chair of the Board contacts all successful candidates to confirm their ability to serve on the Board. If an elected candidate declines to serve, the candidate with the next largest number of votes will be identified by the nominations committee. The nominations committee will ask this candidate to confirm their ability to serve on the Board, as elected by membership. Board members must be elected by the membership. 

A formal announcement to all Members of the Society of the election results is sent out via electronic means immediately after the Annual General Meeting of the Society.

Policy revised by the Board of Directors in January 2023.

This policy was revised by the Board at its November 12, 2021 meeting.

This policy was updated in March 2017 to reflect the changes to STLHE by-laws in 2016; passing with a unanimous vote.

This policy was approved, by online Ballot on 28 November 2015 with 11 votes for approval, no votes against, or abstentions. One Board member did not vote.