Constitution

CONSTITUTION (PDF Version)

Last Amended July 2018 at Convention in Ottawa.

Updated Amendment: Article 8, Section 3 - amending Statement of Policy by ballot of voting members.

Article 1 Name

The name of the organization shall the “Libertarian Party of Canada,” hereinafter referred to as the “Party.”

Article 2 Duration

The duration of the Party shall be perpetual.

Article 3 Purposes

The purpose for which the party is organized is to implement and give voice to the Statement of Principles by:

Electing a Party Leader and Deputy Leader and supporting candidates for election to the House of Commons;
Promoting the formation of, and chartering and coordinating the activities of, party federal constituency organizations throughout Canada;
Entering into educational activities in support of the above.

Article 4 Membership

Section 1: Anyone who has signed the statement “I wish to be a member of the Libertarian Party of Canada” and has paid current membership fees shall be a Member of the Party.

Section 2: Anyone who has signed the statement “I support the principles of the Libertarian Party,” provided that such statement is accompanied by the Statement of Principles of the Party, and has paid current membership fees shall be a Voting Member of the Party.

Section 3: Anyone who has signed the statement “I hereby certify that I believe in and promise to uphold the Statement of Principles of the Libertarian Party of Canada” and has paid current membership fees shall be a Voting Member of the Party.

Section 4: Only Voting Members may hold elected or appointed positions in the Party.
Section 5: Only Voting Members may be official Libertarian Party of Canada candidates at a federal election.

Section 6: In this Constitution and Bylaws, the phrases “Party member,” Party members” and “Party membership” shall refer to both Voting Members and Members.

Article 5 Board of Directors

Section 1: The Board of Directors of the Party shall be composed of:

a. Ten different persons, consisting of eight Directors, the Party Leader, and the Deputy Leader as elected by the registered members to a convention or otherwise provided for in this Constitution and in the Bylaws;

b. Nine different persons, each of whom shall be a Director for one of the nine Regional Caucuses, as elected at a Regional General Meeting, except as provided for by Article 5 of the Bylaws; and none of whom shall be the Party Leader, the Deputy Leader, or a Director elected pursuant to part a) of this Section; c. the President ex-officio.

Section 2: The Board of Directors may fill vacancies within itself by appointment by a majority vote of the entire Board, except for the positions of Party Leader, Deputy Leader, and Regional Directors.

Section 3: The Board of Directors shall accept as a Regional Director anyone duly elected by the Voting Members of a Regional Caucus in accordance with this Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 4: Any member of the Board of Directors, excluding the Party Leader and Deputy Leader, shall be ejected from the Board of Directors if they miss three consecutive meetings of the Board. The three meetings must occur over a period of at least six months.

Section 5: The Board of Directors shall take office immediately upon the close of a Convention, and shall serve thereafter until the final adjournment of the next Convention.

Section 6: The Board of Directors shall have the control and management of all the affairs, properties, and funds of the party, consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 7: The Board of Directors shall meet in the manner and at the times and places prescribed in the Bylaws.

Article 6 Officers

Section 1′′ The Officers of the Party shall be appointed by, removed, and replaced by and at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

Section 2: There shall be a President, a Vice President/Political Action, a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Legal Officer, and such Department Heads as may be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 3: No person shall simultaneously hold more than one of the Offices specified in Section 2 of this Article. Neither the Party Leader or the Deputy Leader shall hold any office specified in Section 2 of this Article.

Section 4: The President shall be the chief administrative officer of the party. He/she shall be responsible to the Board of Directors for effectively carrying out, or having carried out, the administrative policy of the Board and the political aims of the Party.

Section 5: The Chief Financial Officer shall receive, expend, and account for the funds of the Party, under the supervision and direction of the President, subject to guidelines established by the Board of Directors in accordance with this Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 6: The Vice President/Political Action Officer shall be the assistant to the President and shall assume the responsibilities of the President in the event that the President is, for any reason, unable to carry out his/her responsibilities. The Vice President/Political Action Officer shall also be responsible to the President for effectively furthering the political aims of the Party.

Article 7 Conventions

Section 1: After a given convention, the party shall hold another convention on or before a date three years after the convening of the given convention, at a time and place selected by the Board of Directors. All such business and party affairs required herein to be performed at a convention shall be performed.

Section 2: Only Registered Members at the Convention may vote on any matter or speak on the floor of the convention, except by a vote of the Registered Members on the floor of the convention, who may choose to allow an observer to speak but not to vote on any matter.

Section 3: A Registered Member is defined as a Voting Member in attendance at a convention, who has been a Voting Member for at least ninety days prior to the convening of the convention and who has paid the registration fee.

Section 4: Convention government shall be in accordance with the Convention Rules and Bylaws adopted by the Convention.

Section 5: At least ninety days before the convening of a convention, the President, with the approval of the Board of Directors, shall appoint three coordinators to plan and execute convention activities. These shall be a Constitution and Bylaws Amendment Coordinator, a statement of Policy Amendment Coordinator, and a Convention Planning Coordinator. The duties of these coordinators shall be as specified in the Bylaws.

Section 6: Every Registered Member may become a Registered Delegate by and only by signing the statement, “I intend to be present for the debate and voting on proposed amendments to the Statement of Principles.”

Article 8 Statement of Policy and Election Platform

Section 1: The Party shall adopt a Statement of Policy in convention. Said Statement of Policy shall include the Statement of Principles and an explanation of the policy which the Party would ultimately adopt as the Government of Canada in order to implement the Statement of Principles.

Section 2: The Statement of Principles affirms that upon which the Libertarian Party of Canada is founded and by which it shall be sustained. The enduring importance of the Statement of Principles requires that it shall not be amended by a vote of less than seven-eighths of the Registered Delegates at a convention.

Section 3: The Statement of Policy, other than the statement of Principles, may be amended by a two- thirds vote of the Registered Members on the floor at a convention, provided that all members are given written notice of the motion(s), post-marked at least thirty days prior to the convening of that convention. If such notice is not given, then the amendments must receive the support of seven-eighths of the Registered Members on the floor of the convention to succeed. The Statement of Policy may also be amended by a ballot of the voting members of the party taken by the Board of Directors. An amendment to the Statement of Policy will then succeed provided the number of affirmative votes which are received by the Board of Directors or its agent within thirty days of the mailing of the vote equals no less 50% + 1 to pass, with the motion requiring 25% of membership voting.

Section 4: The Party Leader, in consultation with the Board of Directors, shall draft an election platform. This election platform shall state what policies would be adopted by the Government, should the members of the Party who are members of Parliament form a Government following an election. This document is intended to outline the policy basis on which the party contests elections. It must be consistent with the Statement of Policy and shall be kept current.

Article 9 Constitutional Amendments

Section 1: This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the Registered Members on the floor at a convention, provided that all Voting Members are given written notice of the motion(s), post- marked at least thirty days prior to the convening of that convention. If such notice is not given, then the amendments must receive the support of seven-eighths of the Registered Members on the floor of the convention to succeed.

Section 2: Article 8, Section 2, and Article 9, Section 2, shall not be amended except at a convention, and not by a vote of less than seven-eights of the Registered Delegates at a convention.

Section 3: This Constitution, excepting Article 8, Section 2, and Article 9, Section 2, may also be amended by a ballot of the Voting Members of the Party taken by the Board of Directors. An amendment to the Constitution will then succeed provided the number of affirmative votes which are received by the Board of Directors or its agent within thirty days of the mailing of the ballot equals no less than fifty-five percent of the total number of received ballots.

Article 10 Bylaws

Section 1: The Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the Registered Members at a convention.

Section 2: The Bylaws may also be amended by a ballot of the Voting Members of the Party taken by the Board of Directors. An amendment to the Bylaws will then succeed provided the number of affirmative votes which are received by the Board of Directors or its agent within thirty days of the mailing of the ballot is at least a two-thirds majority and that at least fifty-five percent of the voting Members have voted.

Article 11 Election of Party Leader & Deputy Leader

Section 1: Nominations and elections of Party Leader and Deputy Leader shall be held at each convention.

Section 2: No candidate may be nominated to hold a seat in Parliament who has not expressed a willingness to serve or who is ineligible by Canadian law.

Section 3: The Party Leader and the Deputy Leader shall be elected in compliance with procedures stated in the Convention Rules. The Deputy Leader shall succeed the Party Leader in the event of the death, incapacity, resignation, or expulsion of the Leader.

Section 4: In the event of the vacancy of the position of Deputy Leader or positions of the Party Leader and Deputy Leader the party members elected to Parliament shall fill the vacancy or vacancies byappointment subject to ratification at a convention. If there are no party members elected to Parliament, the vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by appointment by those Voting Members who were candidates in the most recent general election and, if a writ of election has been issued, by those Voting Members who have offered themselves as candidates.

Article 12 Ethics Committee

Section 1: There shall be a standing Ethics Committee whose function is to protect the integrity of the Party. The Ethics Committee shall effect this protection by holding a hearing to examine the merits of any members’s complaint relating to: alleged violations by any member of his/her member-ship oath, alleged conflicts between the Statement of Principles and the Statement of Policy or any current election platform, or alleged violations of the Constitution or Bylaws by a Director or Officer of the Party.

Section 2: Disciplinary actions against any member shall be in accordance with the 1970 edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised except as otherwise provided in this Constitution and Bylaws.

Section 3: The Ethics Committee shall consist of nine members elected by the Registered Members to each convention, from among nominees who must be Voting Members of the Party. Ethics Committee members shall be exclusive of the Board of Directors. The Ethics Committee shall have the same term of office as the Board of Directors. Vacancies which occur on the Ethics Committee may be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors from among the Voting Members of the Party.

Section 4: Five members of the Ethics Committee shall constitute a quorum. No less than the support of five members shall be necessary to uphold a complaint.

Section 5: The Board of Directors shall execute the decisions of the Ethics Committee.

Article 13 Regional Caucuses

Section 1: Regional Caucuses shall be composed of the Voting Members residing in:

Region 1: New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island;
Region 2: Greater Montreal, as described in Statistic’s Canada’s Census by Federal Constituency,

most recent edition;
Region 3: Quebec province, except Greater Montreal;
Region 4: Greater Toronto, as described in Statistic’s Canada’s Census by Federal Constituency,

most recent edition;
Region 5: Ontario, except Greater Toronto;
Region 6: Manitoba and Saskatchewan;
Region 7: Alberta
Region 8: British Columbia;
Region 9: Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

Section 2: If no Voting Members reside in a given Region, no Regional Caucus exists for that Region. Otherwise, the Regional Caucus for a Region shall be defined as the Voting Members residing in that Region.

Section 3: In each Region in which a Regional Caucus exists, the Regional Caucus shall be entitled to establish and maintain one Director as its representative on the Board of Directors, by electing or replacing a Director at a Regional General Meeting (see Bylaws, Article 5).

Section 4: Each Regional Caucus shall have a Regional Coordinator appointed by the Vice President/Political Action Officer, with the approval of the President. The Regional Coordinator shall direct the administration of regional political activities under the direction of the Vice President/Political Action Officer, and shall call Regional General Meetings in accordance with this Constitution and Bylaws and/or upon the instruction of the Regional Caucus.

Section 5: The Vice-President Political Action (VP-PA) shall appoint only one Regional Coordinator (RC) per Region. The Regional Coordinator can be removed at the sole discretion of VP-PA. If there is no VP- PA, the President of the Party can appoint or remove Regional Coordinators.