Tansii Community Members,

On September 13, 2025 we welcome you to the Annual General Meeting for the Fraser Valley Métis Association. It will be held from 10 am to 2 pm, in Abbotsford at the Legacy Banquet Hall, 3270 Trethewey St, Abbotsford, BC V2T 4C1. Registration will begin at 9:00 am and close at 10:00 am, please allocate enough time if you need to verify your membership. This will be a voting AGM and a board of directors will be elected. Any incoming board members should allow additional time for some important on-boarding after the AGM.

If you are unable to attend the meeting in person you may choose to participate over Zoom. You will find the link and relevant information to join Zoom here https://fvma.ca/agm-2025-zoom-link/

Prior to the election, a vote will be made to update the FVMA bylaws in order to specify how the election is to be conducted. In the current bylaws, the community must vote for the board of directors, not their individual positions. The board of directors then appoints executive positions from their members. In the proposed update, voting members will vote separately for each executive position i.e. President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, as well as for up to five directors at large. The board may later assign specific non-executive roles to the elected directors at large at its discretion. You can see our Bylaws which have been updated to reflect the June 2018 registered bylaws. fvma.ca/bylaws-june-2018/ Whether the update passes will determine how the election is conducted.

Who can vote:

The FVMA bylaws define members as Métis Citizens who have applied for and received acceptance by the FVMA Board of Directors. A Métis Citizen is defined as “a person who self-identifies as Métis, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry, is distinct from other Aboriginal

peoples and is accepted by the Métis Nation as a Métis Citizen in accordance with the [MNBC]

Citizenship Act.”

The Métis Community Governance Charter FVMA has signed with MNBC confirms that “FVMA …

is the elected representative body for the Métis Citizens living in the geographic boundaries of

FVMA.” These boundaries are determined and amended periodically by the Region 2 Regional

Governance Council. The following towns and cities fall under the Community’s Boundaries:

• Abbotsford
• Aldergrove
• Dewdney
• Matsqui
• Mission

How to Vote:

According to the Bylaws:

“Voting at a general meeting shall be by show of hands unless a secret ballot vote is requested by a majority of the members in attendance.”

“Voting by proxy is not permitted.”

To register for the meeting please bring the following documents:

• MNBC Citizenship Card, or
• Government ID or documentation that has your name, address, and birthdate (e.g. – BC ID,

Driver’s License; Birth certificate + hydro bill; Passport + phone bill)

• If you have recently moved to the FVMA boundaries and your address is not updated with

MNBC, please bring a phone bill, hydro bill, gas bill, etc. with your current address on it.

The polling function in zoom will be used to conduct votes. If the polling function does not work

for you, you may direct message the host of the Zoom meeting with your vote.

Candidates:

If you wish to run for a seat on the FVMA Board of Directors, please complete this form https://forms.gle/QndB4eCNYUoEsSrn8 and email us a photo of yourself before September 2 at the address below so that we may share it with the community in advance of the AGM, giving us the best chance to get to know our candidates and make an informed decision.

Candidate Photos and any questions can be directed to: fraservalleymetisassociation@gmail.com.

Each position requires a majority vote (more than half of votes cast) to be elected to the Board.

Voting will continue until a candidate receives a majority of the vote.

You do not have to be present at the meeting to run for a position on the Board. If you wish to

run and are unable to attend, please provide the following information in writing:

• First and Last Name
• Address
• The position you wish to run for (if this is not indicated, we will default to Director-at-Large)
• A short statement indicating why you want to serve.

In the spirit of community and respect, we look forward to a restorative experience.

Marsi,

FVMA Interim Board of Directors