JIAS CANADA ANNUAL MEETING

This year our Annual Membership Meeting took place on December 7 in Toronto.  Annual Meetings have a special significance for a national organization since they provide the members with an opportunity to meet face-to-face and to discuss issues in person rather than on the phone.  It is the time to thank and show appreciation to the outgoing Board members and welcome the new incoming Board.

Left to right: Shelley Waxman, Stephen Green, Pam Ahlfeld, Anat Wertheim

Thirty five members and several guests including Shoel Silver,the President of the UIAFC; Maxyne Finkelstein, Executive Vice-President UIA/FC;  Perry Romberg,  Director of Planning and Community Development UIA/FC and Anat Wertheim, Vice President, Employment and Training Services JVS, attended the meeting.

Bonnie Osoff-Bultz, Immediate Past President of JIAS, opened the meeting by delivering a D'Var Torah.  It was a beautiful message based on the story of Yakov which teaches us to show compassion to others.

Leslie Wilder, President, welcomed everyone present and briefly summarized the achievements of JIAS Canada in the last year, as well as the vision for the future.  She proudly stated that since the beginning of January, when a full-time Executive Director had been hired, the Agency was back on the map within the Jewish community as well as with other NGOs and the Government of Canada.  In her report Leslie thanked Bonnie Osoff-Bultz and Shlomo Mayman for their relentless work on the new By-Laws, and Farrell Shadlyn for his work as Chair of the Nominations Committee.  She thanked several outgoing Board members such as Sandy Atlin and Bonnie Osoff-Bultz for the years of commitment and dedication to the plight of immigrants.  She expressed our thanks to the UIAFC and specifically to Shoel, Maxyne and Perry.

Shoel Silver delivered greetings on behalf of UIAFC.  He remebered that his first exposure to JIAS was seeing his father reading a JIAS Newsletter when he was a small child.  Shoel devoted his address to the issue of National Collective Responsibility (NCR) and how it reflects the teaching of the Torah that every Jew is responsible for one another.  Unfortunately, he stated, there is no uniform social safety net across the country, as limits in funding prevent this from happening.  Therefore, local communities are vital for preserving Jewish life and continuity.

From left to right:  Leslie Wilder, Shoel Silver, Perry Romberg, Maxyne Finkelstein

Shoel commented that where NCR manifests itself best is in the exaple of JIAS where Toronto and Montreal bear the biggest responsibility despite localizing their own immigration services.

He thanked Leslie Wilder and Mila Voihanski for successfully moving the Agency forward during a difficult period of transition.

Shlomo Mayman presented the draft of the 2002-2003 Audited Financial Statements for ratification by the membership, together with the recommendations of the Audit Committee.  The appointment of Shimmerman Penn Burns Becker LLP as the Auditors for the 2003-2004 financial year was also moved and approved.

Shlomo Mayman presenting the Treasurer's Report

Farrel Shadlyn, Chair of the Nominations Committee presented the slate of the incoming Board, which was voted on and accepted unanimously by the Members.  The new JIAS Canada Board represents communities across Canada from the Maritimes in the East to Vancouver in the West, including Toronto and Montreal.  Farrel welcomed the newly elected Board and especially the newcomers to the JIAS Family.

Lionel Laroche addresses the members

The guest speaker at the meeting was Lionel Laroche from Career Partners International.  Lionel is originally from France and has had an opportunity to experience first-hand the challenges of immigrant professionals in their employment search upon arrival in Canada.  Lionel focused on cultural barriers to successful employment and presented some strategies on how the community and agencies like JIAS can advocate with the Government, Professional Associations and the employer.  Lionel's presentation was extremely well received and generated a very interesting discussion from the floor.  It was evident that the topic of barriers to trades and professions was very important to everyone in the room.

A meeting of the new Board at which the Executive Committee was elected, followed the meeting.