• Mr. Richard Zhang
• Email: info@gmcca.ca

1. Mission Statement

The Greater Moncton Chinese Cultural Association is a non-political and non-profit organization whose mission is to:

1)  Promote appreciation and understanding of Chinese culture among the local Chinese as well as members of the general public of the Greater Moncton area who are interested in Chinese culture;

2) Develop and facilitate socializing activities among the local Chinese and with members of the Moncton area communities;

3) Organize Chinese cultural and social events to promote friendship among people in the Greater Moncton area who are interested in Chinese culture;

4) Organize Chinese educational activities and programs;

5) Develop resources to provide service and assistance to the Chinese community and in particular to those who are new to the Greater Moncton area.

2. General Structure of the Association

The Governing Board

The General Assembly

3. Membership and Fees

Membership is open in two forms to all persons of the Greater Moncton area who are interested in Chinese culture and in supporting the activities of the Association.

• • Commitment to over five hours’ voluntary service annually to the Association’s activities. Or
  • Payment of an annual membership fee as follows:

Student membership: 5$/year

Individual membership: 10$/year

Family membership: 20$/year

Institution membership: 200$/year

Membership fees are subjected to renew annually by the General Assembly.

4. The Governing Board

Composition: President

Vice-(or Deputy) President(s)

Secretary

Treasurer

Directors of committees

Choice of Board members:

The President and the Vice-Presidents are elected in General Assembly from a list of consenting nominees from the members. Secretary, Treasurer and Directors of committees will be nominated by the President. All Board members will serve the Association during two years and can be re-elected.

Responsibilities:

The President: General direction and coordination of the activities of the Association and presides at the meetings of the General Assembly and at the Board meetings. The President must speak fluently Mandarin and at least one Canadian official language.

The Vice-Presidents: Assisting the President in all the activities of the Association and replacing the President at meetings in the latter’s absence.

The Secretary: Giving notice of meetings, taking notes and keeping the requisite documents for meetings.

The Treasurer: Keeping the Association’s bank account, payment expenses and receipt of monies paid to the Association, and presenting regular financial statement to the Board and the General Assembly.

The Directors of Committees: Nominating members and organizing activities of their own Committees.

5. The General Assembly

Two weeks before the annual General Assembly of the election year, the Governing Board gives notice to all members for election of the President and Vice-Presidents for the next term. The list of nominees must be ready for the General Assembly.

All members in good standing may exercise their voting rights in decision making at meetings and in elections including the annual General Assembly.

During the annual General, the President presents the annual report.

6. Frequency of Meetings

The General Assembly of the Association shall meet at least once a year (annual General Assembly);

The Governing Board shall meet at least twice a year.

7. Call of Meetings

Meetings of the General Assembly: One of the following persons or groups of persons can call a General Assembly meeting provided a notice is communicated to all members of the Association two weeks before the meeting:

– The President

– At least 1/3 of the members of the Association.

Meetings of the Governing Board: One of the following persons or groups of persons can call a Board meeting provided a notice is communicated to all members of the Board one week before the meeting:

– The President

8. Elections and Decisions

The various officers shall be chosen and decisions are taken by a majority vote at the General Assembly level.

1) Who Can Vote on the General Assembly?

1. 1. a)All individual members
   2. b)Up to 2 family members aged 18 years or older in a family membership
   3. c)Up to 3 representatives of an institution membership
   4. d)No proxy is allowed for individual members and family members

2) How to Nominate Candidates of the President and Vice Presidents?

1. 1. a)All members and/or representatives defined in 1) can nominate candidates and be nominated as a candidate for the President and Vice-Presidents
   2. b)Up to six nominees who receive the most nominations and are willing to run for the President or Vice President will be the final candidates.

3) How to Elect the President and Vice-Presidents?

1. 1. a)All members and/or representatives defined in 8.1) must vote in person for the candidates on the General Assembly. All those members who do not show up on the General Assembly and do not make an advance vote are considered to have given up their rights to vote.
   2. b)Every candidate should submit a written proposal to the Election Group within 3 days after the nomination deadline. The proposal should show his/her plans what he/she would do for GMCCA if he/she is elected. The Election Group should forward the proposal to all members once received.
   3. c)Every candidate should also explain his/her plans what he/she would do for GMCCA before voting in a speech on the General Assembly.
   4. d)Effective votes are all votes except the abstention votes and the invalid votes.A candidate shall receive at least 1/2 of all effective votes to be the President; a candidate shall receive at least 1/4 of all effective votes to be the Vice President; a candidate shall receive at least 1/6 of all effective votes to be the 2nd Vice President. When this condition is satisfied, the candidates who receive the most votes, the 2nd most votes and the 3rd most votes will be the President, the Vice President and the 2nd Vice President respectively
   5. e)If no candidates are willing to run, or if no candidates are elected to replace the President and/or Vice-President(s), all the Association’s activities shall be put on held and the General Assembly shall reorganize a voting in two weeks till the new President is elected.
   6. f)The election for President and Vice-President(s) shall normally take place on the last weekend of March in the election year. If the election cannot be held on that weekend due to special reasons, upon request by the Election Group and approval by the current Governing Board, the election can be held on an alternative date.

4)  Members of the Election Group

1. 1. a)The Council shall nominate an Election Group consisting of three members. The responsibilities of the group are to collect requests for amendments to the constitution, to collect nominations of candidates for the President and Vice Presidents and to organize the election.
   2. b)All nominations must be made on the provided nomination form and amendment request form. The completed forms should be sent to all members of the group if submitted through emails. If a member has no Internet access, he/she can send the completed form with signature to anyone of the group via mails or in person.
   3. c)The group will keep all members updated with the latest status on the preparation for the General Assembly and Election.

5) The Impeachment and Dismissal of President and Vice-President(s)

1. 1. a)If the performance of the current President and/or Vice-President(s) is not satisfied, a temporary General Assembly can be called to impeach and dismiss President and/or Vice-President upon jointly requested by over 1/3 of all members of the association. The dismissal will take effect if over half of all members of the association vote in favor of the motion. New President and/or Vice-President(s) shall be appointed through a by-election. The elected new President and/or Vice-President(s) will continue to finish the remaining term of current Governing Board.

9. Amendments and Modifications

This Constitution will take effect after adoption at the first General Assembly. Modifications can be made if proposed by the President and adopted by the General Assembly.

1) All members and/or representatives defined in 8.1) can request for amendments to the Constitution.

2) An amendment request must be seconded by at least one other member for the request to be voted on the General Assembly.

3) All requests for amendments will be voted on the General Assembly. The originator of an amendment request must explain the requested amendment in details before voting on the amendment request.

4) If the favour votes on an amendment request are more than the opposite votes, the request is approved and the amendment will be part of the amended constitution.

1981 – 2003: The Moncton Chinese Friendship Association (MCFA)

The Moncton Chinese Friendship Association (MCFA) was established in August 1981 by several Chinese families, including Lam’s, Chan’s and Wen’s families etc. Mr. Tom Lam was the first president of MCFA. Among active executive members of MCFA were Tom Lam, Wayne Chan, Chungchi Wen, Leo Lam and Quinn Chan etc.

The Chinese community was very active in 1980s. MCFA participated in Moncton’s annual Santa Claus Parade in November 1981 with a float of Moncton Chinese Friendship Association and a colorful Chinese Lion. MCFA then held a big banquet to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Year of The Dog, at the MingGarden restaurant in 1982. Premier Richard Hatfield, MP Gary McCauley, Moncton Mayor Dennis Cochrane attended the party. Other activites included a few mandarin Chinese classes for children and adults, a Chinese art and culture exhibition held at the art gallery of the Universite de Moncton as well as a cooking class for the general public.

Executives of MCFA were also actively involved in other community organizations. Mr. Tom Lam was one of founders of the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA) which was established in March 1980 and elected as the president of MAGMA in 1982. He also was, representing MCFA, a member of the Commons Committee on Visible Minorities. Ms. Kitty Tsang and Ying Lam joined various heritages groups representing MCFA. Other executives were also joined various clubs, associations or groups representing MCFA.

Before it was reorganized and renamed as the Greater Moncton Chinese Cultural Association (GMCCA) in March 2004, MCFA was respectively chaired by, in sequence, Mr. Tom Lam, Prof. Chungchi Wen and Dr. John Li and had served the Chinese community in GMA for more than 20 years.

2003 – Now: The Greater Moncton Chinese Cultural Association (GMCCA)

As more and more Chinese immigrants, scholars, students and adoptive children from China arrived in GMA, the population of the Chinese community in this region grows fast since late 1990s. To better serve the whole Chinese community with different backgrounds and origins, executives of MCFA and representatives of Chinese newcomers formed a special preparation group in late 2003 to discuss the reorganization of MCFA and formation of the new GMCCA. Members of the preparation group included Buquan Miao, John Li, Chungchi Wen, Tom Lam, Zuoe Lam, Quinn Chan, Waileung Ying, Guihua Zhang, Tao Tao, Chunyan Yang, Deshuang Man, Zhikuan Liu and Mingkun Gu etc.

After several rounds of discussions on the reorganization and formation of the association, the preparation group worked out the drafts of constitutions and election procedures for GMCCA. A special general meeting was then called at Faculty of Engineering, the Universite de Moncton on March 27, 2004. The general meeting was open to all Chinese in GMA. The agenda for the meeting was firstly approved by the all attendants and then the constitutions and election procedures for the new association, GMCCA, were approved.

According to the newly approved constitutions, the president and vice president(s) of GMCCA should be elected on the general meeting of the association members while other executives of the association will be nominated by the elected president. Prof. Buquan Miao was elected as the president of GMCCA, Prof. Chungchi Wen and Mr. Deshuang Man elected as vice presidents of GMCCA. This general meeting completed the transition of the only Chinese association in GMA from MCFA to GMCCA.