Game Changer: OCA Vice-President takes brave stand; demands General Meeting

Lots of developments today in the battle between the OCA and the curlers of Ontario.

To recap: A group of zone reps petitioned the OCA to have a Special General Meeting. Under the by-laws of the association, this group met all the demands of the constitution but president Baby Doc Ian McGillis, in a one-sentence response, said the petition was not in compliance with the Corporations Act and therefore was refused.

The group didn’t get any indication as to why its request was refused, just that it was. So left to guess, it re-grouped and will re-submit the petition, following the letter of the Corporations Act.

However in the meantime, a white knight has arrived. Dale Curtis, who is the vice-president and president-elect of the OCA has submitted a request for a meeting. Under the OCA by-laws, the vice-president has invoked section 48, the right to request such a meeting.

Here’s section 48: General Meeting. Other meeting of the members may be convened by order of the President or a Vice-President or by the Board at any date and time and at any place within Ontario or, in the absence of such determination, at the place where the head office of the Association is located. The Board shall call a general meeting of members on written requisition of not less than one-tenth of the voting members.

Curtis has seen that the current situation has gone on long enough, that the current path of delaying, not communicating and treating members with contempt can’t continue.

In a letter to McGillis that was circulated to voting members (and passed on to me oh, about 25 times!),  she stated that her own ethics and values demanded that she take a stand for what she believes in and what she believes is best for curling in Ontario. She has called the meeting for Sunday, April 27, location to be determined.

This is clearly a game changer. The solidarity of the board has cracked and the ball – or stone – is now firmly in the hands of McGillis and his co-hort Mr. Bakes. If they balk at this request, then any last shred of credibility they may have had will go right out the window.

It's a brave move by Curtis, but one that I think will be met with great support by the curlers of Ontario. 

Remember (and this is obviously what led Curtis to make her move): This board has refused to answer questions; they’ve refused to communicate with the voting body; they’ve refused to respond to the curlers of Ontario; they’ve had the association under sanctions; they’ve pushed the association to the brink of suspension; they’ve used technicalities to avoid meeting with the membership. THEY DAMN WELL WON’T RESPOND TO THE CURLERS OF ONTARIO.

Kudos to Curtis; I applaud her. You wonder if there are any other directors on that board who will now come forward and join the cause. Do you think there are any more out there with any cajones?

Somehow the current board (minus Curtis) has lost the concept of what they’re supposed to do. They are to represent the curlers in Ontario. Perhaps there is a good reason for what they’ve done but without any sort of communication – remember, the zone reps were kept in the dark for more than three months! – no one knows what’s going on. The more they asked, the more the board clammed up.

If this gets turned down then I think Ontario curlers can move past these folks, establish a new association and petition the CCA for representation. Clubs should pay their dues to the new association and just throw these stubborn fools to the curb.