NANAIMO: BC Conservative delegates have approved a number of amendments to the party constitution.
Delegates first approved an amendment to Article 8.03, which deals with who gets to vote as a delegate at the AGM. Now, those who hope to do so will have to be elected by members in their particular riding.
Leader John Rustad said it was important to give people a voice because "it's the grassroots members of the party who initially built this party."
Delegates then approved an amendment to Article 3.05, which had given board members four-year terms.
Rustad said he initially supported that length because it would allow directors to serve through until after the next election, however he acknowledged that after listening to those within the party, perhaps it was too long.
"We can't be doing this every year," he said in response to suggestions that board members should be up for re-election annually, noting that hosting an annual general meeting costs an "awful lot for a small party when we need to use all the funding available to take down the NDP."
Next up on the agenda was Article 4.05, which deals with the duties of the secretary. An amendment was approved to add an additional task, "to provide by email by regular or by fax the minutes of all board meetings, the AGM and/or SGM, and any action required to each riding association president and secretary within 30 days of any such meeting."
Delegates then considered an omnibus approval of the new constitution, with many arguing for and against the move.
Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman said the party should go for it in order to have a province-wide standard, and make any necessary changes in the coming months. He suggested the party risked falling victim to "paralyzation through analyzation."
Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew echoed his sentiments, arguing that "the NDP will not wait for us to sort our sh*t out."
On the other side of the debate, former Victoria-Beacon Hill candidate and current riding president Tim Thielmann argued that delegates hadn't been given enough time to adequately go over the proposed constitution, suggesting it would be best to wait until the next AGM in the fall, which Rustad said may be held online.
More than the required two-thirds of delegates approved, and the omnibus approval was passed.