1. The Chairman shall declare the opening and closing of each meeting and have overall control of the proceedings.
2. The Chairman shall direct the discussion, accord the right to speak, put questions to the vote and announce decisions.
3. At the beginning of each meeting, the Chairman shall seek approval of the minutes of the last meeting and then approval of the agenda for the current meeting.
4. Any point of order raised during the meeting by a voting member shall take precedence over all other matters. The Chairman’s ruling on a point of order shall stand unless over-ruled by a majority of those present and voting.
5. Proposals and amendments shall be written in an agenda and distributed to all voting members in advance of the meeting. However the Chairman may exceptionally, at his or her discretion, permit the discussion of proposals and amendments when they are not in writing.
6. Each active member in good standing present at the meeting shall have one vote, except that the Chairman shall vote only in the event of a tie as the tiebreaking voter.
7. Proposals shall be considered as adopted by a majority in favour of one vote, except proposals involving a change in the bylaws which shall require a two-thirds majority. Members that abstain from voting shall be considered as not voting.
8. Voting shall be by a show of hands, unless the meeting decides that the voting on any particular item should be by secret ballot.
9. If there are proposals on the same subject the meeting, unless it decides otherwise, shall vote on the proposals in the order in which they were submitted. The meeting may decide, after each vote, whether or not to vote on the next proposal.
10. When any amendments to a proposal are moved, they shall be voted on before the proposal in the order they were submitted. When one amendment necessarily implies the rejection of an earlier one it shall not be put to the vote.
Glossary
abstain: To refuse to vote either for or against a motion, which any member is entitled to do.
point of order: A question raised with respect to any departure from the rules of order or standing orders either in debate or in the conduct of the meeting.
standing order: A rule adopted by the meeting to regulate its proceedings which remains in effect until altered or repealed.