ELECTION BIOS

To make it easy to find and navigate, below is the list of candidates in the election. Each name will be clickable to view their bio, if one has been provided. Good luck to all candidates!

President

Brandi Kehoe

Paul Cadiente

 

Trustee

Carolyn Layfield

Debbie Churchill

Lynne Belonoha

 

Regional Vice-President, Region 1 (BC)

Connie Taylor

Steve Romanin

 

Regional Vice-President, Region 5A (Ontario)

Angela Coleman

Kristin Gibson

Sadie Harper

 

Regional Vice-President, Region 7 (Maritimes)

Amanda Atherton

Denise Breau

 

Regional Vice-President, Region 8 (Atlantic)

Clarissa Harris

Jessica Scott

 

List of Nominees and Acclaimations

List of Nominees and Acclaimation
The nomination period for the upcoming elections is now closed.  Thank you to all who participated in the process. 

The following is a list of the nominees that have been acclaimed.

TREASURER
Karri Patterson – Acclaimed

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 2 – Alberta
Susan Kirchner – Acclaimed

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 3 – Saskatchewan
Crystal Forman – Acclaimed

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 4 – Manitoba
Pam Nowosad-Federowich – Acclaimed

The following positions received multiple nominations and an election will take place. 

PRESIDENT
*Brandi Kehoe
*Paul Cadiente


TRUSTEE, 3 YEAR
*Carolyn Layfield
*Debbie Churchill
*Lynne Belonoha


REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 1 – BC
*Connie Taylor
*Steve Romanin

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 5A – Ontario
*Angela Coleman
*Kristin Gibson
*Sadie Harper

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 5B – Ontario
*Daniel Greco
*Olivia Kirby

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 7 – Maritimes
*Amanda Atherton
*Denise Breau

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 8 – Atlantic
*Clarissa Harris
*Jessica Scott



Thank you to everyone who participated in the election process.  

Reminder that elections will be held from November 21-27, 2023 for those positions where elections are to be held.  

ELECTION CALL – October 2023

Between November 21-27, 2023 members will elect 2 table officers, and 11 RVP’s (2-year term) and 1 trustee (3-year term).
 
Election for Table Officer Positions:
President
Treasurer 

Election for Trustee Position:
Trustee 

Elected by a vote of the membership in all regions.
 
Election for Regional Vice-President Positions:
BC Region
Alberta Region
Saskatchewan Region
Manitoba Region
Ontario Region 5A
Ontario Region 5B
National Office Region 6A
National Office Region 6B
National Office Region 6C
Maritimes Region
Atlantic Region 
Elected by a vote of the membership in their respective region.
 
Nominations will open October 31, 2023 and must be submitted to the Returning Officer by 4:00 p.m. EST on November 14, 2023; the day nominations close.
 
To be eligible for a nomination and election, a member must be in continuous good standing for twelve (12) consecutive months prior to date of nomination.
 
Your participation as a candidate or as an informed voter in Union elections is crucial because those you elect will help administer the affairs of the Union.
 
No nomination shall be accepted unless the member nominating has signed the nomination form and the member nominated has indicated on the form, or by other means, their willingness to stand for office.
 
Nominations must be sent in during the nomination period.  Any nominations received before or after the nomination period will not be accepted. 
 
A complete list of candidates for office will be posted on the Local Union website on November 15, 2023
 
After the closing of nominations all duly nominated candidates will be extended an opportunity to have a maximum of one (1) article included in the electronic voting system and posted on the Local Union website/social media. The article can include an active link to a website.
 
Kristen Bowman will serve as Returning Officer during the election. Voting will be conducted using electronic voting over seven days, November 21-27, 2023.
 
Personal email addresses should be received by the Returning Officer, Kristen Bowman via your RVP and no later than November 7, 2023, to ensure receipt of ballots. If you are unsure if we have your correct email on file, please reach out to your RVP to confirm.

In solidarity,
 
Brandi Kehoe
President, COPE Local 491
Campaign Rules
 
Campaigning cannot occur during work time.
 
Use of the Employer’s Teams chat or email to
circulate election material is not permitted.
 
Candidates are asked to always conduct themselves with dignity.
 
Any behaviour or material that undermines
the dignity or self-esteem of any individual
or creates an intimidating, hostile or
offensive environment will not be tolerated.
 
Each duly nominated candidate may submit a maximum of one (1) article (PDF) to be published on the Local Union Website and included in the electronic voting system. 
 
Website posting of articles begin November 15, 2023.
 
Kristen Bowman
Returning Officer, COPE Local 491

 
DATES TO REMEMBER
 
October 30, 2023
Election Call 

November 7, 2023
Personal email address deadline 

October 31, 2023
Nominations open 

November 14, 2023 4:00 p.m. EST
Nominations Close 

November 15, 2023
Complete list of candidates will be posted on the Union’s Website
Website posting of articles begin 

November 21-27, 2023
**VOTE**

List of Nominees and Acclaimation

The nomination period for the upcoming elections is now closed.  Thank you to all who participated in the process. 

The following is a list of the nominees that have been acclaimed.

NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT
Mia Warwick – Acclaimed

EDUCATION/COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
Rachel Roberts – Acclaimed

The following positions received nominations and an election will take place. 

SECRETARY
*Alex Hernandez
*Theresa Walkowski


TRUSTEE, 3 YEAR
*Sonia Argatoff
*Marie Hagerman


REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, Region 2 (AB)
*Melody Voykin
*Lise Bettac


The following position received no nominations.  

REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT – Region 7 (Maritimes)

Thank you again to all who participated in this process.  The Elections will take place December 5-11, 2022. 
 

Election Call October 2022

Between December 5 to 11, 2022 members will elect three (3) table officers, two (2) RVPs and one (1) trustee in accordance with the COPE 491 Bylaws.

Table Officer Positions:
National Vice-President
Secretary
Communications/Education Officer

Trustee Position:
Trustee 3-year term

Elected by a vote of the membership in all regions

Regional Vice-President Positions (By-Election):
Region 2 – Alberta
Region 7 – Maritimes

Elected by a vote of the membership in their respective region

Nominations will open October 31, 2022 and must be submitted to the Returning Officer by 4:00 p.m. EST on November 14, 2022; the day nominations close.

To be eligible for a nomination and election, a member must be in continuous good standing for twelve (12) consecutive months prior to date of nomination.

No nomination shall be accepted unless the member nominating has signed the nomination form and the member nominated has indicated on the form, or by other means, their willingness to stand for office. Nominations must be sent in during the nomination period.  Any nominations received before or after the nomination period will not be accepted. 
 
A complete list of candidates for office will be posted on the Local Union website on November 15, 2022.
 
After the closing of nominations all duly nominated candidates will be extended an opportunity to have a maximum of one (1) article included in the electronic voting system and posted on the Local Union website. The article may reference candidate websites but shall not contain any active links to external websites.
 
Mary Elizabeth Archer will serve as Returning Officer during the election. Voting will be conducted using electronic voting over seven days, December 5 to 11, 2022.
 
Your participation as a candidate or as an informed voter in Union elections is crucial because those you elect will help administer the affairs of the Union.
 
Personal email addresses should be received by the Returning Officer, Mary Elizabeth Archer via your RVP and no later than October 31, 2022, to ensure receipt of ballots.
 
In solidarity,
 
Brandi Kehoe
President, COPE Local 491

Campaign Rules
 
Campaigning cannot occur during work time.
 
Use of the Employer’s voice mail or email to
circulate election material is not permitted.
 
Candidates are asked to always conduct themselves with dignity.
 
Any behaviour or material that undermines
the dignity or self-esteem of any individual
or creates an intimidating, hostile or
offensive environment will not be tolerated.
 
Each duly nominated candidate may submit a maximum of one (1) article (PDF) to be published on the Local Union Website and included in the electronic voting system. 
 
Website posting of articles begin November 15, 2022.
 
Mary Elizabeth Archer
Returning Officer, COPE Local 491

DATES TO REMEMBER

October 17, 2022
Election Call 

October 31, 2022
Personal email address deadline 

October 31, 2022
Nominations open 

November 14, 2022 4:00 p.m. EST
Nominations Close 

November 15, 2022
Complete list of candidates will be posted on the Union’s Website
Website posting of articles begin 

December 5-11, 2022
**VOTE**

Workload Review

Dear COPE 491 members, 
 
Please see the attached survey relating to Article 25.04 Workload Review that was recently bargained into our collective agreement. This project will begin this fall and will include collaborations between our Local, the Employer and CSU. 
 
Only answer the survey questions that pertain to you. If a question does not relate to your job, office or department please keep it blank. 
 
This data is being collected to analyze our work, but also to focus on how our work has changed over the past several years because of higher demand in some departments/regions, technology, the nature of the reps’ work as it relates to our support, and also as a result of the pandemic. It is also to see where there is need for added support, or training in certain departments or regions. 
 
I know some of you in the National Office region have already filled out a survey similar to this one. If you have and you do not have anything further to add, please know I still have those surveys and I will be using them for this project. If you would like to redo the survey, you are welcome to. 
 
If there is something related to your workload, but the question has not been posed in this survey, please feel free to add that information into the comments section at the end of the survey. 
 
All completed surveys can be sent to me, Brandi Kehoe (bkehoe.cope491@gmail.com). Please have them in by October 26th 2022. 
 
Thank you and In Solidarity, 
 
Brandi Kehoe (she/her)
President 
COPE 491

Retro Pay

COPE has been advised that the retroactive pay should be paid to members with the pay statement on September 8, 2022.

If there is any further information to share, we will let you know.

In Solidarity

Estoppel Article 15.02c

Our Employer served the Union an Estoppel notice regarding Article 15.02 (c).  

The Union would like to remind all members they should be making efforts to book medical appointments outside of working hours if possible.  All standing appointments during work time may start to be denied unless there is proof it is the only means possible due to factors such as provider hours, treatment availability etc. 

If you encounter any issues please contact your RVP.  

Ratification Vote Results

The election for the ratification vote is now over.  We have the results. 

The MOS has been ratified by COPE491 members. 

Thank you to all of those who took the time to vote. 
        Poll Result COPE491 – Ratification VoteReport date: Wednesday 29 June 2022 00:00 EDT
 Are you in favour of accepting the negotiated settlement?
Poll ID: 174879
As at Poll close: Tuesday 28 June 2022 23:59 EDT
Number of voters: 200 · Group size: 248 · Percentage voted: 80.65
Vote counting method: V1 FPTP (first-past-the-post) 
Ranked by votes RankCandidate IDCandidateVotes%116148435Yes19296.00216148436No84.00