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Meet The Candidates

September 30, 2020

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Recently ShowScene contacted all CKC Director candidates, sending them the same 5 questions. At time of publication responses were received from 23 of the 25 candidates, this page will be updated should the remaining candidates submit their answers.

Your Candidates:

Zone 1 – Newfoundland & Labrador, & Nova Scotia
Frank MacArthur
Mary Spinelli

Zone 2 – Prince Edward Island & New Brunswick
Paul Oslach

Zone 3 – Quebec
Denis Gros-Louis
Dominique Firetto

Zone 4 – Ontario North
Richard Paquette
Kim Ramey-Leblanc

Zone 5 – Ontario East
Thomas C. Curley
Alistair Sutherland

Zone 6 – Ontario West
Michael A. Gelinas
Peter Scott

Zone 7 – Ontario Central
Heather Brennan
Peter Laventhall
Marc Ralsky

Zone 8 – Manitoba
Corinne Walker

Zone 9 – Saskatchewan
David Gilmour

Zone 10 – Alberta, North West Territories & Nunavut
Lee Anne Bateman
Della Kyncl
Boyd McIntyre
Shawn Nichols

Zone 11 – BC Southwest
Tempest Deptuch
Kim Hamel
Grant Townsend

Zone 12 – BC Interior & Yukon
Honey Glendinning
Terill Udenberg

Want to skip ahead? Click on the zone below to see candidates responses.

Zone 1
Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador

Frank MacArthur
steedrider@hotmail.com

Question #1: The CKC is currently under considerable organizational strain. Given the financial impacts of the new IT system as well as the blocked revenue stream from Shows and Trials due to the pandemic, what are your priorities should you be on the 2021 Board?

FM: The first priority of the Board would be to ensure the IT system is working and it supports members in communication. “Covid,” asks us to think outside the box in rethinking how to achieve the mission of Canada’s Kennel Club. Clubs need to figure out ways to hold events that will generate a financial stream, and still meet Canada’s Covid guidelines. As members and non-members see proper guidelines in place, I am confident the membership will be maintained or hopefully increased.

Question #2: The current lease will expire in the near future and is a significant component of the budget. What is your vision with respect to changes that should take place within the organization to reduce this overhead cost, and what impact do you see this would have on the budget as well as the future leasing plans?

FM: I think we need to consider downsizing the CKC administration structure and how they conduct business. The pandemic has forced many organizations to conduct their business online via Zoom or other online platforms. The Board needs to discuss the most cost effective and transparent mode of conducting business. Having the current lease up for renewal gives us the perfect opportunity to review the pros and cons of the present set up. Doing a SWOT analysis, (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) enables Board members to make decisions on using their strengths to minimize their weaknesses and using opportunities to remove the threats. With an increase in communication, support and acknowledgement of members, we could see an increase in membership and dues.

Question #3: Could you provide your thoughts on governance as it relates to the non-profit sector, and changes that you feel would benefit this organization? How would you bring forward these changes? The CKC is a not-for-profit organization. It is composed of an elected Board, an Executive Director and staff as well as a national membership. With this in mind, would you provide your thoughts on the structure and interrelationships supporting the current organization, and any changes you feel are necessary for optimal functioning.

FM: Governance of a non-profit organization should be built upon a strategic plan inclusive of a common mission. This mission is the platform that formulates the goals, actions and indicators of success. Every member should have the strategic plan available to them. This ensures that CKC has a plan, a Board to assist in carrying out this plan and members who are offered opportunities to engage in the plan. A yearly review of the plan should take place with input from members. There are many platforms like google docs which can assist in quick and easy surveys of members across Canada. The CKC has to be the voice for all members. Diversity of voice, knowledge and input is paramount in developing trust, positive commitment and collaboration.

Question #4: The IT system roll out has had significant challenges that have impacted the ability of the organization to function in many areas. Please provide your thoughts on steps to be taken going forward, to resolve the issues and to address the disaffection of the CKC membership.

FM: First and foremost, a review of the IT system needs to take place. The Board needs to be open to hearing if the present system can work in support of the needs of the CKC membership. If it doesn’t, changes need to happen. There has been a huge paradigm shift in how members want to participate in the CKC. Technology has increased the need for a more open, efficient IT system. Technology is only grand when it works. If it doesn’t work members lose trust and motivation to remain connected to CKC. “Businesses, organizations, schools, marriages succeed or fail gradually then suddenly one conversation at a time.” Susan Scott/Fierce Conversations. We can no longer resist in having fierce conversation regarding the IT system and the wisdom to make the changes needed.

Question #5: What do you see as the future of the CKC – where should the organization be at the end of the upcoming Board term? At the end of this decade? How would you make this happen at the Board table?

FM: The future of the CKC should align with the CKC Mission Statement. The mission statement is the overreaching umbrella of the organization. Why do we exist? What words will call us to action? A mission statement is supported by the vision of the CKC. The CKC should be an organization that supports Breeders and advances the cause of purebred dogs in Canada. Every member who joins the CKC is made aware and asked to join in supporting the mission above. A plan supporting the mission statement needs to be developed, acted upon and communicated. Most often these plans are set up to have a three-year window. Board meetings are centered and focused on the goals, actions and indicators of success. I look forward to the opportunity in realizing a plan with the input of present Board members, new Board members and the CKC membership.

Mary Spinelli
css@ns.sympatico.ca

MS: The job of any board member is fiduciary. The dictionary definition of a fiduciary is, “… a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties. Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person”.
The loss of Shows and Trials due to Covid-19 has placed a serious strain on club revenues, the response to this stress should take a two-fold approach.
First is the responsibility to ensure expenditures remain prudent. Until the fiscal situation is stable, restraint should be the catchword of the incoming Board, both in determining current expenses and the undertaking of any new liabilities. Second will be focusing on developing new revenue streams, whatever form they may take.

MS: The current lease is a long-term contract, as was discussed during the CKC Quarterly Zoom meeting. Terminating the lease would be prohibitively costly. In addition, the current Board has mitigated the fiscal exposure of the CKC by sub-letting office space, resulting in a substantial cost reduction.This was facilitated by a reduction in on-site staffing and associated costs. Also, during said Board meeting a motion was approved by the board to form an ad hoc “Office Lease” committee.
I would like to see the suggestions put forth by that committee and at that time weigh the presented options. I suspect the committee will focus on new technologies that have become mainstream in the past seven months. Will it be possible to relocate more staff to an off-site location, further reducing the footprint of the Club’s offices? Do all off-site staff members need to be located in one province, and subsequently, one time zone? Topics for discussion.

MS: The Board is responsible for the continuance of the Club’s mission and the implementation of the Strategic Plan. It is paramount that the fiscal health of the Club is sound. Since the Board is elected by and accountable to the membership, the members need to be part of the process within the confines of the Board’s ability to function. At all times there needs to be transparency to the membership as well. I would be very interested in seeing if it’s possible to continue the Zoom meetings or at least allow the membership to observe the Board Meeting in real time. I certainly found it beneficial.

MS: After listening to Andrew McAllister, the Club’s e-Business Manager at the Quarterly Board meeting, I feel I have a firmer understanding of the complexity of the situation.
Never think this was an avoidable event. In truth it is the best of a very, very bad situation that offered only a limited number of options.
Suppose you are waiting for your custom-built Ferrari to be delivered. They are building it as you read this. You don’t realize it, but tomorrow the transmission in your current vehicle is going to only go forward in first gear and not go in reverse at all. That is a rough analogy of the IT predicament. Your options are to either, 1) do without a vehicle entirely, or 2) try to coax your old vehicle a few more miles, all the while working feverishly with Ferrari to get your new vehicle on the road.
That’s rather simplistic. I believe that only time will resolve this issue. I know that there are many people experiencing problems and they are frustrated with this turn of events. When something goes wrong and becomes a manual process it slows everything down. It creates opportunity for errors. However, it beats walking.
We can work within the limitations of a current platform while it is still being built. Or, we can revert back to the old manual system. That would entail the hiring and training of many, many new employees. As a club we don’t have the resources, either financial or spatially to accommodate this scenario.
Perhaps the situation could be better explained to the membership. Our members are not fool’s and they can certainly understand an explanation of where we are now, how we arrived here and where we are going.

MS: We need to be mindful of the fact that each Board member is a single component of a 12- member entity, which must act in harmony with the larger whole. The Board is not designed to be a Top-Down Management system.
I’m not a fortune teller so I can only wax on about my future aspirations for our Club.
I would like to see the Club as the authoritative voice for all issues pertaining to dogs. This will require many things to happen. We need to increase our ranks. Memberships have been dropping in recent years, due to many factors. Only by recouping lapsed members and appealing to new members we will become a stronger club, with a stronger voice.
I remember my student days at the University of Guelph where I had the opportunity to attend the National Show held at the old Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. Resurrecting something like that, with all the new disciplines in which we now compete would be a positive endeavour.
Enticing new dog owners into full or associate memberships by providing them with valuable resources and information would certainly be advantageous. This increase in membership would simultaneously increase revenue as well.
At all times the ability to present information in a cogent manner is absolutely mandatory. Both to the Board itself and to the members of the Zone you represent.

Zone 2
Prince Edward Island & New Brunswick

Paul Oslach
No response received

Zone 3
Quebec

Dominiquue Firetto
sheytans.beauty@gmail.com

DF: Essentiellement, il m’apparaît que trois choses sont prioritaires et d’importance pour les membres du Québec : d’une part, il faut réduire les dépenses inutiles. Cela passe à mon avis par le fait d’avoir un bureau satellite au Québec et une personne disponible sur place pour répondre au besoin des membres. D’autre part, il faut attirer davantage de membres lors des événements canins afin d’augmenter la participation. Finalement, il devient impératif de rechercher des sources de financement supplémentaires et que le CCC collabore avec les organismes gouvernementaux en matière de chiens dangereux.
Le bon voisin canin
En effet, la réglementation sur les chiens dangereux est un sujet important au Québec, mais on oublie que le meilleur moyen d’éviter les morsures, c’est de faire de la prévention.
Le CCC a un programme qui certifie que les chiens sont de «Bons voisins canins». Pour obtenir ce titre, le CCC encourage les propriétaires à aller suivre des cours avec leurs nouveaux compagnons.
Comme futur directeur du CCC, je propose de créer des liens avec l’Union des municipalités du Québec afin d’encourager les villes à offrir un rabais sur l’enregistrement et les licences canines aux propriétaires dont les chiens ont obtenu le titre de Bon voisin canin. Il n’y a que des avantages: les propriétaires sont sensibilisés au langage canin et responsabilisés, les municipalités accueillent sur leur territoire des chiens éduqués et cela rejoint l’une des missions du CCC qui est de faire la promotion de chien de race comme compagnon et rehausser son rôle comme membre à part entière de la communauté.
On adopte environ 100 000 chiots par année au Québec. Les droits pour obtenir la certification du Bon voisin canin coutent 10$ au propriétaire du chien. Si on fait le calcul, c’est 1 000 000$ de revenus pour le CCC annuellement. Ce n’est pas négligeable!
Augmenter la participation aux événements canins
Par ailleurs, il est important de valoriser l’élevage canadien. À mon avis, cela passe par le fait de mettre en place le prix du «Meilleur chien de l’exposition élevé par l’exposant». Il pourrait également avoir une Coupe des éleveurs où on décerne, une base annuelle, le prix de l’éleveur de l’année. Un peu comme il se fait en Europe avec les lors d’élevage ou encore les classes Brood Bitch et Stud Dog en spécialité. Ça mettrait en valeur le travail des éleveurs.
Par ailleurs, il ne devrait pas y avoir d’expositions à inscriptions limitées lorsqu’il s’agit d’événements en périphérie des grands centres comme Québec et Montréal. Il pourrait aussi y avoir des incitatifs à inscrire plus d’un chien en réduisant les frais d’inscription pour un deuxième et troisième chien. Des juges « on permit » devraient également être engagés, ce qui réduirait les coûts des dépenses.
La réduction des dépenses inutiles
À mon avis, cela commence par la réduction des coûts de loyer. Il faut 3) renoncer au bail dispendieux à Etobicoke (560 000$/an) pour faire l’acquisition d’un immeuble moins cher, mais qui représenterait un investissement en capital pour les membres. De plus, ceci permettrait également de décentraliser les services pour les ramener chez nous au Québec mais également plus près de l’ensemble des membres pour chacune des provinces. Une telle approche permettrait de dynamiser les régions et d’adapter les interventions du CCC en fonction de la réalité culturelle et linguistique du Québec.
Avoir au bureau au Québec cela signifie :

a) Avoir des services plus près de la population;
b) Avoir des services en français;
c) Avoir un centre où les représentants des Clubs et des associations peuvent se rencontrer et échanger;
d) Avoir un bureau où le directeur de la Zone 3 est disponible.

Ce serait également une belle opportunité́ pour former une véritable relève: un centre du CCC pourrait également permettre d’avoir une salle à disposition pour

a) offrir de la formation aux éleveurs;
b) permettre la tenue de conférences;
c) permettre les échanges entre éleveurs;
d) offrir une formation aux jeunes sur ce que cela représente avoir un chien, la prévention des morsures, etc.;
e) permettre la mise en place de comités locaux sur des sujets qui sont propres au Québec telles les problématiques qui concernent la règlementation municipale en termes de garde de chiens, la législation sur les chiens dangereux, la certification des éleveurs, le contrôle animalier inefficace, etc.

Curieusement, avoir un bureau régional ramène le CCC dans la modernité : en effet, avec le télétravail et la visioconférence, il n’est plus possible, ni justifiable, que toutes les opérations soient centralisées et coupées de leurs membres.
Essentially, it seems to me that three things are of importance and a priority to Quebec members: on the one hand, unnecessary expenses must be reduced. In my opinion, this means having a satellite office in Quebec and a person available on site to respond to the needs of all members. On the other hand, it is necessary to attract more members at dog events in order to increase participation. Finally, it becomes imperative to seek additional sources of funding and for the CKC to collaborate with government agencies in matters of dangerous dogs.

The Good Canine Neighbour:
The regulation of dangerous dog’s is an important subject in Quebec. But, we forget that the best way to avoid dog aggression is prevention.
The CKC has a program that certifies that dog’s are “Good Canine Neighbours”. To obtain this title, the CKC encourages owners to take classes with their new companions.
As the future director of the CKC, I propose to work closely with the Union des municipalités du Québec to encourage municipalities to offer a discount on dog registration and licences to owners whose dogs have obtained the title of “Good Canine Neighbour”.
There are only benefits to this: Owners are made responsible, municipalities welcome trained dogs on their territory and this is in line with one of the missions of the CKC, which is to promote purebred dogs as companions and enhance their role as full members of the community.
We adopt nearly 100,000 puppies per year in Quebec. The fee to obtain the Good Canine Neighbour title is $10 to the dog owner. If you do the math, that’s $1,000,000 in revenue for the CKC annually.
Increase participation in dog events:
At the same time, it is important to value Canadian breeding. In my opinion this can be done through the implementation of the “Best in Show Bred by Exhibitor” award. There could also be a Breeders’ Cup where a “Breeder of the Year” award is given on an annual basis.
This is done in Europe (Breeder’s Cup) and its like the “Brood Bitch” and “Stud Dog” classes in a Speciality. I sincerely believe that it is important to highlight the work of the Canadian breeders.
Also, there should not be limited entries shows when it comes to events on the outskirts of major centers like Quebec City and Montreal. There could also be incentives to register more than one dog by reducing entry fees for a second and third dog. On-permit judges should also be hired, which would reduce expense costs.
Reducing Unnecessary Expensess:
In my opinion, it starts with reducing the lease costs. The CKC should give up the expensive lease in Etobicoke ($560,000/year) to purchase a building that is less expensive and that would represent a capital investment for members. Moreover, this would also allow us to decentralize services and to bring them back to Quebec or closer to all CKC members in each of the provinces. Such an approach would make it possible to revitalize the regions and adapt the CKC’s interventions to the cultural and linguistic reality of Quebec.

Having an office in Quebec means :

a) Having services closer to the population;
b) Receiving services in French;
c) Having a center where representatives of Clubs and associations can meet and exchange ideas;
d) Having an office where the Zone 3 Director is available.

It would also be a nice opportunity to educate new breeders: a CKC Center could also provide a classroom for :

a) The training of breeders;
b) Conferences
c) The exchange of information among breeders;
d) The training to youth on what it means to have a dog, aggressive behaviour prevention, etc..
e) Allowing local committees on subjects that are specific to Quebec, such as Municipal regulations on the number of dogs per households, legislation on dangerous dogs, certification of breeders, ineffective animal control, etc.

Curiously, having a regional office brings the CKC back into modernity: indeed, with telework and videoconferencing, it is no longer possible, nor justifiable, that all operations are centralized in the region of Greater Toronto.

DF: Le CCC a un contrat de location-exploitation pour ses bureaux, son équipement et ses services externes, ce qui représente une dépense d’environ 560 000 $ par année (selon les états financiers de 2019).
À mon avis, il est important de voir comment la dépense que représente le bail du CCC à Etobicoke peut être réduite.
Par exemple, de nombreux clubs canins du monde entier ont choisi d’acheter un immeuble plutôt que de louer un espace. Il s’agit d’un investissement judicieux au profit des membres. Aujourd’hui, la pandémie de COVID nous a appris à travailler autrement, notamment en télétravail. Il est impératif de revoir les besoins du CCC en termes d’espace et d’organisation du travail. En effet, il pourrait être intéressant de repenser la façon de travailler : si certains employés travaillent à domicile quelques jours par semaine, il faut explorer la possibilité de partager les bureaux en alternance. Ceci présenterait l’avantage de ne plus avoir besoin d’un local aussi grand.
Par ailleurs, il faut véritablement se poser la question sur la pertinence de conserver le siège social du CCC dans un grand centre comme Toronto. Un local plus près de la région d’Ottawa ou même de Montréal permettrait d’économiser des sommes substantielles sur le loyer tout en permettant le recrutement de personnel bilingue. Il serait également intéressant d’explorer la possibilité que d’autres régions accueillent le siège social du CCC ou des bureaux satellites, car la pandémie actuelle nous a appris qu’il est de moins en moins nécessaire que l’ensemble des services soient regroupés tous au même endroit.
Je sais que certains seront préoccupés par les coûts impliquant un déménagement – relocalisation des employés, modifications à l’en-tête de papeterie, déménagement physique des bureaux, de l’équipement, etc. Il est vrai qu’un tel déménagement engendre des coûts importants dans l’immédiat, mais ce qu’il faut vraiment mesurer c’est l’économie qui peut en découler à long terme. Il y a donc un véritable exercice comptable à faire et les « pour et contre » doivent être sous pesés. Finalement, une véritable réflexion doit s’amorcer afin d’assurer la pérennité financière du CCC.

The CKC has an operating lease for its offices, equipment and outside services which represents an approximate expenditure of $560,000 per year (as per the 2019 Financial Report). In my opinion, it is important to see how the expense represented by the CKC’s lease in Etobicoke can be reduced.
For example, many Kennel Clubs around the world have chosen to purchase a building rather than lease space. This is a smart investment for the benefit of the members.
Today, the COVID pandemic has taught us to work differently, especially through teleworking. It is imperative to review the CKC’s needs in terms of space and work organization. Indeed, it could be interesting to rethink the way we work: if some employees work from home a few days a week, perhaps it would be possible to share offices on a rotating basis. This would have the advantage of not needing such a large office space.
On the other hand, there is a real question as to whether or not it makes sense to keep the CKC head office in a large center like Toronto. A location closer to the Ottawa area or even Montreal would save substantial amounts of money on rent while allowing for the recruitment of bilingual staff. It would also be interesting to explore the possibility of other regions hosting the CKC’s head office or satellite offices, as the current pandemic has taught us that it is less and less necessary to have all services in one place.
I know that some will be concerned about the costs involved in moving – relocating employees, changes to the letterhead, physical relocation of offices, equipment, etc. – but I am confident that this will not be a problem. It’s true that there are significant immediate costs associated with such a move, but what really needs to be measured is the savings that can be realized in the long run. There is therefore a real accounting exercise to be done and the pros and cons must be weighed. However, a real reflection must begin to ensure the financial sustainability of CCC.

DF: Malheureusement, j’ai lu et entendu des commentaires de personnes qui croient que les candidats se lancent dans cette élection pour «placer» leurs chiens lors des expositions canines et influencer positivement les juges…J’ai également été témoin de l’incident lors de la rencontre du conseil d’administration du mois de juin où certains membres du conseil d’administration ont suspendu la réunion pour vérifier si les candidats retenus pour recevoir le titre de vétérinaire honoraire avaient effectivement payé leur cotisation au CCC et à défaut, leur donner le temps de le faire. Il aurait été préférable, à mon avis, de nommer la vétérinaire qui remplissait toutes les conditions afin d’obtenir cette nomination plutôt que de donner l’apparence qu’on suspendait le processus afin de favoriser certaines personnes.
Personnellement je me sens prêt à instaurer une politique de non-participation des directeurs aux expositions canines de leur région pendant la durée de leur mandat. C’est une question de transparence, d’intégrité et aussi…d’apparence. Même si les juges sont neutres et qu’on le sait, on ne veut pas donner l’impression qu’il y a favoritisme. Ceci passe également par un examen du devoir de réserve des juges et un code de conduite clair afin de préserver l’impartialité et la neutralité de ces derniers.
Par ailleurs, il faut à mon avis revoir les postes et la répartition des tâches des directeurs. Il faut également revoir le processus d’assignation des membres des différents comités du CCC pour éviter toute forme de népotisme. Il faut absolument revoir les canaux de communication pour assurer le maximum de transparence auprès des membres du CCC. Le fait que les séances du conseil d’administration soient désormais publiques et que les membres puissent y assister par visioconférence est une nette amélioration.
Finalement, il faut rappeler qu’un organisme à but lucratif mesure son efficacité en fonction des revenus et des profits qu’il génère chaque année. Dans les cas d’organismes à but non lucratif, on mesure son efficacité selon la qualité des services rendus. Il est donc impératif de prendre les mesures nécessaires pour que le principal objectif du CCC soit de revenir au niveau de service auquel les membres s’attendent.

Unfortunately, I have read and heard comments from people who believe that the candidates are running in this election to “place” their dogs at dog shows and positively influence the judges. I also witnessed the incident at the June Board of Directors’ meeting where some members of the board suspended the meeting in order to verify if the candidates selected to receive the title of Honorary Veterinarian had indeed paid their CKC membership fees and if not, to give them time to do so.
In my opinion, it would have been preferable to appoint the veterinarian who met all the requirements to receive this appointment rather than giving the appearance that the process was being suspended in order to favour certain individuals.
Personally, I feel ready to implement a policy of non-participation of directors in dog shows in their own zone for the duration of their mandate. It is a question of transparency, integrity and also…appearance. Even if the judges are neutral and we know it, we don’t want to give the impression of favoritism. This also requires a review of the duty of reserve of judges and give them a clear code of conduct to preserve their impartiality and neutrality.
In addition, in my view, the role, functions and the distribution of tasks among the Directors should be reviewed. There is also a need to review the process for assigning members to the various committees of the CKC to avoid any form of nepotism. It is imperative that the communication channels be reviewed to ensure maximum transparency for the CKC membership. It is a significant improvement that members are now able to attend Board meetings via videoconference.
Finally, it should be remembered that a for-profit organization measures its effectiveness by the revenues and profits it generates each year. In the case of a non-profit organization, its effectiveness is measured by the quality of services rendered. It is therefore imperative that steps be taken to ensure that CKC’s main objective is to return to the level of service expected by members.

DF: Il est primordial de savoir ce qui peut être fait dans le cas du système TI. La première étape, c’est de demander à des gens compétents et objectifs s’il est possible de corriger les failles et les lacunes du système ou si, au contraire, il est plus économique de mettre sur pieds un nouveau système TI. Selon les coûts que représentent un avis externe, il serait intéressant d’obtenir plus qu’un avis.
Selon l’option choisie (corriger les failles ou mettre en place un nouveau système), il sera important que le CCC lance un appel d’offres avec un cahier de charges bien élaboré. La démarche doit se faire avec un maximum de transparence afin d’informer les membres de l’avancement de la situation et des progrès.
Par ailleurs, tant que le problème n’est pas réglé, je crois qu’un employé du CCC parlant français pourrait se déplacer au Québec pendant une certaine période de temps et se rendre disponible pour les membres. Ainsi, en étant sur place avec le matériel nécessaire pour imprimer les certificats, on pourrait faire avancer les dossiers plus rapidement et en évitant les frustrations de nos membres québécois qui sont d’avis qu’ils ont de la difficulté à se faire servir rapidement et en français.

It is important to know what can be done in the case of the IT system. The first step is to ask knowledgeable and objective people if is possible to correct the flaws and shortcomings of the system or if it is more economical to set up a new IT system. Depending on the cost of the external advice, it may be worthwhile to get more than one advice.
Depending on the option chosen (fixing the existing IT system or implementing a new system), it will be important for the CKC to hold a call for tender with very rigorous specifications. The process should be as transparent as possible in order to keep members informed of progress and developments.
Furthermore, until the problem is resolved, I believe that a French-speaking CCC employee could travel to Quebec for a certain period of time and make him/herself available to the members. Being on site with the necessary equipment to print the certificates would allow for faster progress and avoid the frustrations of our Quebec members who feel that they are having difficulty getting services quickly and in French.

DF: En raison de la Covid 19 et des restrictions sur les événements, CKC a dû puiser dans certains de ses fonds de réserve. La gestion financière de ces derniers mois a permis au CKC de se maintenir en meilleure position que prévu, mais il reste du travail à faire. Le rétablissement d’un fonds de réserve solide au cours des deux prochaines années, une fois que les événements auront repris, sera essentiel pour le bien-être financier du CKC.
La poursuite de l’élaboration des règles d’éligibilité pour les groupes restants et leur approbation ultérieure par le ministère de l’Agriculture est un projet majeur qui est en cours depuis plusieurs années. Chaque règle d’éligibilité doit être élaborée par le comité des règles d’éligibilité en consultation avec les clubs nationaux. Une fois ce processus terminé, les règles d’éligibilité sont incluses dans le prochain référendum pour que les membres puissent voter. Une fois que l’approbation a eu lieu, elle est alors envoyée au Ministère de l’Agriculture pour approbation. Cette dernière étape est décourageante, car les délais pour finaliser les travaux ne sont pas arrimés avec ceux du Ministère de l’Agriculture. Malheureusement, les races listées sont parfois mises sur la glace pendant des années en attendant l’approbation finale et il n’est alors pas possible d’enregistrer à l’étranger des chiots tant que les races n’ont pas obtenu l’enregistrement complet et les pedigrees du CCC. Il est donc important de travailler en synergie avec le Ministère de l’Agriculture afin de faire avancer les choses.
Finalement, il est important de préparer une relève, tant chez les éleveurs que chez les juges. En effet, beaucoup de processus sont longs, complexes et font en sorte qu’il y a un désintérêt de la part des membres envers le CCC. Les enregistrements de chiens provenant de l’étranger en sont un bon exemple : souvent, pour les chiens qui doivent être vus par le comité d’examen, la procédure est longue. Il en va de même pour ceux qui souhaitent devenir juges, il serait bon de revoir le processus pour l’obtention des permis. Il est important également d’impliquer les jeunes éleveurs en les invitant à siéger aux différents comités du CCC. On pourrait donc avoir quelqu’un au CCC dont l’une des tâches consisterait à recevoir les propositions des jeunes et qui pourrait les diriger vers les différents comités. L’implication des jeunes au CCC est sans doute le meilleur moyen d’assurer sa pérennité.

Due to Covid 19 and the restrictions on events CKC has had to delve into some of its reserve funds. The financial management over the last months has held the CKC in better standing than originally predicted but must work remains to be done. Re-establishing a strong reserve fund over the next couple of years once events return will be essential for the financial well-being of the CKC.
The continuation of developing Rules of Eligibility for the remaining groups and subsequent approval by the Ministry of Agriculture is a major project that has been underway for several years. Each ROE must be developed by the ROE committee with consultation with the National Clubs. Once that process is completed then the ROE’s are included in the next Referendum for members to vote on. Once that approval has taken place it is then sent to the Ministry of Agriculture for approval. This final stage has been daunting as the timelines of completion does not align with the Ministry of Agriculture. Unfortunately, Miscellaneous breeds are caught up sometimes for years waiting for final approval, with their ability to apply for foreign registration for puppies produced is not possible until they have full CKC registration. It is therefore important to work in synergy with the Ministry of Agriculture in order to move things forward.
Finally, it is important to prepare the next generation of breeders and judges. Indeed, many of the processes are long, complex and result in a lack of interest in the CKC by the members. A good example of this is the registration of dogs from abroad: often, for dogs that must be seen by the review committee, the process is lengthy. The same is true for those who wish to become judges, it would be a good idea to review the licensing process. It is also important to involve young breeders by inviting them to sit on the various CKC committees. So we could have someone on the CKC whose job would be to receive proposals and applications from youth and who could direct them to the various committees. Involving youth in the CKC is probably the best way to ensure its sustainability.

Denis Gros Louis
napoleosaints@hotmail.com

DL: Les nouveaux membres du conseil d’administration devront rapidement établir ses priorités autour de la prestation de services aux membres et envers le système informatique. Je vais donc travailler à mobiliser le Conseil à se mobiliser sur des réalisations qui rencontrent les objectifs stratégiques établis mais surtout à trouver des solutions à court terme. Le conseil d’administration ne pourra pas tout régler en 6 mois. Il lui faudra définir son plan de travail pour les 3 ans de son mandat et mettre beaucoup d’emphase sur la qualité des communications aux membres. Il sera essentiel que le personnel et nos partenaires connaissent bien nos orientations, afin que les clubs de races et les organisateurs d’évènements puissent nous aider à atteindre nos objectifs.

The board will need to assess which priorities will be delayed in order to focus on client-services and completing the system upgrades. I will work with the board members to mobilize us around key priorities based on the strategic vision the new board agrees to. We can’t fix everything the first 6 months. The board will require discipline and a well-known 3 year-plan and communication strategies to explain the steps CKC staff will be accountable to. It will be important that the staff and our partners, breeds clubs and all canine disciplines organizers know our targets in order to rally their support and understanding.
We should also try finding relief funding from the government and or strike a committee to find new ways to generate revenues like estates donations or new membership status. One I hear about is the interest to instill a new family plan or a new category of membership for new pet owners.

Le conseil d’administration devra prendre le leadership de revoir les normes de services avec l’équipe de la direction et diriger des attentes claires, faire connaître le plan aux membres et ses échéanciers. L’équipe devrait avoir des cibles spécifiques connues, réalistes, mesurables, clairement aux services des utilisateurs des services et orientées vers des étapes claires dans le temps.
Il faut que le CCC soit plus proactif à soutenir les organisateurs d’événements comme l’agilité et l’obéissance afin que les éleveurs puissent profiter de ces titres pour la promotion de leur élevage. Ils ont besoin de plus de flexibilité pour gérer les événements.

DL: 3 options devraient être discutées par le conseil d’administration pour orienter les travaux du comité qui a reçu le mandat d’étudier cet enjeu.

Faire mieux dans plus petit, prenant pour acquis que le télétravail sera une option choisie par les employés. La réorganisation du travail sera un élément majeur et le Conseil devra se doter d’un plan de gestion du risque qui est plus moderne et centré sur le besoin des membres ; ou
déménager dans un nouveau local en prenant soin de bien analyser les coûts de relocalisation et les coûts associés aux frais de séparation pour les employés qui ne suivront pas. Il faudra que le comité analyse les coûts de formation des nouveaux employés et les risque de pertes de mémoires corporatives si la majorité des employés ne suivaient pas dans le nouveau local; ou 3) Acheter un local et contrôler les dépenses avec la possibilité de décentraliser les opérations d’enregistrement des résultats d’événements aux secrétaires d’exposition accrédités.

Review the situation with the board to assess whether the staff can or will follow to a new location? Assess other venues with criterion that make consensus around the table including access to fluent speakers in French or English; Status quo is the last option.

DL: Les membres du conseil d’administration devront s’asseoir avec le personnel et développer un plan complet pour regagner la confiance des membres envers le CCC et les services auxquels vous êtes en droit de vous attendre. Le plan devra cibler des gains à court terme afin que les éleveurs et leurs clients observent un vent de changement. Une partie des frais d’enregistrement pourraient aller à améliorer l’expérience-client des acheteurs. Ils pourraient recevoir un feuillet qui aide à être une famille d’accueil mieux préparer pour accompagner le développement de leur chiot. La trousse du « nouvel acheteur » pourrait être virtuelle. L’année suivant l’achat d’un chiot, nous pourrions développer un plan pour créer un statut familial qui viserait à informer les propriétaires de nouvelles tendances dans le développement des chiens, à coût modique mais qui aurait pour objectif de générer des revenus supplémentaires et créer un sentiment de fierté de posséder un chien de race pure. Je pense que tous les éleveurs qui ont un nom d’élevage devrait avoir automatiquement accès aux services « adhésion plus ».

The board and the staff must develop a comprehensive plan to regain trust towards the CKC that requires short-term gains to the members and real support to the new breeders. Part of the registration fees should be directed to sending new registered dog owners special “new puppy bulletin” and information kits (virtually). In turn, they should be solicited to adhere to a CKC family membership that would inform on how to be a proud responsible dog owner(s) of a pure-bred dogs that breeds clubs could prepare? I am thinking of having simple capsules of information pertaining to the dogs’ world, like info-letters (10 – 15 dollars per year). All breeders with a registered name will be automatically placed to “priority status”.

Le club s’est doté de plusieurs comités et conseils afin de gérer l’ensemble et la diversité des épreuves sportives canines afin de faire valoir, pour plusieurs, les traits génétiques que les fondateurs de certaines races voulaient faire ressortir. Par contre, le Club devrait avoir recours davantage à cette expertise dans sa mission de préserver l’intégrité des races qu’il reconnait. Le club pourrait aussi renforcer ses partenariats avec les vétérinaires et experts canins pour aider les éleveurs et leurs acheteurs à prioriser l’achat d’un chien de race pure.

There are countless standing committees and councils depicting the diversity of canine disciplines and breeds-specific traits. However, none that I see focus on the role of breeds’ specialists to help the CKC, the Board and the breeders against the raising interest of buyers to mixed-breeds. Experts and veterinarians must join the breeders to help educate about the benefits of purchasing a purebred dog.

DL: I attended the board meeting the day prior to the AGM. It appeared as though the system had been designed as a repository of transaction rather than a registration system deemed to fast-track the transactions. The section of the report that I would recommend the IT Steering Committee to review is the Quality Assurance steps that require staff validation at too many “check points”. It seems to slow down the processes? How many can be streamlined? Too many transactions are being entered manually by the staff like events’ results. Those results should be delegated to shows/events secretaries. Some told me how antique the process to report wins and events are paper-based and inefficient. These transactions do not affect the integrity of the registries of dogs and bitches recorded.

Il m’est essentiel que le processus de gestion des transactions soit revu pour s’assurer que les données essentielles qui sont gérées par le personnel de la Registraire soient au centre de la prestation de services. La direction générale a présenté son rapport d’étape au conseil d’administration et ils ont fait référence à la surcharge du personnel qui semble micro-gérer plusieurs étapes de la saisie de données qui devraient être automatisées en priorité afin de rétablir un service aux membres rapides. De plus, les secrétaires d’expositions ou d’événement devraient pouvoir entrer les résultats directement dans le système afin de gagner du temps et de permettre l’émission des titres dans les jours/semaines qui suivent un concours.

DL: The CKC will have regained its credibility and world-class status of prime purebred dog organizations. It will have fought and succeeded to process transactions in a timely manner and will have increased its membership because of the quality of services it provides. It will also have straightened the pressure from foreign countries with genetic issues in some lines by conducting systematic DNA testing to gain championship status for some breeds with genes that are deemed to be of a pure-bred according to the Canadian standards.

Le CCC reprendra un statut de leader dans le monde du chien pure-race quand il aura réussi à offrir des services aux membres qui seront rapides et efficaces, sans erreur. Il aura augmenté son nombre de membres et assurer la pérennité

Zone 4
Ontario North

Richard Paquette
wenrick@wenrick.ca

RP: The only silver lining of the CKC current situation is that our financial position is in good shape. The previous boards have been very fiscally prudent and currently there is a healthy surplus in excess of $2.5 million, whereas the forecasted loss for 2020 is in the $600,000 range. The major focus for the new board will be to gain the confidence of the membership after such a disastrous launch of the new IT system. Major damage has been done to the CKC brand not only in Canada but around the world.

RP: The current lease has always been an area of contention with members. This for me is a very important issue and planning needs to begin soon and be extensive and exhaustive to find the right solution to meet the needs of the Club and members. To that end I put forward the following motion at the recent CKC Board meeting to start the process which was approved.
MOTION: “THAT, the following be referred to the Legislation Committee: THAT, the CKC form an Ad Hoc Office Lease Renewal Committee with the following Terms of Reference:
The Office Lease Renewal Committee shall be a committee of five (5) members, one (1) of whom shall be the current Chairperson of the Board, one (1) of whom shall be a member of the CKC Board, one (1) of whom shall be the Chair of the Audit Committee and two (2) regular members.
The Committee shall be responsible for investigating and making a recommendation to the Board for a new lease for office space when the old lease expires in 2023.”
BACKGROUND:
The investigation should result in a recommendation for CKC head office accommodations that best suit our business requirements and needs. The Committee should examine the existing lease (pros & cons), including, but not limited to, considerations of location, size (potential library or museum), cost (maintenance, leasehold improvements, hidden charges) accessibility, parking for employees and visitors, internet connectivity, layout functionality (natural/artificial lighting, air quality, ventilation, noise, acoustics, ambience, pet friendly) as well as lease length and exit strategy. The Committee should also investigate a potential purchase, inventory existing assets including equipment/furniture/computers and future needs. Consultation with employees including key management will need to be undertaken if a change of location is recommended. Additionally, the Committee should look at a comprehensive plan for a partial work from home strategy that would encompass future hire of employees that live across the country with the ability to better service the needs of CKC members in various regions. I would anticipate this committee could be up and running in the New Year after the inaugural meeting of the new Board in January 2021. I would expect that the Executive Director would serve as the staff liaison.

RP: By definition “Nonprofit governance has a dual focus: achieving the organization’s social mission and the ensuring the organization is viable. Both responsibilities relate to fiduciary responsibility that a board of directors has with respect to the exercise of authority over the explicit actions the organization takes. Public trust and accountability is an essential aspect of organizational viability, so it achieves the social mission in a way that is respected by those whom the organization serves and the society in which it is located.” (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governance) Further, the Institute on Governance (IOG) asserts that good governance is assessed based on three key questions:

Who has a voice in making decisions?
How are decisions made?
Who is accountable?

It is obvious that the membership does not feel the current governance model serves the needs of the members and the Club. I have heard from many CKC members who raised issues about CKC board and staff lacking responsiveness, efficiency, accountability and transparency. My response to this feedback and to the many requests for assistance has been to remain available and open to CKC members, and to always work hard to answer their questions and to support them in resolving their challenges as quickly as possible, including with the new IT system. I have personally worked very hard to champion change while serving on the Board and as a member of the CKC Communications Committee. Members may be aware that the current Board and staff are listening to the members and have initiated more opportunities to be more transparent, holding regular Board meetings and the AGM on Zoom where members can participate. If elected I will continue to focus and build additional opportunities to represent not only the members in my zone, but all members as I have done in the past.

RP: I have touched on this subject in my answers above and I want to congratulate those members who have voiced their concerns and offered some realistic solutions to our challenges. In response, I urge members to be more involved. Read the communiques from CKC, attend regular board meetings and continue to provide your constructive feedback to support your Club. I am an optimist and I am thrilled with the recent swell in CKC member engagement—we can turn that engagement into solutions and action. As a new board, let’s not let that interest fade, let’s encourage new and more members to become involved and build the Club into what the members and board envision it should be.

RP: I have been accused by many of ‘wearing rose colored glasses’ and I will respectfully and proudly own that. I am optimistic for the future and have the passion to continue to serve our members and CKC to reach our Club’s fullest potential. A few key points summarize my position on CKC’s future:
The stabilization of the new IT system and additional enhanced features, such as timely show and performance results, is a realistic goal. I fully agree that the launch has not gone as anyone had planned, however, we are turning this around and will continue to focus and build on our progress.
Transparency and clear communication with the membership is not only important, but the only acceptable goal of any current or future management team or board. I will continue to work on supporting improvements in this critical area through my roles on both the Board and Communications Committee.
Junior handlers are essential to the future of the Fancy and CKC—dog sport, breeding, purebred dogs and everything that CKC encompasses. I am committed to supporting Junior Handling as I have passionately done for decades. Our Juniors make us all proud and we should encourage them to reach beyond what they think is possible and realize the sky is truly the limit. Together, we can help them reach their goals.
As members of this community, we all face challenges with groups that do not agree with our approach, position and deep commitment to the preservation of purebred dogs. I will continue to support better promotion and advocacy strategies, breeder and other education opportunities as well as work to position CKC as the Canadian authority with unparalleled expertise on purebred dogs.
Institutional memory is an important aspect of any successful governance group. As an effective member of this board for the past six years, I will provide continuity moving forward. While change is most definitely part of CKC’s future, understanding the context of the past is important to our success. I have vast experience and knowledge of CKC’s decisions, challenges and strategies over the past six years, which will provide value to the new board as we tackle the challenges ahead.
Regaining the confidence of CKC’s membership is attainable and there is no doubt in my mind that once again, we will all be PROUD to call ourselves CKC members because of the great work of our volunteers, staff and board of directors.

Kim Ramey-Leblanc
k.leblanc@xplornet.com

KL: Without full knowledge of the exact financial position the CKC is currently in today it is difficult to prioritize what needs to be addressed but…
Our current IT system is one of the top priorities for the membership. This system has a myriad of ailments. Is it a lack of training for staff? Is the actual program poorly done? An assessment of the situation needs to be done and documented. A plan for bringing the IT system up to speed needs to be implemented. The service provider for the IT system needs to be held accountable based on their contract as does our chief of staff.

KL: If I understand correctly the lease is up in less than 2 years so there is time to plan. I think it is critical to assess the opportunities to move the office out of the GTA if possible. One of the stumbling blocks cited in the past was the limitation of how far the office could move and expect the staff to move with the office, or should any staff member choose to not make the move there was a financial payout. If a lot of staff chose not to move with the office that could be a substantial financial burden. Covid has taught us that staff can work from home. This might help in alleviating the distance concern.
Buying or renting office space in a less expensive area would be ideal. It would take some research to ascertain the best option for the CKC. Personally, I think buying office space is more cost effective as well as being an investment that would potentially increase in value. In theory should the property bought be found lacking down the road it could possibly be sold at a profit and replaced with a more appropriate location as needed at the time.
Another benefit of knowing the CKC staff can work from home is that we don’t need nearly as much office space. Reduced office space in a less expensive area would certainly improve the bottom line, and possibly free up cash for other projects like communication with members and the general public.

KL: The CKC governance is somewhat controlled by the framework laid out under the Animal Pedigree Act. That being said there is a great deal of leeway which is covered in the Policy & Procedures manual.
Our current governance style gives each zone (note zones are created based on membership population which is reviewed periodically) representation at the board table. At this point I feel that this serves the membership more effectively but at a price. There are other governance styles that would reduce the number of representatives (board members) and would probably be more cost effective though not necessarily provide the level of local representation currently in place.
Changes of this magnitude would require bylaw changes and a membership vote by referendum.

KL: While I think it is a bit like closing the barn door after the horses are out, close interaction with the stakeholders is critical. It appears that any beta testing done on this system was insufficient to say the least. A large sample of the most frequent IT users should be contacted and given the opportunity to address the shortfalls they have encountered. Including members in the decision-making process to correct the shortfalls in a timely and inclusive manner going forward, would hopefully generate a more positive image of the CKC with them.
I am not a computer or program expert though my job required use of a similar type of program. The question that needs to be asked is “Does the current IT4U system have the ability to serve our members going forward or would it be more cost effective to replace this software with one designed specifically for CKC”? I shudder at the thought of spending more money but if that was the best solution in the long run than we do it.

KL: The future: CKC needs to be seen as more inclusive and less exclusive. The CKC has to become the voice of our membership. All existing or potential dog owners need to be encouraged to be engaged with the CKC and their events. Customer service must regain and surpass previous levels. CKC might be non-profit but it is still business and should be run like one.
End of upcoming Board term
At the end of the upcoming Board term the IT4U situation needs to be resolved and functioning at a high level. The office should be relocated in a more financially reasonable area. Customer service response times should be down to no more than a few hours.
End of decade: Electronic registration certificates should be a reality with the option for those so inclined to still receive hard copy by regular mail. Public outreach fully engaged and actively being pursued. U-tube type videos available for things on topics such as “how to enter a dog show or rally event”, “basic ring procedure for any given event” and so on Question & Answer type links to assist the public in how to buy a dog or find events.
At the Board table: The Board only has one employee that they oversee – Executive Director (Lance Novak). For any of the goals that are staff oriented and require their implementation the Board would have to give direction to the executive director and keep tabs on the progress made. Benchmarks would need to be established and monitored.
Finding a new office space has been researched by a firm hired by the executive director in the past. The information is presented to the board for discussion and approval or disapproval. I think it would be wise for the next board to be more proactive in this process seeking presentations from more than one firm on any potential locations.
To improve our public image and presence the board needs to hire a national or even international marketing firm, preferably one that has experience in the dog world. I believe there is a staff member currently handling this but in my opinion the message today is beyond the scope of a single staff member. Since the world tends to be digital for the most part, we could entertain firms from anywhere in the world.

Zone 5
Ontario East

Thomas Curley
pekeden@sympatico.ca

TC: The first, and most important mandate for the CKC is Registrations. Without an efficient and speedy IT system, we have nothing. A working IT system would be my first priority.

TC: The current lease is in the most expensive area real estate wise in the country. We should open discussion about the most efficient way to move out headquarters to a less financially burdensome area with the possibility of ownership rather than leasing. We should have been accruing equity in our own real estate over the years.

TC: The operation of our non-profit should be overseen by someone familiar with the day to day running of a non-profit. I would call upon the help of the many members who have had great success in this field for help and direction in this field. We have a great many CKC members whose expertise in a variety of skills whom could be called upon, and taken advantage of, if we are wise enough to do so.

TC: The IT system should have never been implemented without protections in place that we would have a “fully” working system by a set date or penalties would apply. Not knowing how the contract reads, leaves me to question what if any safe guards were, or are, in place to protect our considerable investment. It must be fixed to run as an efficient fully functioning system ASAP. It must be our first priority to restore faith in CKC.

TC: I have never done this job and don’t claim to have all the answers. I will claim however to be open and transparent. People who know me, know I am very approachable and will strive to learn on the job and listen to the membership.
Hopefully we will have a fast and efficient IT system that works for members and staff alike, in a more cost-effective home that represents what we are as Canadian dog people.
The CKC belongs to the membership and should represent us in the best possible light to the press and the world as caring, concerned, breeders who strive to protect and maintain our heritage breeds.
With that in mind, we need a press representative who will react to negative stories in the news that make Canadians think that all purebred dog people are the same as puppy mill “breeders” and designer dog “breeders”. We need a voice who will defend us, and promote positive information such as “FOR THE LOVE OF PUREBRED DOGS” that Pam McClintock and her team have done – that’s something to be proud of.
And lastly, we need to expand our Junior Handling program and encourage new blood in our sport, they are our future – let’s invest in them.

Alistair Sutherland
alistair2201@hotmail.com

AS: The board members (Zone Directors) are responsible for representing their individual zone members and collectively keeping the best interests of the CKC as their priority. The strategic plan is the guide. The next board will have many challenges associated with the significantly lower income stream and will have to focus on the provision of essential services, customer (member) satisfaction and, at the same time, explore alternative revenue sources; all while moving forward with current and future initiatives.

AS: The new board will have to explore this question very carefully and start a comprehensive review of sustainable future real estate needs as a priority.
A National Head Office could be located anywhere as many have pointed out, but there are countless factors to consider: employees, cost, location, member needs, IT solutions that will streamline processes affecting human resource requirements, remote working, etc. A board member’s personal vision must remain related to our strategic plan and work within our financial capability in difficult times.

AS: The CKC governance model is quite typical of non-profit organizations. The board is comprised of member representatives. Each board is a mix of experienced people who bring their own personalities. They individually and collectively shoulder a great deal of responsibility. All (or most) committees, councils, ad-hoc groups, etc. are connected centrally to the board.
The framework and model that currently exists is very sound. The opportunity for improvement lies in excellent member communication and engagement.
I would welcome the opportunity to review and analyse the communication linkages across the organization with other board members. There is room for improvement within a Partnership Council Model.

AS: The IT system implementation hasn’t gone smoothly for many reasons. This is not an unusual occurrence in large organizational transformation and adoption of IT solutions. After remotely attending the recent AGM, Board Meetings and reviewing the most recent CKC communications, it does seem like there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The IT solution itself was a very wise decision that will take us forward confidently in the future. The resultant “disaffection” of the CKC membership can ONLY be improved by eliminating the backlog of registrations, certificates, and result reporting. When members experience the benefit of the IT4U project, I’m hoping that their confidence will be restored.
As a candidate for Zone 5 – Ontario East, I expect that the process of registration be seamless and timely and will do everything in my power to ensure that happens. In fairness to the current board of directors, they and the organization as a whole have worked tirelessly to deal with the backlog and restore faith in the CKC by its membership.
I would also expect that future modules be very well tested before implementation.

AS: The future of the CKC is driven by members and executed by the strategic plan. The Board of Directors’ responsibility is to ensure this happens.
I’m thankful that the current board has done a good job of protecting the financial health of the organization as a whole given a severely impacted revenue stream due to a pandemic following an expensive IT project.
In keeping with the new strategic plan, we should pursue continuous improvement in all aspects of the CKC. I particularly wish to emphasize member services and empowerment of the membership. This is something that I will strive to improve with the help of my fellow board members when I am elected.
The end of the decade forecast is what we make it – TOGETHER! I would envision a Canadian Kennel Club that is valued by its members, that is partnered with other leaders dedicated to the health and well-being of purebred dogs and a Club that is respected across the world.

Zone 6
Ontario West

Peter Scott
brielle@bellnet.ca

Before answering these questions, I should point out that a significant amount of background knowledge will need to be gained before any action is taken. The new board should go in with an open mind – with a sense of urgency but without the mindset of immediate change.

PS: The first priority will be to fully understand the status of all aspects of the CKC. That the IT difficulties have to be successfully addressed goes without saying. Especially as it pertains to Registration and Events. Everyone who I’ve spoken with is only interested in these two areas, and the Customer Service, or lack thereof, that goes with them.

PS: We need to very quickly put together a committee or team to investigate the requirements – do we need this space at this price? The current lease, in retrospect, seems to have been a huge mistake, and has now become a burden. It is imperative that a plan to move the Head Office be put in place.

PS: Nonprofit governance should simply mean how the nonprofit is administered. The key players in the CKC would be the executive director, directors, officers, committees, members, staff, and volunteers. The basics are mentioned in the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures. Again, all aspects need to be reviewed before attempting to initiate any changes.

PS: The first step will be to inform the new Board of all aspects of the system. Including the actual costs, both to date and anticipated. This question was raised in several ways during the AGM and not answered with transparency. It appeared that the people answering either didn’t know, or worse, were trying to hide or disguise the answer.

PS: This will be a very interesting Board. Only between 3 and 5 of the directors will be either returning or have previously served on the Board. The Chair will be new. Hopefully it won’t take too long to establish the plans going forward. By the end of the term, hopefully sooner, the CKC should have a fully-functioning IT system and a cost-efficient home. Everything should be in place to make the Club work efficiently and serve its members well. If the new Board works well there should be a comprehensive plan for the rest of the decade in place and in action. If we can re-vitalize the membership this should be a great decade for the CKC. Once the IT system is working, and allowing for the effects of the ongoing pandemic, we can move forward with the CKC vision to be “the definitive authority in Canada for purebred dogs, and an advocate for all dogs, setting the standard for the preservation of breeds and continuous improvement of health, well-being and enjoyment of purebred dogs”. The above will take dedication, flexibility, cooperation, hard work, and perhaps above all, Common Sense, all of which I believe I can provide.

Michael A. Gelinas
magelinas52@gmail.com

MG: I think the revenue stream interruption is twofold, as the IT system gets up to date with registration the revenue from that will return. Shows and trials is another story. When Covid-19 hit not just the CKC but the world went into hiding. I think the countries, cities and business that did the best had the most aggressive protocols to combat the virus. It also went hand and hand with a comprehensive plan to get back to business as usual. Our CKC lacked vision, there was no support or guidance as events were cancelled coast to coast. If we are going to kick start events safely it will have to be done with the CKC playing a more active role in encouraging and giving clubs the confidence to move forward with events while adhering to government protocols. This is the only way the revenue will start to return. This has to start with our Directors playing a bigger role.

MG: Business in general has been introducing and supporting work from home for some years now. If recent events have shown us anything, it is that it can work in our organization. The current lease is far more than we need or can afford. I agree with the motion put forth during the September 12th board meeting to commit to study all aspects of location and lease. In this electronic age how much space do we need? I feel a blend of brick and mortar office and a work from home system would work. This will lighten the weight of the current lease and give us opportunity to utilize talent from coast to coast. Of course, keeping in the mind, the future and flexibility of current long-term employees. Every effort should be taken to make our new accommodations affordable and accessible to all staff, the board, committees and most importantly our membership.

MG: The primary structure of non-for-profit governance is a board of directors elected by voting members, management and independent committees. It is of great importance to have the right people in the right jobs. I would say we need to review all committees to make changes where necessary. We must be mindful these are volunteer positions. This could draw on the experience and expertise of individuals to help with the policy decisions needed to be made. It will make for a cohesive blend of the board, appointed committees and management.

MG: With the IT problems we have endured I understand the frustration shared by most members; Covid-19 compounded the problem. We can’t blame the virus totally as we move forward, there were some questionable choices made. There were other options which probably don’t seem as expensive today. The choice was made and it appears everyone is working to move forward. I think a larger and longer lasting problem is the alienation felt by many members. Getting in touch with the grass roots and resolving this should be priority one.
A good start would be expecting calls and emails returned in real time, with real answers. A call center and live chats expanded to accommodate all our time zones.

MG: The CKC should run as a high functioning business, providing quality timely service to its members, the board should not hinder the staff in the performance of their roles. The CKC has two primary purposes, Registration and Governing Shows and Trials Events, I believe it needs to be more. We need a Public relations makeover; promoting the breeding and owning of purebred dogs, the participation in our events. People have to want to join the National Club, the public at large has to know who we are and what we offer. We need to showcase ourselves so the public is interested in what we do and want to be involved.
We need a public relations team to help move us forward. Advertising, Marketing, CKC paraphernalia have a key role to play in this. We need to use our events to get in touch with the public not just the purebred dog community.

Zone 7
Ontario Central

Heather Brennan
nuthatchkennels@gmail.com

HB: Although we’re experiencing a fair bit of strain, fortunately we have a healthy reserve to lean on. The IT system must be our priority. It’s holding up registrations which is our other main revenue stream. We should also look for efficiencies in our operations that can save money. We need to look at expected losses due to far fewer events and any remaining expenses for the IT system and evaluate where to go from there.

HB: If Covid has done anything for businesses, it has pointed out the possibilities for working from home, and reducing the need for large rented work spaces. For people to be working from home, the CKC must have already invested in equipping them for it. Why not consider having more people work permanently from home? We would still need a space for the office, but it could be much smaller with just the main managers in office all week and a rotation of the rest of the staff. Ideally, many could work from home and come in one day a week. This would also make commuting less of an issue and possibly allow us to move the office out of the pricey area it is currently located in.
Although moving outwards from our current location might lead to some severance payouts, those would be one-time expenses whereas the savings gained by lower lease payments will continue.

HB: The government has rules in place governing the non-profit sector. If anyone saw a weakness in those rules as relates to the CKC, I would ensure the Board of Directors investigated.

HB: We need to evaluate what the issues remaining are and prioritize them. Registrations, as a key revenue source, need to be first but after that getting the website up to date and events running smoothly should come next. Yes, online pedigrees, point summaries for individual dogs and other changes would be nice but we need to fix our mainstays first. Depending on our financial state post Covid, and fixing the key issues with the system, we can then look at adding in luxuries as finance allows. The website, registrations, and event results are important issues to many members, and they should be. If we can reduce spending on items like rent, some of that could perhaps be put towards reducing fees somewhat, provided that our financial situation allows for it. The biggest priority must be getting our IT system straightened out.

HB: I would really like to see the CKC become more involved in promoting purebred dogs and dog sports to the public. I would like to see the marketing team put together strategies to do so including presence at events (including non-CKC events that attract pet people), advertising, and working with other animal related businesses. Much of this will need to wait until we are post-Covid and revenues have once again stabilized. In the meantime, though, I think as Directors we need to be out there at events listening to our members and potential members. I would also like to see our Directors at more performance events, not just conformation. It often seems like we push performance events off to the side. They may not currently be a main source of revenue, but they are much more likely to attract people into dog sports and purebred dog ownership. This in turn leads to more members, more event participants and more revenue for the CKC.

Peter Laventhall
peter@peterlaventhall.com

PL: The 2021-2023 Board will definitely have its hands full during this term. With only 3 members of the current board being acclaimed, and some members choosing not to run for another term, the CKC Board composition stands to change significantly this election, with the possibility of losing much of the brain-trust and experience of the seasoned current board members. Certainly, the incoming Board will need to focus on the numbers with an eye to managing expenses and improving productivity efficiencies. All the while, the Board will need to focus on the members’ experience and encourage ways to continuously improve service levels. The Board will need to closely monitor progress against the commitment for completion and stabilization of the IT4YOU system. Through the self-serve features and automation of the IT4YOU system the CKC will realize the productivity efficiencies needed to reduce cost of sales, and free up CKC staff time to refocus on member service and enhancing the members’ experience.
The lost revenue from Shows and Trials due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has certainly negatively impacted the CKC’s cash position; however, the auditor, BDO, has confirmed that the organization is still financially strong. We can’t take our foot off the gas and the Board will need to continue to work with Clubs to develop creative ways to safely bring events back and still maintain compliance with government Covid-19 requirements.
The CKC has made tremendous strides recently in public outreach and engagement with governments at all levels for the advocacy of purebred dogs and is now being sought for its opinion in the development of public policy. The incoming Board should be mindful of these successes and continue to encourage these efforts to bolster the CKC’s public presence in alignment with the CKC’s documented Strategic Plan.
As a successful candidate in this election, my priorities on the board for the coming term are:

Focus on expense management and profitability,
Partner with Clubs to bring events safely back,
Provide governance for the completion of the IT4YOU,
Enhance member service levels and the members’ experience,
Rationalize the CKC office space, develop the future workplace,
Strengthen the CKC’s voice across Canada and abroad.

PL: The CKC is at a crossroads where technology, as an enabler, is paving new ways in which the organization can conduct its business. Under the legacy APPX system (old CKC IT system), a large contingent of data entry clerks was required to handle the large volume of paperwork for registrations and event results. Having a large number of staff necessitated having a large office space, and hence the current CKC office format. Importantly, the CKC APPX system was only available within the CKC office.
Fast forward to today, and the CKC is on the cusp of fully realizing the benefits of the new IT4YOU system which provides secure access for both CKC staff and CKC members to the CKC information systems via the Internet. The new system is capable of supporting remote worker (work-from-home) strategies. This was well proven during the Covid-19 pandemic where the CKC was able to send all staff home where they could safely continue to work and to securely access CKC systems remotely. The launch of the IT4YOU system in the fall of 2019 made this all possible. We now have the ability to look at the CKC office space requirements through a different lens, and to restructure the work processes in new ways, to be more efficient, and to require less real estate.
My vision for the CKC workplace of the future would include work-from-home strategies, combined with shared workspaces (hoteling stations) within the CKC office. Regular team meetings would be conducted with some staff possibly working from the office while others joined the meeting remotely via Zoom (or similar technology). The upside of this approach is to greatly reduce the size of office space required to conduct CKC business and to therefore reduce rent costs. Additionally, with the organization less dependent on data entry tasks due to increased self-serve and on-line service efficiencies, CKC staff resources would be redeployed to more strategic tasks, delivering greater value to the organization, and greater focus on delivering enhanced member service. My goal is to strengthen the CKC’s financial position by reducing real estate costs while improving productivity/profitability and enhancing service levels and the members’ experience. I believe that my career experience in IT, and my business experience, coupled with my MBA will prove invaluable in achieving these outcomes.

PL: As a non-profit organization, the CKC operates as a 5-tier hierarchy. Ultimately, at the top tier, it is the will of the membership that defines the direction of the CKC through its elected Board. An effective Board provides governance and Strategic guidance to the organization through the Executive Director, without direct involvement in the tactical day-to-day operations of the organization. Through the Executive Director, the staff are tasked to efficiently operate the business. All of these efforts are supported by an incredible volunteer community of dedicated CKC members through our Counsels and Committees, whom the Board turns to for guidance in many of its decisions. This process is not necessarily speedy; however, it ensures fairness in representation of the interests of our members across the country and that decisions are not made in a vacuum. At the Board level, an efficient and effective Board must focus on high-value, strategic decisions that will ultimately align the direction of the CKC with will of the membership and be responsive to environmental pressures, both political and economic. In my opinion, there are motions that come before the Board that I would suggest could be pushed down to the Counsels and Committees, and allow the organization to be more responsive.

PL: Information Technologies Systems are the backbone of all organizations today and they present avenues to improve productivity and process efficiencies. The CKC’s legacy APPX system (old CKC IT system) received increased demands over a 30-year time frame as the CKC modernized from a 100% paper based to an IT based organization. Eventually, the legacy APPX system became frail and unsupportable, and needed to be completely replaced. Additionally, our members wanted modern self-serve capabilities and to have on-line access to their CKC records, requiring a modern and highly complex IT system to replace the failing APPX system. Due to complexity and production delays on the part of the IT vendor, the replacement system has taken longer to complete than originally planned. In addition, components of the legacy APPX system did fail, forcing the CKC to launch the new IT4YOU system prematurely. This confluence of circumstance contributed to a massive backlog of registrations and show results, has put undue pressures on the CKC staff, and has resulted in a high degree of member dissatisfaction due to delays in processing service requests.
Today, through the new IT4YOU system, we now have more functioning registration capabilities wherein members can complete registrations on-line. The registrations backlog has been significantly reduced and is expected to be back to normal levels over the coming several weeks. The CKC is well underway to complete the Shows and Trials modules of the new IT4YOU system. Confirmation Events are now complete and up to date, with Performance Events well under development and other CKC events are in the queue for completion. Members can access their personal CKC portals to view all of their member records, registrations, and Conformation show results on-line, with access to features and capabilities not previously available to them. With the CKC staff continuing to reduce the backlog of registrations, and with members continuing to adopt the new IT4YOU system and the benefits of their on-line portals, member satisfaction is improving. The CKC has a defined plan to complete the remaining modules and to continue to enhance the IT4YOU system to deliver more features and to offer more benefits to the members over time. As the registration backlog reduces, CKC staff will become more accessible to respond to member requests in a timely manner, which will also contribute to member satisfaction.
Based on this background and with an understanding of the plan that is in place, our best course of action is to closely monitor progress against the commitment for completion and stabilization of the IT4YOU system. Any significant deviation to the plan would cause more delays and introduce additional risk and costs to the project. Members should look forward to more features and capabilities from the CKC that will be delivered as the IT4YOU system matures.
It is my intention in running for re-election, to see the IT4YOU project through to its successful completion and stabilization, and to work with CKC members and CKC staff to create and develop new features that will benefit our members and deliver greater value to the organization as a whole.

PL: At its core, the CKC is the official registering body for purebred dogs in Canada under the mandate of Agriculture Canada; however, the organization delivers much, much more value to its members, and to all Canadians through sanctioned events, and through its advocacy efforts representing the interests of its members and the interests of all dogs in Canada, and more. The CKC’s Strategic Plan clearly defines these priorities, and the Board’s responsibility is to provide governance to management, ensuring the organizations activities align to the Plan. In order to accomplish these priorities, the organization needs to first be profitable, and in a position to invest in these important endeavours. Through careful stewardship, the incoming Board will guide the organization to increased profitability. The CKC has gone through difficult financial times before Covid-19 and has emerged as a stronger organization each time. With the right people at the helm, I see a bright and vibrant future for the CKC. The CKC’s new IT4YOU System, through its self-service features and on-line access through member’s personal portals will facilitate the development of new events and new revenue streams which will help to strengthen the CKC’s financial position. The new system will continue to enhance the members’ experience and free up staff resources to focus on member service as more new features are introduced.
The CKC will continue to advocate for purebred dogs, and all dogs in Canada, and to represent the interests of CKC member at all levels of government and also internationally.
My vision for the future is a vibrant and growing CKC that has the financial strength to invest in activities that align with the Strategic Plan. I see an organization that puts its members first through service excellence and that has a seat at the table when governments are developing new legislation that impacts dogs in Canada.

Marc Ralsky
marcralsky@aol.com

MR: The IT4U challenges will continue well into 2021. The new board will need to quickly get a sense of the projects forthcoming costs and the timeline for the continued rollout, it’s maintenance and staffing costs to keep the IT4U viable and working for the CKC Members.
A priority has to be the members, breeders and others who are the most important clients of the CKC. We need to ensure they are getting what they need, in a timely way! Also, based on COVID 19 restrictions and forecasting we will be dealing with restrictions of some sort well into late 2021 and probably into early 2022. It doesn’t take a day to vaccinate 38 million odd Canadians. This has to be taken into consideration for revenue streams, and costs.
While the CKC has a surplus of around $2.5- $3.0 million which will hold it in good stead to weather the storm (being COVID-19), we can’t just spend it all and deal with it in 2022. We have to remember it took several years to build that surplus and it won’t be easily replenished when things get back to a new normal post COVID.
To reiterate, the new board will need to get a real handle on the IT4U situation, make sure there is real work being done at all levels to rebuild trust with our members and also the other Kennel Clubs around the globe. They will have a lot of work to do!

MR: The CKC’s office space has always been a point of opinions since I can remember. It is not unusual for non-profit members and stakeholders to all feel the offices are too big, too expensive, or too nice or not needed. The reality is the CKC needs a National Office. Non-Profits are usually staff heavy as they are providing services to people/members.
COVID-19 has shown that we can work at home, accomplish 99% of the work remotely and continue to meet and conduct business from our kitchen, dining room tables and home offices. What we do know is that people crave human interaction and socialization. That can’t be discredited or put aside. We are social creatures.
Some operations have to be completed in an office, there is mail to open, process and that creates work for the organization whether it be registrations, show results and so on. These can’t be conducted at home. So, the CKC will still need offices. Moving the offices to a smaller city isn’t always the best option, even though it seems like it should be. We have to offer staff the ability to move with the organization there are costs involved to do so. If they don’t want to come with, there is costs involved there also. Then the move, the cost of reprinting everything with new addresses, setting up new IT and Internet and phones etc. etc. etc. Even before you hit the on button. Then there is the rehiring of capable staff etc. It may end up not being less expensive on a few levels. I honestly without having seen or learned about CKC’s real needs and what can be done from home vs office and sound suggestions, my gut says a smaller footprint in their existing space with more outsourcing of printing or mailing services would be the best option. Also, with COVID-19 a lot of landlords are re negotiating leases etc. as most organizations are going thru similar scenarios.
I’d suggest the CKC hire a professional Commercial Real Estate expert who can work with the current landlord and see what can be done with the current lease of office space, while also conducting a review of other locales, needs of the CKC and what can be done remotely and what can’t. It is a few layers to figure out before any suggestions or solution can be presented.

MR: My initial thoughts are that the current Board is too heavily involved in day to day operations. They seemed to be more worried about whether to send out paper certificates versus pdf’s, then they are with the IT4U debacle. The certificates are a lot more fun to talk about then how the IT4U was allowed to get to the point it has with no one owning the chaos. In my experience working with dozens of non-profits the most successful organizations have a very clear line of what the Board does and what the staff do.
When this definition is in place and both groups are focussed solely on the Mission of the organization for all their individual decisions and the day to day operations, they excel! So, that being said I’d like to see the board move to more of a Carver model of governance. (You can google CARVER governance if you are interested). This model moves the board out of day to day operations, which then allows the board to focus on the broader goals and issues facing the organization versus worrying about paper versus pdf’s which is a staff issue. There are lots of versions or board structures to work with, my main point is the current one is not working at any level as we can see from what has been happening over the past few years.
We also need to rethink the board make up and the terms of the board members. It is not healthy for a national organization to re-elect its entire board every three years. Nor is it healthy to have a director on the board for 9 years concurrently. Technically we could have an entire new board elected which means we lose all the corporate memory from the current board members and we have to strike new committee and executive team on the board etc. Or we could have the same exact board elected which means another 3 years of what we are dealing with now, if all current members stood for election and were re-elected. This current model seems very self-serving and probably has some interesting history attached.
I also would like to know why the board has never had directors at large. These allow for the board to bring on expertise for a period of time by finding people who have the skills and experience needed for something that the organization is going thru, or will have to deal with. For example, IT4U or the upcoming lease renewal. I am sure there are plenty of landlords and also real estate professionals who own purebred dogs or believe in purebred dogs who would join the board to help the CKC get thru a challenge or upcoming decision.

MR: I have mentioned IT4U in most of my earlier responses. We need to first figure out clearly what is left to fix and how much $$$ is needed to do so. Then what is left to complete and how much $$$ is needed to do so. Then we need to assess whether we have the correct staff and staffing in place to keep the system working and performing moving forward to satisfy our customer’s requirements now, and in the future and anything we need to adhere to with respect to legislation etc.
Then we need to do a tremendous amount of work to build back the trust of the CKC members and Global Kennel Clubs that the CKC is sound and has the correct and accurate systems in place and we are efficient and effective.
Once the IT4U is 100% up and running I’d like to have an audit of the program not to lay blame but to understand what happened and why and what we can learn from it, so the organization never gets itself into the same situation again with any new undertaking. We can all learn from our mistakes and the CKC will have to be transparent and open to seeing what happened and why in order to move ahead with trust and credibility amongst is customers/members and peer kennel clubs.

MR: Great question! The CKC needs to follow its new Strat Plan and Mission Vision Values Statement. It is clear, concise and a great road map for future boards to follow.
We need to have a plan to be viable and relevant in a post COVID-19 world. We don’t know how long restrictions on physical and social distancing will be in place. This places considerable strain on shows and trials and the ability to run them and earn needed revenue from them in order to operate.
We need to have a few plans at the ready so we can pivot and be nimble as the new world unfolds over the next year or so. We can’t think that as of a certain date in the future the world will go back to what it was like in early March of 2020.
We need effective leaders at the table of this new board. People who can leave their personal biases and agendas at home and make decisions that will be hard and may upset friends and colleagues but are in the best interest of the CKC.
We need to become much more member centric and involve our members from coast to coast to coast in our activities, programs and campaigns.
We need to be a member run organization at the end of this decade. We can do it when we all work together with the same goals and objectives and stay together! One loud voice!!!
I would be willing to represent my zone 7 members to the best of my ability, listen to them, be available to them and not disappear once elected. I have a passion for purebred dogs and the entire community and feel that we bring so much to society and willing to do what it takes, the good the bad and the hard to ensure the CKC is viable and relevant as we move forward. I am also able to work with whomever is at the table and come to a consensus that brings us together and moves us forward.

Zone 8
Manitoba

Corinne Walker
prairieskykennel@gmail.com

CW: Our priorities should be to reduce expenses by trimming the budget wherever is possible while stabilizing the IT4You system so that once events are underway, the system will be able to process them in a timely fashion. Develop new revenue streams including new activities for CKC members to participate in.

CW: A thorough review of the strategic plan and the resources needed to service the membership appropriately. Develop in‐house work share plans with staff working at home some days and in the office on a rotating basis so that office space can be shared versus dedicated space for employees. The overall staffing needs may be reduced with the incorporation of more online result submissions by the event holding clubs.

CW: The present regional representation is essential for the interests of all members to be addressed across the country. The use of technology along with good a communication plan will allow the board to keep the membership informed and engaged. Having the first virtual AGM was a perfect opportunity to engage more members from across the country. Embracing technology in the future will be essential for our future success.

CW: The launch of the new IT system was forced prematurely due to the crash of the old system in August of 2019. It’s unfortunate demise has caused significant member dissatisfaction and the CKC staff has been working very hard to rectify the situation. Although there are still some hang ups in the registration process, improvements are being made on almost a daily basis.
I believe in keeping the membership better informed about the progress and activities undertaken on their behalf. Members who have used the online service are demonstrating higher levels of satisfaction as the system is tweaked to be more user friendly.

CW: CKC should be a one stop resource for breeders and dog owners alike. Having health records appearing on pedigrees would be a great resource for breeders. DNA testing available through certified vendors with a CKC DNA registry would assure the accuracy of our registry. As a resource we should provide educational opportunities for our members, whether that would concern genetics, a variety of performance events or best breeding practices.
We must be fiscally responsible, re‐establish a reasonable reserve fund to ensure the organization’s continuing operations.
CKC should be the voice for all dogs, their care and welfare. We should act as an advocate for responsible ownership legislation across Canada. Promotion of maintaining the historical breed standards of all our breeds and celebrate their special diversity.
As a board member we must always strive to do the best for all members. We must not think of our own regional concerns but think nationally and internationally.

Zone 9
Saskatchewan

David Gilmour
davidgilmour@sasktel.net

DG: No doubt the CKC needs to get the IT system working properly to address productivity, processes and customer service. Fiscal responsibility is a given. Without it the CKC would not have been able to operate through the COVID-19 times we are experiencing now. Do we need to get better at it? Absolutely. It is a work in progress.

DG: The current situation needs to be evaluated and I foresee definite changes. We will need to look at office size, how we use it and its location.

DG: I think the current structure works with regional representation but we must consider national solutions. That is not easy but it is necessary.

DG: Change always creates concern and rightly so. The IT4U system unfortunately had to be released before it was ready due to the untimely crash of the 30 plus year old system at the worst possible time. Trying to get the new system working properly has been long, slow and tedious to say the least, but it is getting there. CKC staff are working hard and really trying under extreme circumstances.

DG: We need to be focused and diligent at getting things done. We need to listen to the membership and concentrate on customer satisfaction, growth and be an advocate for the welfare of all dogs.

Zone 10
Alberta, North West Territories & Nunavut

Della Kyncl
della@winauby.com

DK: There are challenges in all things, and with the global uncertainty we are all facing, those challenges are magnified. For our sport to make a successful return, we all need to be respectful of our communities, our exhibitors, our owners, and breeders. The CKC is not only responsible for our shows and trials, but it is and should be, held accountable to our purebred dog enthusiasts and breeders, after all, it is our registering body thru the livestock pedigree act. It is my opinion that the CKC needs to get back to basics; dog people working toward a membership governed enterprise, educate the public, listen to its members and act on the behalf of those members. I hope we can all work toward upholding the values, ethics and principles set forth by all those that support the purebred dog.

DK: Living across the country, I cannot truly answer to this. I do, however, believe that all expenses need to be watched and monitored, as it is easy to become “top heavy” and before you know it, the budget cannot be balanced and you are in financial trouble. I am sure that there are more economical venues available, but in all things, there is a ripple affect; costs would add up quickly, if a move were required. Maybe a more feasible plan would be is to look at ways to reduce the rental costs overall, such as utilizing less space; employees working from home, job sharing, and using the IT system more efficiently.

DK: Not for profit, by its very name means an organization dedicated to furthering a particular social cause, or advocating for a shared point of view, which in our case is purebred dogs. In economic terms, it is an organization using its surplus revenue to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization’s shareholders, leaders, or members. This revenue should go toward educating the public, educating our new members, and supporting our breeders, shows and trials. We need to look at that definition and prove that we are in fact, doing just that. That is what will make the Canadian Kennel Club a great, Not for Profit Organization, accountable to its membership.

DK: A lot of money, time and effort has been spent with this IT system and the timing of the roll out was very unfortunate, with it coinciding with the pandemic, but given time, I think it will be a great resource for the membership. The growing pains of this system have been extensive, but, there has also been huge improvements to the registering process, and there are aspects of the system that are brilliant, like tracking all of your registered dogs, ease of litter and individual dog registration, just to name a few. I think if the CKC, as a whole, keeps the lines of communication open with the members, offers help in all areas, return phone calls and is genuinely there to support its members, things will become easier for the membership and that will increase satisfaction. Right now, it is hard for the membership to see the benefits of the CKC and it will be a large part of the new director’s job to educate and help the membership see the value in supporting the Canadian Kennel Club.

DK: I would hope that the Canadian Kennel Club will truly be transparent in their actions, support the membership and especially the breeders that work hard to promote purebred dogs. I believe we can achieve this by being dedicated and work toward the betterment of the Canadian Kennel Club, leaving our own agendas at the door and working hard to make a positive difference for our membership and those that support the CKC in all aspects of our dog world.

I would like to thank Sharon Derrick for her many years of service, being our CKC director and I want to wish my running mates good luck in all their endeavors.

Shawn Nichols
shawn.nichols1970@gmail.com

SN: I think one of the first priorities is to help clubs to continue having show’s during these unprecedented times. We have seen clubs in the US hold shows both in and outdoors, successfully. EOC needs to help shows with necessary criteria to insure shows move forward. Not everyone has the ability to think up the necessary safety protocols, so I think for many it’s just easier to cancel.
I’ve suggested in the past a membership drive with breeders, have 3 puppy buyers become members of the CKC and get yours for free. People are motivated by “What’s in it for me”.
The last order of operation of course is, to insure the operating costs have been reduced where necessary.

SN: I think several of the departments could be managed from other parts of the country were operating expenses are significantly lower IT, records, etc. I think we need an organization with a face and exposure to the general public creating a possible experience center with executive offices.
If this pandemic has shown us anything, business can be achieved from almost anywhere with online conference portals. We reduce the size of the space with executive offices, board room, and possible library/experience center. Many companies have created at-home work environments that have teams rotate in and out of the office Team A works 2 weeks in the office Team B works from home respecting social distancing and the14 day quarantine.
In business as usual, Team A works 3 days in the office week 1 Team B works 2 days from home week 1, alternating every other week.

SN: The CEO is responsible for the operations of the CKC and reports to the board. I think the Board needs to identify areas of opportunity for improvement with an action -plan.
Registrations has been a pain point for us as an organization. I think that we need to decide what is an acceptable timeline for turnaround time to improve member centricity.
(S)pecific, (M)easurable, (A)chievable, (R)elevant, and (T)imely goals. We want the CKC to improve registration turnaround time is a goal without a plan. Creating an objective with an action plan with who is responsible for what and when this is expected.
The last speaks to operations of the CKC and an action plan. I think one thing we need to address as a major priority is finding out what we’re entitled to as a non-profit organization. There are many grants offered to non -profit businesses, are we utilizing all these grants and possible lower costs? AG Canada owns or has interest in many of the facilities across the country Example – Stampede Park here in Calgary. Horses, Cattle and other livestock are paying significantly lower rental costs to hold their events. Why are we not benefiting in these lower operating costs?

SN: This is not easily answered without all the information. Clearly, we need to look at optimization of the IT system but at this point we have invested a significant amount of money to get it where it is. We certainly can’t abandon the project so that we hopefully can gain guidance from a possible consulting firm or an individual with the necessary expertise to get us on course.

SN: The future of our sport is tenuous at best. Like all industries we’ve been confronted with more change in the past ten years than we have the 50 before it. We have to find new ways to engage with our market. One thing we need to work with is local authorities when given an opportunity. So many of the challenges we’re confronted with are changes made by local governments and authorities changing by-laws that impact our ability to breed and have dogs. We’re losing the race to mix -breeds because they do a better job of making themselves identifiable through social media, website and other channels. Our members need to do the same. There is more demand now for pets than ever before, we need to capitalize on this need and win back our share to insure growth.
Where do I see the sport at the end of the term if elected: The number one priority is to optimize member’s relationships with the office and that each member gets the service entitled to them.
The CKC is a record -keeper of registrations and pedigrees for AG Canada, its priority is as a registering body. Therefore, it is essential that this is done better than anything else we do as an organization, we’re not there, we need to have these IT issues behind us so the next board isn’t confronted with an ongoing struggle tarnishing the organizations image.
I would like to see fewer shows, not necessarily fewer clubs perhaps clubs that work together. We saw growth when our shows were held in metropolitan centers, as time has gone on we have been driven farther and farther out due to operating costs. We need to find ways to get back into the heart of our major centers. As a Canadian, I would like to see one major event that attracts global support. We live in a country that is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, let’s use this to our advantage. Perhaps there are ways to work with other organizations like the AKC or FCI to offer multiple titles to insure this effort.

Lee Anne Bateman
lee.anne.bateman@gmail.com

LB:The membership has spoken quite clearly! Getting the CKC website up and running efficiently and correctly is their #1 priority. To say that we have gone through significant growing pains is an understatement. Our IT platform and the CKC website will be priorities for the new Board. It will take time and attention, but I believe that a reasonable timeframe can and should be set. The membership needs to see a light at the end of this IT tunnel we are in.
The new Board will be made up of caring MEMBERS, chosen by the membership in each Zone. I have no doubt that whoever is elected in each Zone will be enthusiastic and will be ready to dig in and work for the CKC membership. However, new Board members are not wizards, so a little patience and run time will be needed.
As a Club, we have weathered financial problems before – the World situation we are in now is a challenge on a whole new scale. There are always solutions and actions to be taken, and together, the new Board will work diligently to pilot the CKC through the coming months.
The reports and projections for 2020, presented during the recent AGM, were optimistic. The financial report painted a picture for far less of a deficit than previously anticipated. Are we coasting on easy-street…No, but we continue to stride forward!

LB: The new Board of directors will no doubt be considering all of our expenses and income streams. The lease for the CKC offices is most certainly one of the items that will be under review.
Other national Clubs have changed addresses (ours included) – and in this time of considerable office space vacancy – we are in a strong negotiating position.
Options such as a new lease agreement in the current location; a change of location; purchasing our own space – all should be considered. Some may not be feasible at this time, but all options should be considered and discussed.
I am confident that every effort will be made to ensure that final decisions will protect our bottom line, and benefit the CKC and its membership.

LB: Governance is the decision-making and implementation process required in any organization, association, Club or group. Numerous discussion papers and ‘How-to’ essays have been written on the subject of Governance. There are common threads that run through all of them, those being that it must be transparent, consensus-oriented, responsive and accountable. That it must be effective, efficient and equitable are also attributes of good Governance that I feel are essential. Decision making must be inclusive of the membership’s thoughts, needs, wishes – meaning that it has to be participatory. That Governance must uphold the laws of the land and the by-laws of the organization should go without saying – but say it we must.

LB: I touched on this subject in the first question…we have been dealing with growing pains far beyond what any of us had anticipated. Again, during the reports given at the recent AGM, I was encouraged by some of the ongoing efforts reported and the significant headway that has recently been made. Most certainly not as quickly nor as complete as we all would have liked to see, but the project seems to finally be headed in the right direction.
Some dogged determination is still required and the new Board will, no doubt, be keeping close tabs on the IT process.
Is there still a backlog – yes! Is it being worked on – yes! Is there still considerable work to be done – yes!
The last thing anyone wants to hear is that we need to be patient…many of us think we’ve been very patient already. At this moment in time – I can only answer this question with a ‘go-forward’ promise to keep a strong light shining on the problems until we have a favorable resolution.

LB: The future of the CKC – Wow! The CKC is an amazing organization. The membership of the CKC is active, involved and passionate about purebred dogs, our sport and our organization. We have a long and honorable reputation, and safe-guarding that standing into the future is absolutely a priority.
We need to be more active and visible in our communities and work at creating a more positive public perception in general. We need to be THE ‘go-to’ Authority for dogs. While our focus is, and should continue to be, purebred pedigreed dogs, we must be willing and ready to work with other organizations for the well-being of dogs in general and their importance in society and in our lives.
We need to be the touchstone – the resource – that governments, lawmakers and the public go to for calm, rational, factual canine information. That is the image of the CKC that I see as imperative.
I have several ideas that could help this happen. I’ve experienced first-hand, some wonderful programs put in place in other countries. Programs that are working, and some that would be great ideas to launch here in Canada.
At the Board table, I’d like to see Directors bring forward positive program ideas from their Zone members! When considering the future and considering possibilities – we need to remember that a great program can spring from the smallest idea. The CKC membership is full of bright and imaginative people. Directors need to hear from them and listen to them.
I pride myself on being a catalyst for positive action! This is an attitude and a driving force that I would bring to the Board.

Boyd McIntyre
boyd1950@telus.net

BM: Cost control is always a priority in any organization but being smart and effective is just as important. Adjusting to the times and changing the business model to match the current and future circumstances is paramount. Having said that it is wise to make changes cautiously after due consideration.

BM: One important thing learned during the pandemic is that almost any job done at an office on a computer can be done at home on a computer. With the lease expiring, there may be an opportunity to save significantly on lease costs. I believe the space requirements of the office can be reduced 50 to 80% by having employees work from home whenever possible.

BM: I am a big fan of openness and transparency; providing all members with information is essential. I would like to see the board and all councils publish their meeting agendas before and minutes after each meeting. All votes taken by board and council members should be recorded, becoming a permanent record as part of the minutes. The minutes should be made available to all members on a timely basis.

BM: As a volunteer event secretary for many hunt tests and field trials, I know firsthand the value of IT in the secretary’s job. With the advent of dogshow.ca the amount of work involved putting together the premium list, the catalogue and collecting and depositing entry fees has been reduced immensely. I anticipate that the CKC IT issues can be resolved and believe we should persevere. During these challenging times, I found the CKC staff to be exceptional; they worked extremely hard to accommodate my needs when I have been doing my applications.

BM: My main concern for the future lies in the aging of participants and the lack of young people becoming involved. There are many reasons that contribute to this problem. Over the course of my involvement in spaniel field trials I have seen the number of event-holding clubs in our zone go from four clubs to two clubs and there have been similar reductions in other zones. Entries have also dropped to one half of what they used to be. There are numerous avenues for people with dogs to become involved in CKC events; expanding these opportunities should be the priority.

Zone 11
British Columbia Southwest

Tempest Deptuch
Dpoodles@shaw.ca

TD: I believe we need to get back to basics. Our first priority should be the correct processing of registrations in a timely manner. Part and parcel with that issue is getting IT4YOU functioning as expected. I think that staff training and support is also key to a well-functioning organization. I also believe that my role as a Director would be to play a strongly supportive role in working with our breeders to promote the value of purebred dogs.

TD: This is a complex issue. While it is easy to say that we should move locations, maybe even provinces, to reduce costs, it is rarely that simple. Maybe we can reduce office size, and as we have seen during Covid, maybe some staff can work from home. However, without knowing what contracts are currently in place with staff, and what room there is for negotiation in a new lease, it would be irresponsible of me to throw out notions without knowing more facts. In any event it must be a priority for the new Board to explore all options.

TD: Having not served on the Board previously, this is a difficult question for me. I am looking forward to understanding the inner workings of the CKC and the roles of the Executive Director and staff. While I am not a proponent of change for change sake, I will be open minded to exploring new directions to ensure that this club runs smoothly. Most importantly the Board and staff need to communicate better with members, be more accountable and transparent.

TD: The CKC has spent $1.25M on IT4YOU to date, and there are more dollars to be spent. I would like to investigate the original contract to ensure that what was agreed upon has been completed, and that the club is not paying again for issues resulting from the original rollout.
Registrations are, in theory, up to date. They have been completed with a 71% accuracy online, where no contact has been required between the CKC and the breeder/owner. A good start with room for improvement.
Conformation results are complete to March 2020. They are currently working to bring Obedience and Rally up to that date at this time. Layoffs due to Covid have slowed this process greatly.
The ability to link your dog’s ‘points progression’ is there, with a minor correction needed to make that information available on your dashboard. They are working on that at this time.

TD: I believe the future of the CKC is once again at a crossroads. Dog people are resilient and I believe that if we work together we can get back on track. Purebred dog sales are trending upwards, and that can bring new people to the sport in all areas if we work to promote ourselves. We need to get involved on our local levels by doing things like Pet Expos, Purebred community dog walks, and in general being good canine citizens. Here in BC the varied disciplines are amazingly popular and easily enjoyed by newcomers to our sport.
While the Board makes the hard decisions, it is the responsibility of a Zone Director to be involved in all aspects of the sport of dogs in their own communities. Only by engaging with, and listening to our local membership can we bring the issues to the table that most affect us at the grassroots level. This is how I hope to ensure the CKC continues to work for the betterment of the purebred dog.

Grant Townsend
gtownsend@shaw.ca

If elected to the CKC Board, my priority is to work with all directors and CKC staff in a positive and productive manner to ensure that CKC remains a united national entity for all pure-bred dog owners.

The questions posed by ShowScene ask what my vision is with respect to changes that should take place within CKC. I believe as director of Zone 11, I am a spokesperson for the members of this zone and should be representing their views and concerns not just voicing my own opinions.

As the current board has in place a 3-year Strategic Plan approved in 2019 for the 2020 – 2022 time period, the new board members’ goal should be to review this plan and adapt it, if necessary, during these challenging times.

During these difficult and uncertain times, reinventing the wheel is not the way to go – continuity of work already started is extremely important.

The new IT program certainly has a number of issues that need to be dealt with and a few to mention are slow registration processes, slow compiling of championship certificates, members not gaining access and server downtime. These need to be addressed with this current platform rather than starting fresh with a new program.

A contract is in place regarding the IT system and the cost of this program was stated at the 2020 AGM to be $1.2 million. Are there penalty/liability clauses in place? Greater accountability and transparency need to be forth coming.

Since CKC is a national organization, it makes sense that the head office is in a central and easily accessed center that reflects the stature of a national organization. As staff have been working remotely from home, is a large office space needed? This can be addressed once we arrive at a “new normal” way of doing things. Changing the office venue, if deemed necessary, should not be made until there is some form of stability within our beloved sport of dogs.

As a director, I would anticipate receiving information from CKC that I could disseminate to Zone 11 members. The feedback from members would then help me at the board table in making decisions. I could achieve receiving this information through Zoom Town Hall meetings, email mailouts, FaceBook as well as other methods.

I believe CKC needs to ensure that communication to its members occurs on a much more frequent basis. This can be achieved through more frequent information bulletins. These mailouts should have a continuously updated timeline of activities. An increase in response time is necessary. Transparency and consistency are extremely important – keep members informed! “No news is Not good news!”

Kim Hamel
kimhamel54@gmail.com

KH:Long before the pandemic and the launch of the current IT program, there has been many inefficiencies in the day to day operations that bog down the CKC. My priority will be to address these inefficiencies to streamline and make it a whole lot easier to use for members, breeders, clubs, judges and show secretaries.

On Line applications for almost everything: registrations, events, judges, fee remittances, results, order desk.
One tracking number per application with access maintained on member accounts in archives.
Realignment of staff hours to meet the needs of members in 5 time zones and on weekends (when events usually are held.
Fairness to clubs: One recording fee amount regardless of the size of the entry.
Removal of existing event giving clubs to hold match events. Those hosting the matches are not likely to be the same people hosting the trials, tests or shows.
Priority dates overall. More responsive needs for clubs to be able to respond for changing situations.
FAQ in every category with step by step online instructions.
Review Canine Companion numbers: Are they as effective or too restrictive as they could be. Why is only there only one registry recognized per country for purposes of a CCN?
Live chat on topics such as completing a registration form.

Better to do it correctly the first time.

KH: As the daily operations become more streamlined and the staff hours are realigned to accommodate the needs of the members, the requirement for the lease to be renewed in the present location becomes redundant. I will encourage the relocation of the head office to be elsewhere, specifically outside the GTA. I would like to see a central location where rents per square footage are considerably lower, which of course would only impact the bottom line positively. Or perhaps Follow the Australian model with the head office on property adjacent to or on land for future CKC event uses. Begin the process of regional sites/assets.

KH:The present structure of the board is sufficient, with the exception I would like to see members fill positions on staff as they become available. Why not post those positions to the membership first? One comment I have heard is the fact some of the staff are not dedicated dog people. Who better to serve the membership than someone who is already familiar with the needs of the CKC?
Revisit the current electoral boundaries review that was amended in the Bylaws recently which sets in stone current boundaries unless changed by a current board.
No entity stands alone. The CKC needs to formalize partnerships with Canuck Dog, Canine Health agencies and Media outlets.

KH: The CKC has invested a huge amount of money and time into the new IT program.
There is a lack of integration of programs within the CKC and with other agencies. Redundancy is created and confusion. The current site is confusing, not because of technology but of design. It should reflect 5 sections: General membership/New dog owner, Registration, Shows and Trials (for clubs, exhibitors Judges), Breeder.

KH: The future of CKC is in the hands of the people coming up from behind us. The experienced ethical breeders and judges need to mentor and truly encourage anyone that has a sincere desire to engage in purebred dogs. The general perception of purebred dog breeders and judges is one of skepticism and needs to change.
Animal activists have a huge voice that is discouraging the practices of breeding and exhibiting dogs. Members need to take some of this responsibility in the ways they approach their craft. Social media is a reality that is not going away; We need to learn to use it to our advantage and not feed the often hateful and demeaning rhetoric. As members that want to preserve the basic premise of CKC which breeding and exhibiting of quality animals, we need to step up. We need to look inwards and evaluate the reasons we are breeding and showing dogs. We need to lead by positive examples.
The directors of each zone have a responsibility to their respective members and need to have a more prominent role in helping to curb the dissenting voices. The honorary veterinarian of the CKC has a huge opportunity to play a role in educating the public and veterinary communities the value of purebred dogs. The CKC needs a pro-active advocate to advance the position of the CKC in engagement of all media (small and large) and be available when their response is required and the media needs it. Not a M-F 9-5 proposition. This is a crucial step in moving forward.
My vision for the CKC going forward is to be one of leadership, continuity and inclusion. The board should be one that members can approach and have the confidence that the directors will support the individual choices of all those engaged with purebred and non-purebred activities.

Zone 12
British Columbia Interior & Yukon

Honey Glendinning
honeyanneg@icloud.com

HG: Search out the reasons this has not worked and find the people that know how to fix it. I am not a wizard with IT, computer etc. I freely admit that but there are people that are.
I have been to too many lectures watching people try to make the electronic system work, in the end a kid comes in and solves the problem I am not saying it’s that simple by a long shot but we need help.

HG: I have never been to the CKC building to see how large it is or the amount of offices and staff. That being said after being in retail all my work career I have several questions. I know once the virus has subsided and life can return to in house rather than zoom meetings, the office needs to be near an airport, hotel etc. Is it possible that some staff can still work from home? Is there a section of the existing building which has less square footage that would work? The reason I ask is the cost of moving all the equipment, probably hiring and training new staff, if you move out of the area is very costly. We had a saying in my work, right sizing not the old downsizing.

HG: I think looking at governance of the non-profit sector, specifically, looking at it from the CKC perspective, there are a number of perceptions that could be improved in my opinion. As a life member, breeder exhibitor and all breed judge, the organization does not seem as nimble as it should be, based on how slow they were to react with messaging on the pandemic. It also seems less transparent to its members than I feel it should be, especially in light of the recent frustrations with IT4U.
This lack of transparency foments distrust among its members and as a prospective Board member I want to work towards gaining that back.
As a board member, there should be discussions about these and any other issues and goals set to achieve them. we should review the roles and responsibilities of each person within the organization, including Executive, Board, Staff and Volunteers. Are the roles being filled adequately? If so, and we are still not achieving our objectives the roles should be redefined.

HG:I know people have worked hard on this project and sadly it has not been smooth. It seems the CKC is far behind in finishing up last year’s records, certificates etc. The registration section from breeder friends is also so far behind. This is discouraging to not only the breeders but their new puppy owners. We can only blame so much on the virus. Even if the CKC emailed a letter to the breeder that they can share with the new owners saying their papers will be processed and the litter has been registered. Possibly include a CKC membership information application or at least their website. Possibly include in the message state all the different categories that are held by the CKC. That way someone that buys a puppy that is to be fixed they still can be involved in the sport. Encourage them to keep in touch with their breeder to local club activities in their area. We need more members to continue on and having to wait months for the papers is not correct.

HG: I personally find the website difficult. When I put a question as to locate something in the search section, rarely does it take me to what I was looking for. When I email the CKC, it is not answered in a timely manner, and sometimes not at all. We need to do better. We need to learn from the new challenges that 2020 has tossed our way and rethink how to best serve our membership. Losing just 1 person, who might be a breeder, impacts our future shows, membership dues, registration costs etc. After this year we can’t afford that and keep being a vital part of the Canadian purebred dogs.

Terill Udenberg
No response received

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Your Candidates:

Zone 1
Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador

Zone 2
Prince Edward Island & New Brunswick

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Quebec

Zone 4
Ontario North

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Ontario East

Zone 6
Ontario West

Zone 7
Ontario Central

Zone 8
Manitoba

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Saskatchewan

Zone 10
Alberta, North West Territories & Nunavut

Zone 11
British Columbia Southwest

Zone 12
British Columbia Interior & Yukon

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Your Candidates:

Zone 1Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador

Zone 2Prince Edward Island & New Brunswick

Zone 3Quebec

Zone 4Ontario North

Zone 5Ontario East

Zone 6Ontario West

Zone 7Ontario Central

Zone 8Manitoba

Zone 9Saskatchewan

Zone 10Alberta, North West Territories & Nunavut

Zone 11British Columbia Southwest

Zone 12British Columbia Interior & Yukon

What viewers are reading

EVEN MORE NEWS

POPULAR CATEGORY

Zone 1
Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador

Zone 2
Prince Edward Island & New Brunswick

Zone 3
Quebec

Zone 4
Ontario North

Zone 5
Ontario East

Zone 6
Ontario West

Zone 7
Ontario Central

Zone 8
Manitoba

Zone 9
Saskatchewan

Zone 10
Alberta, North West Territories & Nunavut

Zone 11
British Columbia Southwest

Zone 12
British Columbia Interior & Yukon