Now accepting Nominations for the CLA Executive and Directors for the 2025-2027 term

Pursuant to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, I am pleased to inform all voting members that an election will be held this fall for the Executive and Directors of our Association for the 2025-2027 term. Members can access the By-Laws on the CLA website.

Note – It is important that voting members review their membership profile before submitting a nomination and/or before CLA ballots are issues ad some voting is restricted based on the details in your membership profile (for example, region). Please review membership profile for your region and email address. For the Women’s Director positions, only eligible voting members that have identified as female in their membership record can vote for these positions. Please review your membership profile to make sure all is current and accurate. Ballots will be issued based on the information listed in membership profiles as of October 22.

• August 12, 2025 – Call for Nominations Opens
• October 16, 2025 at 5 p.m. – Nomination deadline – SUBMIT ONLINE
• October 23, 2025 – Voting Ballots Issued (by email)
• Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 5 p.m. – Voting Closes
• Friday, November 21, 2025 – Annual General Meeting

POSITIONS

Nominations will be for President, Executive, Regional Director, Indigenous Director, Recent Call Director or Women’s Director, and is to be submitted online, be supported by any two nominators who are FULL (ACTIVE) members of the Association in good standing and also by the member accepting the nomination.

• No person may be nominated for more than one position either as a Director or an Officer of the Association.
• Individuals can only submit a nomination for a specific position. Should a person decide after submitting a nomination that they wish to run for a different position, they must email ed@criminallawyers.ca to withdraw their current nomination and then submit a new nomination before the final nomination deadline.
• Full time employees of Legal Aid Ontario, or Board Members of Legal Aid Ontario are not permitted to seek candidacy for, nor serve on, the Executive of the Association.

DATES FOR NOMINATIONS

Nominations will open on August 12, 2025, and must be submitted online. Nominations must be received by 5 p.m., October 16, 2025, at which time nominations will close.

DATE FOR ELECTION

Ballots will be emailed by October 23, 2025. Voting will be conducted online with the final deadline to vote being 5 p.m., November 20, 2025. For members with no email address on file, upon request a voting ballot will be sent via Canada Post. The board will be asked to appoint scrutineers to supervision counting of paper ballots (if any). These completed ballots must be received in the Association office by 5 p.m., November 20, 2025.

ELECTION GUIDELINES

Based on member feedback the current CLA Board has put in place protocols to ensure transparency with the election process. The following guidelines are provided:

• To foster nomination submissions during the call for nominations process, a list of nominations received will be made by end of day September 25, October 6 and October 14 on the CLA website.
• Current Directors’ attendance records and voting records are available within the board meeting minutes posted on the CLA website. A summary log of Directors meeting attendance records for the 2023-2025 will be posted on the CLA website by October 14, 2025.
• The member’s office mailing address and email address on file with the CLA office, as of October 22, dictates the region of the member for nomination and voting purposes.
• Members will receive either an electronic voting ballot (for those with an email address on file with the office) or a paper ballot (upon request).
• Voting tabulation results will remain confidential until announced at the Annual General meeting.
• Electronic voting tabulation will be considered final after the voting deadline.
• The Board appoints two scrutineers who oversee the counting of physical ballots (if any). Final vote counts are reviewed by the scrutineers and signed.
• Paper ballots (if any) will be held by the CLA office for a period of up to 30 days following the election after which they are destroyed.
• Candidates who wish to challenge the vote count can submit a formal request for a recount within 10 days following the annual meeting. Upon receipt the ballots will be re-counted in the presence of the candidates.
• Post election, calls for the individual vote count will be disclosed, upon request, to the candidate(s) for the position to which they were seeking election, with the warranty that the candidate(s) will keep these results confidential.

• We do NOT disclose vote counts for other candidates, nor do we confirm ranking in comparison to other candidates.
• Members who join/renew/upgrade after October 22, 2025 will not be eligible to vote.
• The CLA is not responsible if a members information is inaccurate and impacts their ability to run for the election and/or vote. It is the responsibility of the member to make sure their information is current. The CLA is also not responsible if a member does not receive an e-ballot due to individual firewalls and/or email programming/monitoring practices.

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

The CLA Board is a working board. As such Directors will be expected to take on work to advance the interests of the association and its members. Candidates seeking nomination should familiarize themselves with the following position descriptions.

President – The President presides at all meetings of the members of the Association. The President shall make all public statements in regard to the Criminal Lawyers’ Association policy and positions or delegate a member of the Executive to do so. The President frequently attends meetings with key stakeholders and sits on various committees representing the association. The role of President is a significant commitment often exceeding 10 hours per week. As permitted under our By-laws, the President haa the option to receive an honourarium currently valued at $ 45,803.82 per fiscal year in office. The rate is reviewed on an annual basis to coincide with the Association’s budget process.

Vice Presidents – The Vice Presidents assist the President and other Directors in executing the duties of their office. The Vice Presidents will be expected to participate in various CLA Committees and serve as representatives on external committees. 

Treasurer/Assistant Treasurer – These two officers are responsible for supervision of the financial activities and transactions of the association. Working with the Association’s management company they will oversee financial reporting, budgeting and expense approval.

Secretary/Assistant Secretary – These two officers shall oversee the recording of all facts and minutes of all proceedings of the association and are responsible for ensuring activities coincide with By-law provisions.  

Regional Directors – These Directors assume responsibility for the following:

• Maintaining contact with the local association and ensuring that there are lines of communication between the local association and the CLA governing body
• Maintaining a presence on local stakeholder committees, such as bench and bar or courthouse committees
• Maintaining a presence on local domestic violence court committees
• Reporting to the CLA governing body any issues of concern to local members and reporting any CLA initiatives which may affect local associations or local members
• Representing the CLA as requested at local events
• Encouraging and maintaining membership by:
  • Following up with lapsed members and report findings to Executive Director
  • Assisting in coordinating local events for members and encouraging new members to join
  • Assisting applicants in seeking support for their membership
  • Maintaining contact and liaising with local law schools
  • Assisting members who wish to file complaints against judiciary, justices of the peace or crown attorneys by ordering transcripts and forwarding those complaints to the Executive
  • Attending monthly board meetings, either in person or by zoom/telephone.

If questions arise about the election, please contact the CLA office. Please submit your nominations in good time to avoid any difficulties.

Yours very truly,

John Chagnon
Executive Director

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