As the management of Many Rivers Counselling and Support Services continues to deny their staff the fair working conditions needed to ensure the wellbeing of the community, they have now turned their back on their own Society members – denying them the right to participate in decision-making. 

This past Friday, November 23, Many Rivers claims to have duly held their Annual General Meeting (AGM). In reality, the AGM was deemed unlawful by Yukon Corporate Affairs because management did not provide society members with the appropriate advance notice that is legally required. In addition to the shortened timeline, the notice only went to select members of the society, excluding others. This blatant attempt to limit the participation of Society members is just the latest disrespect to the community shown by this employer. 

 

These events followed more disturbing action by Many Rivers Management: an illegal moratorium on new memberships for the Society. In September, the Society decided it would no longer accept new applications for membership, but this decision was deemed unlawful by Yukon Corporate Affairs. Many Rivers refuses to recognize at least four members who have properly submitted their applications and paid the required fee to register. These individuals were refused notice and entry to attempted AGM on November 23. The Executive Director of Many Rivers, Brent Ramsay, personally barred members from entering the meeting room.  

 

This disrespectful, undemocratic, and illegal behaviour is particularly worrisome as the staff of Many Rivers enter the fourth week of their strike. Management has shown an unwillingness to address their concerns after an entire year of bargaining and are now unwilling to even follow due process in their own decision-making. The clients of Many Rivers and the communities their services impact will suffer unless management ends this reckless behaviour and begins acting fairly in their dealings with both staff and Society members.