Many Rivers Society had no basis to deny membership, Yukon registrar says

Yukon's Registrar of Societies says theMany Rivers Counselling and Support Society violatedits own bylaws last year, when itrejectedsome society membership applications as part of a supposed union "conspiracy."

In his written decision issued on Friday, Registrar Fred Pretoriusordered the society to acceptthose applicants as valid, registered members.

"According to the Bylaws of the Society, from the moment the complainants paid the prescribed membership fee, they were members of the Society, and ought to have been added to the register of members," Pretorius wrote.

Pretorius ordered aninvestigation aftercomplaints were made last year to the Registrarin the weeks leading up to the beginning of a strike at the non-profit, on Nov. 2. Friday's decision is in response to nine separate complaints.

A few weeks intothe strike, the society's board of directors sent a letter to 22 people who had applied to join the society as members in the preceding months, saying their applications were rejected asincomplete they had submitted just one page of a longerform.

The board's letter wenton to say they could re-apply, but they'd likely be rejected again, because the applicationwas submitted "for an improper purpose."

"The evidence suggests that it is your intention to act in concert with other [Yukon Employees' Union]members as part of a conspiracy to disrupt the legitimate business activities of Many Rivers for the primary purpose of advancing the narrow self-interests of the YEU and its members," the letter stated.

No basis for rejecting applicants

In his decision, Pretorius found that the board had no valid basis for rejecting the applicants, saying that the society's bylaw does not describe an application form, or application approval process. Rather, members are only required topaya fee and "subscribes to the purpose of the Society."

"Some kind of application form was clearly in use. Where it came from, who authorized it, on what authority, and even how long it usually was, all seem to be a little foggy," Pretoriuswrote.

He alsofound there was no evidence that the complainants did not support the vision of the society. He dismissed union sympathies or allegianceas essentially irrelevant to society membership.

"Nothing in the Societies Act, or in the Many Rivers Bylaws, make it 'improper'for a group of like-minded individuals to pay a membership fee to Many River with the common intention of becoming members so as to rid Many Rivers of its current management and entirely reshape its operational or business model," he wrote.

According to Pretorius, the dispute over membership status means that there's been no "validly convened" meeting of society members since last June. The complainants deemed to be non-members by the Society were not given the requirednotice of any meetings, he found.

"The failure to give notice to the complainants was not 'accidental'.It was the result of a deliberate decision not to treat certain persons as members," Pretoriuswrote.