A glitch somewhere along the line has left the status of the now defunct Battleford Chamber of Commerce as active, according to Industry Canada, and the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce operating under a name that wasn't officially changed when the two chambers merged. But all that is being put to rights.
At Monday evening's meeting of Battleford town council, Battlefords Chamber of Commerce executive director Linda Machniak laid out the situation. In a letter, she stated, "The Chamber of Commerce has become aware that an item of business transacted locally, between 1968 and 1978, has not been filed and recorded correctly with Industry Canada and therefore does not meet the legislative requirements in the Act under which chambers of commerce are incorporated. (The Boards of Trade Act – Canada)"
Its taken several years of background investigation and back-and-forth communication with Industry Canada, but the current board of the Battlefords Chamber is now in a position to see the legislative technicality resolved and have the official record reflect the current reality, Machniak told council members.
Because there are no members of the Battleford Chamber of Commerce to vote to dissolve the organization, the only other option is to obtain an affidavit from the mayor of Battleford declaring that the Battleford chamber has been inactive since 1978.
That will pave the way for the Battlefords chamber to vote on petitioning Industry Canada for a name change – to the name it's been using since 1978.
They will, at the same time, petition for a change of boundaries from the no-longer-existing electoral districts of 1906 and 1909, when the North Battleford and Battleford boards of trade were incorporated, to today's area of service, the City of North Battleford, the Town of Battleford and the RMs of Battle River, North Battleford and Meota.
The glitch appears to have its roots in changes that occurred between 1968 and 1978.
According to a backgrounder presented by Machniak, in 1968, a request was made by local chamber officials to Ottawa to find out how to change the name and jurisdiction for the two chambers to become one.
In 1978, at an annual meeting, a name change petition was presented to chamber members. An affidavit executed by 1978 chamber president, Harry Zamonsky, has confirmed this item of business was undertaken and approved by members in attendance.
"It is unclear if the required material were sent or never filed with Ottawa, except we can confirm that the material decisions did not become a matter of official record," states the backgrounder.
Machniak said at the next general meeting of the chamber in May, members will be able to reconfirm the vote on the name change petition and vote on the petition for jurisdiction.
Once the paperwork goes to Ottawa, she said, the process of correcting the official records could be four to six months.
"I know it's a long drawn out process to get this to happen," she said.
Machniak stressed, "These undertakings in no way impact the municipality or current chamber of commerce members who operate in the town of Battleford. Indeed, this will reflect a decision taken locally some 40 years ago, making it official in the eyes of the governing body, and solidify the work for and representation of business in the Battlefords.
In 2016, the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 110th year of incorporation and service to the local business community.
