The expression “social media” generally refers to web-based services, such as Facebook, Delicious, and Digg, and technologies, such as wikis and forums, that facilitate discussion and information sharing based on user participation and user-generated content. Many non-profit organizations can benefit from using these new tools, not only in their marketing and other public-facing [...]

A few years ago, a rash of articles were published in the National Parliamentarian and the Parliamentary Journal concerning how parliamentary procedure could be applied to electronic meetings. In particular, the focus was on asynchronous electronic meetings, wherein the participants would make, debate, and vote on motions via e-mail over a period of days and [...]

The Carleton University Students’ Association has managed to attract quite a bit of controversy in the last couple of days, and a lot of it can be blamed on some misunderstandings of parliamentary procedure.
To quickly summarize, CUSA Council adopted a resolution on Monday evening to work to select a new charity for their orientation week, [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Forms of primary and secondary amendment. This article discusses the surprisingly complex question of how to amend an amendable motion, and the even more complex question of how to amend and amendment.
This article will be of interest to anyone who wants to be a more effective [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Actions that can be taken without quorum. This article discusses the actions that can be taken even if a meeting does not have quorum. Many people are surprised to learn there are any such actions at all!
This article will be of interest to anyone who wants [...]

Today was the first day of the first session of the 40th Parliament of Canada, and the recently-elected members of the House of Commons in turn re-elected Peter Milliken to serve as their Speaker. This election was interesting because it took most of the day to complete, which is much longer than usual, and [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Finding the correct parliamentary authority. This article answers the important question of how to determine the correct parliamentary book to buy and follow for the meetings of any particular organization. The answer is not always as simple as it seems, because most associations do a [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called You snooze, you lose! It discusses an important rule of parliamentary procedure that protects the assembly from its own minor mistakes, but unfortunately can also disenfranchise members who are not aware of it. I recommend that everyone read this article, as it contains essential advice [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Learning the basics of parliamentary procedure. It provides an introduction to the sort of learning resources available to the novice. This article will be updated as more learning opportunities become available; I am currently in the process of developing a course that I hope [...]

In the past few weeks, my professional practice has undergone some very significant and positive changes. I hope all my clients and friends will support me as I move forward in this new direction.
First, I have quit my day job and will be staking my livelihood on my parliamentary practice. I will be [...]