The Vancouver Community Network strives to be an inclusive,
multicultural, community-based organization which ensures the free, accessible
electronic creation and exchange of the broadest range of information,
experience, ideas and wisdom.
Mission Statement
The Vancouver Community Network owns, operates and promotes
a free, publicly accessible, non-commercial, community computer utility in the
Lower Mainland of BC which provides a public space on the Internet.
Peter Royce– April 5, 1953 to November 4, 2009
Peter Royce has served VCN and its members with great dedication, devotion and support from 1996 until 2006, when he had to stop working due to his health. His main vision was that one day the Internet will be accessible by anyone in the community, the same way as public goods (like highways, libraries and schools) are accessible to the public.
To encourage the broadest possible participation of community and non-profit
organizations in making their information available on the CommunityNet.
To work with community and non-profit organizations to make VCN a community
building tool.
To support individuals and organizations in building and maintaining public
space on the Internet internationally.
To work with other BC and Canadian Community Networks, such as
Telecommunities Canada, to support Canadian community computer networks.
To educate and encourage the public in the use of the Internet.
To work toward the widest possible public access to the Internet, government
and other information through Community Networks, other non-profit
organizations, such as libraries, and other public access sites.
To expand the multicultural and inclusive nature of the Vancouver
CommunityNet.
To expand and strengthen the membership and user base of VCN.
To build sustainability through ongoing funding, a strong and effective board and staff, and operational and financial accountability.
To encourage the development of a wide range of electronic community
information and communications resources.
The Board of Directors is the group of volunteers who guide the Vancouver Community Network's policy directions. They are elected once per year by the VCN membership at an annual general meeting. Email to the Board may be sent to: board AT vcn DOT bc DOT ca
Chantal Iorio is a Chartered Accountant and holds a BComm degree from UBC in international business and accounting. She has eleven years of experience in the public accounting field, working mainly with small to medium sized businesses. Until recently, she was a manager at a medium sized accounting firm in Burnaby, a position which called upon her skills in project and staff management. In early 2008, she began a new position as Vice President Finance for a publicly listed company involved with eCommerce and Internet media, located in downtown Vancouver. She has enjoyed learning about the technical and charitable sides of the organization, while providing guidance on ongoing financial matters and input relating to the society’s future plans and implementation thereof.
Craig McLachlan has been active for a number of years as an organizer and advocate for injured and disabled workers, both provincially and nationally. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the BC Canadian Injured Workers Alliance and the founder of the CompoNet Website, a resource site for worker's compensation issues. Craig has considerable experience in facilitating email lists, internet communication and online meeting and organizing, and looks forward to the opportunity to contribute to the growth of VCN.
Jim Sayre is the staff lawyer responsible for workers' compensation and
Employment Insurance law at the Community Legal Assistance Society
(CLAS), a VCN community information provider. He has been a member of
the Steering Committee of PovNet since it was formed in 1997, and he
facilitates PovNet's email lists for WCB and EI advocates. Jim learned
a bit about computers to catch up with his kids, and then found that he
was expected to fix problems at CLAS on the flimsy pretext that he
probably caused them in the first place. He believes that VCN should
continue to help community groups, advocates and activists to use the
internet to work more effectively. He also believes that VCN must
vigilantly protect users' privacy rights against increasing threats
from governments and industry.
Michael Felczak is currently completing a PhD in Communication at Simon
Fraser University. His research interests intersect technology with its
social, political, and economic contexts and include Internet
development and policy, free/open source software, and new media.
Michael is also the online editor at the Canadian Journal Communication
and a researcher and developer at the Public Knowledge Project. Michael
has extensive volunteer experience and welcomes the opportunity to
support the efforts of the VCN.
Richard Smith is an Associate Professor of Communication at Simon
Fraser University. He is also Director of the Centre for Policy
Research on Science and Technology (CPROST) at SFU's Harbour Centre
campus, in downtown Vancouver. Smith's research focus is new media as a
technology, as a business, and as a factor social change. He has an
ongoing interest in technology for education, surveillance of public
spaces, online communities, and the wireless information society.
Richard
Smith is a frequent commentator to the media on topics relating to
information technology and society and in particular issues relating to
computers in education, new developments in wireless technology and
mobility, and Internet issues. He is a founding member of the BC
Advanced Systems Institute's "business advisory board", and sits on
advisory boards of several high technology companies and non-profit
societies, including BC.Net. With academic training in communication
and law, Dr. Smith has degrees from Carleton University (BA) and Simon
Fraser University (MA and PhD).
Tony Swain is a retired Applied Science Technologist, who worked mostly
in the mechanical and aeronautical design industry. After retiring in
1992, until recently, he was a long time volunteer for the GVRD Parks
Partnership at Delta Heritage Airpark, the B.C. Aviation Council, and
the Canadian (Aircraft) Owners & Pilots Association. He has been
computing since 1985 and joined VCN around 1996, with a PC XT, and
keeps an active DOS 486, but uses Windows 98 Outlook Express, mostly
for text and image correspondence. Very little web searching. He
considers himself a ‘lay’ computer person, who represents the average
user, and feels it critical that VCN continue to provide it’s valuable
service to other none commercial and low-income users.
Travis Keyworth is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of
Business Administration Degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership from
Kwantlen University College. He has 7 years of experience in the public
accounting field, working with a variety of owner managed businesses,
small to medium sized public companies, not-for-profit and co-op
organizations. Travis works as a Supervisor for a medium sized firm of
chartered accountants in Burnaby, BC and is responsible for maintaining
client relationships, organizing jobs and projects, monitoring staff
and reviewing work of junior staff members and providing ongoing
feedback to these individuals. Travis appreciates the value of the
services and opportunities that VCN provides to local communities and
looks forward to contributing to the future growth and success of the
organization.
Brendan Houle is a local business owner and entrepreneur. He holds a
Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of
Victoria and has also completed a Global Management Program studying
cross cultural relationships at National Sun Yat-sen University
(Taiwan), Johannes Kepler University (Austria) and UVIC. Past volunteer
experience includes committee work developing new branding strategies
and updating promotional material for one of Vancouver's oldest
non-profit organizations.
Over the past 15 years Brendan has participated in many local online
communities and continues to be passionate about the free use and
availability of online communication tools.
Here are the minutes for the Board's meetings over the years. Note that the minutes are posted one month after each meeting. This is because the minutes for each meeting must be approved at the next one.
VCN publishes a newsletter periodically throughout the year with operational updates, news, frequently asked questions and many other interesting facts.
[The following is the text of the Constitution and Bylaws approved by the Registrar of Companies on May 21, 1993. Amended: Nov. 14, 1995, Jan. 28, 1998]
Name
The name of the society is "The Vancouver Community Network".
Purposes
The purposes of the society are to:
develop, operate and own a free, publicly accessible community computer utility in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia providing the broadest possible range of information and possibilities for the exchange of experience, ideas and wisdom;
establish and operate a CommunityNet community computer utility in the Lower Mainland of B.C.;
encourage the development of a wide range of community electronic information resources;
encourage the broadest possible participation of information providers in making their information available on CommunityNet;
work toward building a network of similar services in cities and towns internationally;
work toward the widest possible public access to government and other information through CommunityNet and other non-profit organizations such as libraries;
work with other Canadian CommunityNets to create a Canadian CommunityNet network;
educate and encourage the public in the use of computer telecommunications and information retrieval; and
research ways to improve and expand public access to and use of electronic information resources and facilities.
Winding-up
In the event of winding-up or dissolution of the Society, funds and assets of the Society remaining after the satisfaction of its debts and liabilities, shall be given or transferred to such organization or organizations promoting the same purposes as this Society, as may be determined by the members of the Society at the time of winding up or dissolution, and if effect cannot be given to the aforesaid provisions, then such funds shall be given or transferred to some other organization or organizations, provided however that such organization referred to in this paragraph shall be a registered charity recognized by Revenue Canada Taxation as being qualified as such under the provisions of the Income Tax Act of Canada from time to time in effect.
Non-profit
The purposes of the Society shall be carried out without purpose of gain for its members and any profits or other accretions to the Society shall be used for promoting its purposes.
Unalterable
Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of the constitution are unalterable in accordance with the Society Act.
(1) In these bylaws, unless the context otherwise requires,
directors" means the directors of the Society for the time being;
"Society Act" means the Society Act of the Province of British Columbia from time to time in force and all amendments to it;
"registered address" of a member means his or her address as recorded in the register of members, and can consist of an e-mail address or a fax number;
"standing committee" means a committee chaired by a director, and the members of a standing committee need not be directors.
Words importing the singular include the plural and vice versa; and words importing a male person or a female person do not include a corporation.
"Information is the currency of modern life. This has been properly called the information age. The free exchange of information amongst members of society has long been recognized as a public good." - Mr. Justice James K. Hugessen.
The Vancouver CommunityNet is making this information available in the hope that charitable status will help community networks across the country in their daily fundraising struggles. We would like to recognize Bill Andrews, James Aldridge and Marcus Bartley for their hard work on the case.
Here is some background information, including the full text of the decision and a kit to apply for Charitable Status for your CommunityNet.
To educate and encourage the public in the use of the Internet.
