Incorporated by Act of Parliament March 16, 1916.

 

By-laws

The purpose of this corporation is the carrying out of the objectives for which this corporation is created and has adopted for its government, the following by-laws:

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1. The name of the corporation shall be The Danville Protestant Cemetery Company.

2. The office of the Board of Directors shall be in the village of Danville, in the county of Richmond, Que.

3. All persons who own a lot or who have a direct family member (spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling) own a lot in one of the cemeteries managed by the corporation or that can clearly demonstrate to the board a benevolent interest towards the Danville Protestant Cemetery Company shall have the right to be a member of the corporation and thus have one vote at the annual meeting. All recognized members of the corporation will be eligible to be elected as directors.

4. The annual general meeting of the corporation shall be held in the town of Danville in the month of March of each year. The secretary of the corporation shall set the time and date of the annual meeting. Notice of the hour and place shall be posted or sent by current generally accepted methods of communication at least two weeks prior to the meeting. In exceptional circumstances the annual meeting can be held virtually.

5. The directors of the corporation shall be elected at the annual meeting. A secretary of elections will be appointed by the current board of directors. Nominations will be open to the floor and once nominations have ceased, nominees must declare to the secretary if they accept or decline the nomination. A maximum of 10 directors can be elected. If more than 10 members of the corporation accept to be nominated as directors at the annual meeting then a secret vote by ballot will be held. The directors will hold office for a term of two years expiring not later than the close of every second annual meeting of members following the election.

6. Five members of the board of directors shall form a quorum.

7. The board of directors shall meet as soon as possible and as convenient after the annual meeting        each year and elect from the members a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer who shall remain in      office until their successors are duly appointed.

8. There shall be presented before the annual meeting, an annual report together with detailed financial     statements as well as the previous annual meeting’s minutes.

9.  The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board; in his/her absence the meeting shall appoint   a chairperson. The President or chairperson shall vote with the board of directors and have the             casting vote.

10. Special meetings of the corporation, or board of directors, may be called by the President or              Secretary or Treasurer, by giving four (4) day's notice of the day, hour, place and subject of the            meeting by current generally accepted methods of communications.

11. Neither officers nor directors shall receive compensation for their time while in attendance upon the meeting of the board or overseeing the work in the cemeteries and any conflicts of interest must be declared to the board.

12. The board of directors shall, from time to time, (by resolution), fix the price of lots and other services billed and otherwise regulate the affairs of the corporation.

13. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to attend all meetings of the board and keep a faithful record of their doings in the book of minutes. The treasurer may be called upon to present the most current financial state of the corporation.

14. A buildings and grounds committee may be constituted and be composed of the President and 3 other directors appointed by a resolution of the board. Summary record keeping of discussions and decisions will be the joint responsibility of this committee and will be made available to the board. 

15. It shall be the duty of the buildings and grounds committee to superintend and direct the enclosing planning, laying out, planting and ornamentation of the grounds, that relates to the laying out and ornamenting roads, lots and walks, and generally manage all and keeping in order of the cemetery and its grounds, fences, etc., but no such work, the cost of which would exceed two thousand dollars, shall be undertaken unless ordered by the said board of directors at an annual or special meeting.

16. The funds of the said corporation, until otherwise ordered, shall be placed by the Treasurer with the Canadian financial institution approved by the board of directors. No claim nor account against the corporation above two thousand ($2000.00) shall be paid until the same is approved by the board of directors.

17. The buildings and grounds committee shall have the right to hire licensed contractors or in the case of low-risk and simple tasks, casual labour. Any expenditures over two thousand ($2000.00) shall need approval by the board.

18. The board shall appoint one director to be responsible for selling lots and determining locations of burials. This director may ask the board to appoint another director to assist him(her). No burials whatsoever will take place in the cemeteries without the prior approval of the designated director(s).

19. All the funds of the said corporation shall be appropriated and applied solely to the laying out, fencing, ornamenting and keeping up or extending the said cemeteries, and in defraying the necessary expenses of the company.

20. No lot shall be used for any other purpose than as a place of burial for the dead. No improvement will be permitted on any lot, nor any internment allowed in such lot until the same be paid for. Nevertheless, the board of directors may erect vaults or other buildings necessary to the carrying on of the work in the cemeteries.

21. The owner of each lot shall have the right to erect memorials and monuments etc. thereon and to cultivate plants and shrubs in the same. The construction of foundations will be at the expense of the owner of the lot but executed under the supervision of the buildings and grounds committee.

22. All long term funds or those having being accounted for in the past as the Capital Fund or the Perpetual Maintenance Fund will be deposited with a recognized Canadian financial institution approved by and invested according to the guidelines set by the board of directors, with the objective of balancing growth with security. The directors, individually or jointly, will not manage the daily operations of the account but will retain oversight in an aggregate manner and may from time to time review the objectives of the fund and instruct RBC Dominion Securities to adjust these objectives.

23. If any trees or shrubs shall, by means of their roots, branches or otherwise, become detrimental to the adjacent lots or avenues, it shall be the duty of the buildings and grounds committee to have same removed.

24. If any monument, enclosure, or any other structure whatever, or any inscription be placed upon any lot and determined by the board of directors to be offensive or improper it shall be the right and duty of the said board to have the same removed.

25. Tablets of wood are prohibited.

26. All caskets or vaults shall be buried deep enough as to have three (3) feet of soil on top. Urns shall be buried deep enough to have one (1) foot of soil on top.

27. Enclosures of lots are prohibited and any structures, planting of trees etc. should be submitted for approval, as the committee reserves the right to remove anything objectionable to the general appearance and beauty of the grounds as a whole.

28. A maximum of six (6) urns can be buried in a single grave, whether or not a casket has already been previously buried. Once an urn is buried in a vacant grave, no casket will be buried in that grave.

29. The Act of Incorporation empowers the Cemetery Corporation to acquire the property of other Protestant Cemeteries in the historical boundaries of the Township of Shipton, to have, hold and possess property required for such purposes, said property to be at all times exempt from municipal and school taxes.

30. These by-laws shall not be altered or amended except by a two-thirds vote of the members present at an annual meeting of the corporation, or at a special meeting called for that purpose, due and proper notice having been given to all the members thereof.

31. The Danville Protestant Cemetery Company shall use all surplus revenues generated from its operations and investments to reasonably maintain the grounds of the cemeteries including roads, walkways, fences and buildings. The corporation will maintain the grass on all lots as well as leveling the ground from time to time. The corporation will not be held responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of memorials except for those it owns. The corporation will endeavour to keep the cemeteries safe by rectifying a situation whereby a memorial poses a physical danger.

32.  Any bequests to a specific cemetery will be invested in our long-term fund as mentioned in by-law 22 and the amount donated will be attributed to the net asset (equity) of that cemetery. All revenues and capital growth generated by the fund are available and allocated to all the corporation’s cemeteries as required and approved by the board of directors.

 

These revised by-laws were read and approved at an annual meeting held on May 18th, 2023, in the town of Danville, Quebec

Members present were:

            R. Barry Evans

            Eleanor Brock

            Jacques Laberge

            Ian Perkins

            Albert Gillim

            Donna McGraw

            Diane Perron

            Donald Carson

            Allan Mastine