Vol par effraction dans nos bureaux de deux ordinateurs portatifs (Steve et
Karim) constaté hier soir au retour d’Ottawa : ce n’est pas la première fois que ça
arrive. La police fera enquête. Même si on pourrait être tenté d’y voir un complot dans
les circonstances, en arriver trop rapidement à cette conclusion est pour le moment pure
spéculation.
The meeting was held from 17h to 18h30 at Marie-France. On the agenda:
Burglary in our office two laptops (Steve and Karim) last night after returning from
Ottawa: this is not the first time it happened. The police will investigate. Even if one
might be tempted to see a conspiracy in the circumstances, arriving too quickly to this
conclusion is currently pure speculation.
• Those who are enrolled in training tomorrow Office 2007 should attend.
• Those who would feel more comfortable and more productive to work from
home until the situation is back to normal may apply. This will be received
favourably by their supervisors.
Revision of guidelines:
• Mr. Gauthier is still not welcome in Montreal, but we cannot prevent his coming.
• As has been the practice to the arrival of Mr. Roy and Mr. Beauregard, every
encounter between Mr. Gauthier and one of us should never be alone. Ask to be with
your supervisor, and if necessary, your union representative.
Gestures of dissent and intimidation against Mr. Gauthier: each to measure the wear of
his gesture, especially if it is isolated and gives the impression that we are divided. Each
to assess also that at some point, these gestures of confrontation will serve as an
argument to those who claim that we are unmanageable, we need to be disciplined or
that the institution should be closed.
Inquiry by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Gerald Cossette: we will prepare to
cooperate actively. An inventory of the various incidents involving Mr. Gauthier, Tepper
and Braun is in preparation. We await Mr. Cossette’s response to our invitation to meet
with the staff in our offices.
Minutes of the meeting on January 28, 2010, between Jacques Gauthier and
Michael Van Pelt and Charles Vallerand, France-Isabelle Langlois and Dominic
Tremblay. (the minutes did not get submitted for approved by Mr. Gauthier and
Mr. Van Pelt since the author, Charles Vallerand, was suspended the next day).
The new interim President, Jacques Gauthier accompanied by Board member Michael
Van Pelt were in Montreal to meet with the management team on January 28-29, 2010.
The following was discussed and agreed on:
Duty of the Board: M. Van Pelt expressed his preoccupation that the Board
accomplished its duties in appointing an interim President and that the interim President
would be able to adequately fulfill his mandate. He asked that in the absence of Marie-
France could someone act as interim secretary of the Board to take care of logistics.
Appointment of the interim President: M. Gauthier was informed at the Board meeting
last Friday that he would be asked to become the interim president. He stressed the
importance to assist the organization operate as normally as possible and indicated he
saw his role as one of transition for a short period of time during which the government
was actively searching for a new duly appointed President of the Centre.
Haiti: Mr. Gauthier wanted to be kept informed of the situation in Haiti and how the
$50,000 budget set aside by the Board would be spent. Everyone agreed that it was
difficult at the moment to transfer money, that it was too early to assess the needs and
that we should wait before sending staff to Port-au-Prince to both ensure their safety and
that their presence prove useful on the ground not add to the state of chaos.
Trust building and staff morale: Both sides agreed that mutual trust was non existent
and that ways at to be found to be able to operate. Mr. Gauthier mentioned he was
seriously concerned by the level of stress this might have caused to staff and was
considering various ways to help improve things. He was not yet ready to announce
them.
Modus operandi:
- Because of his numerous other commitments, Mr. Gauthier will not be able to
spend too much time in Montreal.
- There might be occasions when staff will be asked to meet with him in Toronto. If
Mr. Gauthier intends to be accompanied by other Board members during these
meetings, the staff will be informed in advance.
- He is considering having someone external of R&D to assist him working from
our offices in Montreal. The exact mandate of this person is yet to be determined.
- It was agreed that a member of staff could be accompanied by a colleague or a
union representative at meetings with Mr. Gauthier and that he too could be
accompanied.
- It was agreed that his instructions and approvals would be confirmed in writing,
to avoid any misinterpretation. If he did not have the time to write down
instructions given orally, staff would send him by e-mail their understanding of
his instructions for him to confirm in reply.
- The possibility that Mr. Gauthier would participate to the weekly management
meeting, in person or on the phone, was discussed without coming to a
conclusion.
Other: Mr. Gauthier fully supports the arrangement made for the management team to
travel to Toronto Saturday to attend Mr. Beauregard’s funeral service.
Procès-verbal de la réunion du 28 Janvier 2010, entre Jacques Gauthier et Michael
Van Pelt et Charles Vallerand, France-Isabelle Langlois et Dominic Tremblay (ce
compte-rendu n’a pas pu être soumis à M. Gauthier et M. Van Pelt pour
approbation puisque l'auteur, Charles Vallerand, a été suspendu le jour suivant).
Instaurer la confiance et le moral du personnel : Les deux parties ont convenu que la
confiance mutuelle était inexistante et que des voies devaient être trouvées pour être en
mesure de fonctionner. M. Gauthier a mentionné qu'il était gravement préoccupé par le
niveau de stress que cela pourrait avoir causé au personnel et envisageait diverses
façons pour aider à améliorer les choses. Il n'était pas encore prêt à les annoncer.
Modus operandi :
• En raison de ses nombreux engagements, M. Gauthier ne sera pas en mesure de
passer trop de temps à Montréal.
• Il pourrait y avoir des cas où le personnel sera appelé à se réunir avec lui à
Toronto. Si M. Gauthier a l'intention de se faire accompagner par d'autres
membres du Conseil au cours de ces réunions, le personnel en sera informé à
l'avance.
• Il envisage d'avoir quelqu'un de l’externe pour le seconder à partir de nos
bureaux de Montréal. Le mandat exact de cette personne est encore à déterminer.
• Il a été convenu qu'un membre du personnel pourrait être accompagné par un
collègue ou un représentant syndical lors des réunions avec M. Gauthier et que
lui aussi pouvait être accompagné.
• Il a été convenu que ses instructions et les autorisations seraient confirmées par
écrit, afin d'éviter toute interprétation erronée. S’il n'a pas eu le temps d'écrire
des instructions données oralement, le personnel lui enverra par courriel leur
compréhension de ses instructions en lui demandant une confirmation dans sa
réponse.
• La possibilité que M. Gauthier participe à la réunion de gestion hebdomadaire,
en personne ou au téléphone, a été discutée sans arriver à une conclusion.
Autres : M. Gauthier soutient pleinement les dispositions prises pour l'équipe de gestion
pour se rendre au service funèbre M. Beauregard à Toronto samedi.