Charter

1a. Full Members normally hold a PhD and are actively engaged in research.

1b. Associate Members normally are students working in a behavioural research setting in an accredited university or college.

1c. Emeritus membership is open to an individual who was a full member of CSBBCS at the time of retirement and whose research is no longer supported by grant funding.

1d. Any membership application may be reviewed by the Executive Committee.

The aims of CSBBCS are as follows:

2a. To advance research concerning brain, behaviour, and cognitive science in Canada, according to the highest standards of scientific inquiry.

2b. To promote and foster the education and training of students in these scientific disciplines in Canada.

2c. To develop and maintain effective lines of communication with the major federal and provincial ministries and funding agencies that might assist in the development of efficient and equitable policies and procedures within those organizations with respect to experimental psychology and behavioural neuroscience.

2d. To develop and maintain effective lines of communication with federal and provincial ministries and funding agencies with a view to influencing science policy and funding in Canada, particularly with respect to experimental psychology and cognitive and behavioural neuroscience.

2e. To promote the value of research in experimental psychology and behavioural neuroscience in the eyes of the general public through the popular and scientific press and other public venues.

2f. To increase communication within our own research community by means of newsletters, electronic networks, and an annual meeting. In all these endeavors, CSBBCS will interact with and provide appropriate representative liaison with the Canadian Psychological Association, the Council of Canadian Departments of Psychology, and other national and international organizations involved in science advocacy and scientific communication.

3a. The Executive Committee will consist of the President, either the President-elect or the past-President, the Secretary-Treasurer, the CPA Liaison, the Webmaster, and three additional Representatives, two of whom are Full Members and one of whom is an Associate Member. The Secretary-Treasurer and Webmaster may serve for an indefinite term. The President will normally serve for two years in that position after serving for one year as President-elect and prior to serving for one year as past-President. Both Full Member Representatives on the Executive Committee will normally serve for three years and the terms of the two Full Members will be staggered. The term of the Associate Member Representative will be two years. The term of Executive Committee members begins at the end of one Annual General Meeting (AGM) and continues through the end of another AGM.

3b. In a normal election cycle, a President-elect will be selected every two years in order to serve in that position during the second year of the previous President’s term. In a normal election cycle, a call for nominations for either the President-elect and/or any of the Representative positions for which a term is ending will be sent out to all members by electronic mail in January. The membership will be encouraged to make nominations that ensure representation from the entire spectrum of research interests of CSBBCS. Short descriptions of nominees will be posted on the CSBBCS website prior to the election. Elections will be held by e-mail ballot in March.

3c. In the event that the President leaves office during the first year of their term, the past-President will reassume the position of President and a new election for President-elect will be called as soon as is feasible. If that election is held prior to the next election cycle, during the next election cycle a new President-elect will be selected with the current President-elect becoming President. The new President will then serve a one-year term before becoming past-President. If that election is held during the next election cycle, the past-President will be asked to reassume the position of President for another year. When the President-elect becomes President, they may ask any previous President to fill the position of past-President for the first year of their term. In the event that the President leave office during the second year of their term, the President-elect shall assume the position of President. At the discretion of the new President, any former President may be asked to assume the position of past-President until the next election cycle at which time a new President-elect will be selected and the normal election cycle will continue. In the event that the past-President leaves office during their term, the President may ask any previous President to fill the position of past-President for the remainder of the past-President’s term. In the event that the President-elect leaves office during their term, a new election for President-elect will be called as soon as is feasible.

In the event that a Full Member Representative on the Executive Committee leaves office during the first or second year of their term, the person receiving the second highest number of votes will be selected to replace the departing Representative. If that individual cannot serve, the position will subsequently be offered to the individual with the next highest vote total until a replacement has been selected. If no individual is selected in this manner, a special election shall be called unless there is less than three months before the next election cycle. The same procedure will be applied if an Associate Member Representative leaves office during the first year of their term. If any Representative leaves office during the final year of their term, a special election may be called at the discretion of the Executive Committee. Alternatively, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, that position may remain vacant until the Representative is replaced in the normal election cycle. The format of any special elections will parallel that of a normal election with the exception that they can take place at any time during the year.

3d.  At the request of the President and with the approval of the Executive Committee, members of the Executive Committee can be assigned portfolios describing designated duties. These portfolios will be maintained during the term of the President requesting the assignment of that portfolio; however, a similar request can be made by subsequent Presidents. Portfolios may be assigned to Full Members who are not on the Executive in the event that the Executive believes that the society will be better served by such an arrangement.

3e. The Executive Committee will meet at least once a year around the time of the AGM. All the activities of CSBBCS will be coordinated by the Executive Committee. It is expected that members of the Executive Committee will consult amongst themselves at other times by other means (e.g., phone, electronic mail). The Executive Committee shall present a financial report to the membership at the AGM.

3f. The fiscal year for the society shall be September 1 to August 31. The financial report presented by Executive Committee to the membership at the AGM will be subsequently posted on the CSBBCS website. When this meeting is held before July 1, the financial report will be "tentative" and the final version, reflecting the full year's finances, will be the version that is posted, along with minutes of the meeting.

All expenditures are to be made in an effort to advance the aims of the Society whether they do so directly by, for example, paying bills or indirectly by, for example, supporting the activity of organizations sharing the aims of the Society. The President is authorized to spend up to $500 at their discretion for any such purpose. The Executive Committee is authorized to spend up to $2000 for any such purpose. Expenditures more than $2000 must be authorized by an email ballot of the membership. The only exceptions are: a) expenditures explicitly regulated by a Society by-law, as well as b) web design/maintenance and c) annual conference expense decisions, both of which are solely the prerogative of the Executive Committee. All expenditures must be reported to the membership at the subsequent AGM.

CSBBCS may sponsor external events that align with CSBBCS’ purpose. Requests must come from a current CSBBCS member, and must be made through an application to the President. Support for external events shall be given on a “first come, first served” basis to those who meet CSBBCS’s criteria for support. Each event that is selected for support will receive $500, with a maximum annual allowance of $3000 for all such events.

Changes to the Annual Dues for Full Members and Associate Members shall be made by majority vote at the AGM. Dues for Full Members shall be appreciably higher than those for Associate Members. Emeritus Members are not required to pay annual dues.

Amendments to the Charter can be suggested by any member. Suggested amendments must be presented to the Executive Committee whose recommendation must be presented at an AGM. Following such presentation, passage of the amendment requires the agreement of 2/3rds of the members voting by e-mail ballot. The vote should take place no more than 4 months after the AGM.

In the event that the Society is dissolved through a charter amendment, all of its assets and accumulated income will be transferred to one or more organizations (named in that amendment) with similar objectives that qualify for exemption pursuant to paragraph 149(1)(f) or (l) of the act.

revised:
  June 1998
  June 2004
  June 2005
  October 2009
  June 2011
  May 2013
  July 2023