About the Fall Meetings

National Committee and Council members only meet face-to-face two times a year, and the fall meetings is one of the occasions. The Board of Directors meets three times a year—at the fall meetings, the pre-conference meetings, and Day on the Hill.  The Executive Officers’ Council – which all EOs are automatically members of – meets for a roundtable discussion. Please note that management committee meetings are now typically held online and not during the week of in-person meetings.

List of Meetings
Board of Directors Meeting
Executive Committee Meeting
Executive Officers’ Council
Canadian Renovators’ Council
Modular Construction Council
Net Zero Energy Housing Council
Technical Research Committee
Urban Council

Who should come?

Members who are on national committees/councils are expected to attend their meetings, as are provincial EOs. All EOs and their elected leadership are encouraged to attend. The EOC has a roundtable meeting and EOs offer their insights and important perspective on the association.  The rest of the meetings provide member perspective and staff perspectives on key issues facing the industry and association at all levels, enabling participants to get valuable insights into common issues and bring back the “big picture” as well as potential action items they think would be beneficial back to their local associations.  Most meetings are open to EOs who wish to observe – they do not need to be on a committee/council or elected leadership.

What meetings should EOs attend?

EOs are encouraged to attend all CHBA Committee and Council meeting that are open to them. (The CHBA registration system is tailored to every individual and will only show you meetings that you’re eligible to attend). Committee/council volunteers are not immersed in association business like EOs are, and meetings benefit greatly from the insight that EOs bring from their geographic areas and from an operational standpoint. Attending any management committee meetings that are scheduled during the week will give provincial EOs in particular a helpful inside look at the business of the association. Please note that as of recent years these meetings are typically no longer scheduled during the week we're all in Ottawa.

Concurrent Meetings
The meeting schedule is arranged to have as few concurrent meetings as possible, but in the event of unavoidable concurrent meetings, as an EO, you may want to consider having your president or other board member attend one meeting and you attend the second. Alternately, you can divide your time between both (the meeting agenda may help you decide where to be at what time). It’s not uncommon for EOs to sit at the back of the room so that they can move between concurrent meetings.

It is especially important that EOs attend the Executive Officers’ Council meeting and the Board of Directors meeting. Provincial EOs should also attend committee/council management committee meetings for CRC and TRC.

Location

The meeting are held at a hotel in downtown Ottawa every year. CHBA arranges a room block in the same location. See this page for location details for this year.

Time of Year

The fall meetings take place in mid-October, normally the third week, and usually run Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday at noon. See this page for dates of all upcoming CHBA events.

Communication

Each committee and council has a staff lead. (Tip: you can see who that is by going the Committee/Council webpage and viewing the lists of committee/council members). When meeting registration is open, EOs and members of the committees/councils are emailed with meetings details and instruction on how to register. A special issue of National Update goes out to all members and HBA staff shortly after the meetings have concluded with a summary of key issues coming out of each committee/council.

Registering for Meetings

Meeting registration is integrated with the chba.ca website and database. This allows CHBA to tailor event registration details and communications to individuals based on their involvement with the association and the national committees/councils.

Once registration is open for the fall meetings, members and HBA staff need to log in to the chba.ca website. Registrants will only be able to see/sign up for meetings that are open to them. To that end, if you have changes to your committee/council representatives, please email communications@chba.ca to ensure everyone has access to the meetings they should be attending.

Meeting Materials

Agendas and supporting information will be posted by the CHBA staff lead for each meeting in the corresponding committee/council Resource folder in the website HUB. Staff leads aim to have agendas and meeting materials posted a week in advance, or by the Friday before meeting week so that participants have the material to review while travelling.

Some meetings may request a provincial report on activities relevant to the committee/council mandate. It is normally the responsibility of the member representative to present that report; however, it’s typically written by (or with the assistance of) the provincial/local HBA staff for that member. The CHBA staff lead will let you know if a report is requested.  

Do you have members interested in getting involved?

Members who are on committees and councils have a responsibility to be actively engaged on those committees/councils, and get the benefit of more association leadership experience and exposure to national issues facing the industry. They are representing their geographic area (usually the province) at the national level, and are thus the voice for that region. They bring needed information on the unique needs, challenges, and strengths of their area. Our association is strongest when all areas of the country are heard from.

How national engagement helps locals/provincial HBA
In addition to conducting committee/council business, attending meetings allows members to get the “big picture” of what’s happening across the country. By hearing about what our association does for members and their business, attendees often return home with renewed enthusiasm for the association and the results of our collective efforts. Attending association events results in higher levels of engagement from members: they are more likely to participate at all levels, either on their respective board of directors or in committees. They often return home as a spokesperson for the association, informing other members what’s being worked on. Attendees leave with a better sense of the value proposition for the entire association, and with action items they can choose to use to help advance their HBA back home.