To the editor:
Turning a vibrant company like Ballet Kelowna into a shell organization seems like a drastic restriction of the purposes of the Kelowna Ballet Society which are, in short:
a) to develop Canadian dancers and choreographers
b) to provide them with opportunities to display their skills through dance productions
c) bring dance productions to the people of Canada
d) provide opportunities and means by which Canadian dancers and choreographers can study and work in Canada and thereby contribute to Canada’s performing arts, and
e) promote and encourage ballet as a performing art in Canada for Canadian audiences
Can a shell organization do all this? Of course not. Who is going to dance for Canadians, the president of the board?
In order to take effect, does such an important restriction of the purpose of the Kelowna Ballet Society not require a special resolution passed by 75 per cent of the members present at a special general meeting of the society and subsequent approval of this new special resolution by the BC Registrar of Societies?
I am not a lawyer, and I may be wrong, but according to my interpretation of the BC Society Act Part 2, Article 20 (b) which deals with change of purposes of societies, this seems to be the proper protocol to follow.
It was not. The decision to turn Kelowna Ballet Society into a shell was a unilateral decision by the board. Members of the society were informed only after the fact.
Any lawyers out there who could provide a learned opinion?
Jiri Strom,
Kelowna
