On January 28, 2015 the first meeting was held to renegotiate the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between TESL Ontario and the TESL Canada Federation. Accordingly, the TESL Ontario Board of Directors wishes to inform you of the reasons for the request.
Background:
Since 1992, the TESL Ontario Membership fee has included a $16.00 TESL Canada Federation membership fee. In 2014, TESL Ontario members contributed $74,780 in membership fees to the TESL Canada Federation. TESL Canada Federation's membership income nationally was $108,000 as of December 2014.
Under the terms of the MOA, TESL Ontario is responsible for the collection of the TESL Canada Federation membership fees, the administration of joint membership in the two separate organizations, as well as maintenance of a database of members which the TESL Canada Federation can request to access.
Our decision to renegotiate the MOA is founded on legal and financial reasons.
Legal Issues:
The review of the most recent MOA by TESL Ontario's legal counsel resulted in the following legal advice:
- To have separate membership application forms for TESL Ontario and TESL Canada
- To have members' written consent to provide the TESL Canada Federation with members' personal information
- To unbundle the collection of TESL Ontario membership fee from that of the TESL Canada Federation membership fee
These changes were recommended to protect TESL Ontario from possible legal and financial risks.
Financial Issues:
Under the current terms of the MOA, TESL Ontario is solely responsible for costs related to the collection of membership fees, the administration of membership applications and the maintenance of a membership database. While the TESL Canada Federation benefits directly from TESL Ontario's investment in membership services, it does so without financially contributing to offset these costs.
Given this legal advice, the TESL Ontario Board of Directors decided to exercise the right stipulated in the MOA to request a meeting with the TESL Canada Federation to renegotiate the terms of the MOA. We are seeking to reduce TESL Ontario's risks by changing the role TESL Ontario has in the administration of TESL Canada's membership responsibilities while continuing to support the TESL Canada Federation.
We will provide you with updates as the negotiations progress.
TESL Ontario Board of Directors
