Terms of Reference

Interpretation

1. The definitions in this paragraph apply to these terms of reference.

   « RMC »

   means the Royal Military College of Canada;

   « RMCSJ »

   means the Royal Military College Saint-Jean;

   « Commander CDA »

   means the Commander of the Canadian Defence Academy;

   « Commandant »

   means the Commandant of the Royal Military College Saint-Jean;

   « Board »

   means the Board of Governors for the Royal Military College Saint-Jean; and

   « Minister »

   means the Minister of National Defence.

General

2. These terms of reference establishing the Board are provided by the Minister, in accordance with section 4 of the National Defence Act.

Role

3. The Board shall provide advice and recommendations to the Minister, on matters relating to RMCSJ. The Board shall also review and assist in the development of the strategic direction of RMCSJ, and assist the Commandant and the Commander, on matters relating to RMCSJ.

Responsabilities

4. As a governance and advisory body, the Board assists and guides the Commander by activities which include, but are not limited to, reviewing and advising on:

   • the RMCSJ military programme;
   • the quality and suitability of the Academic Programmes offered at RMCSJ;
   • the implementation of the second official language programme for officer cadets;
   • the quality and suitability of the RMCSJ Physical Education and Sports Programmes;
   • whether or not established procedures for promotions of university teachers have been carried out appropriately;
   • the RMCSJ Research Programme;
   • RMCSJ’s business and long-range development plans;
   • strengthening the lines of communication and co-operation with the Alumni and the community at large and, where appropriate, initiating or enhancing fundraising measures to encourage donations to the Royal Military Colleges Club Foundation and the Fondation des Anciens du CMR de Saint-Jean for the benefit of RMCSJ;
   • student body issues for which a recourse mechanism does not exist in the established chain of command, either at the request of the Commandant or upon request by the students themselves; and
   • the compilation of aggregate assessments and reports concerning the operations of RMCSJ.
     
     

5. The Board is responsible for proposing a member to participate on the Public Service selection committee that sits to choose a candidate for the position of Academic Director of RMCSJ. The member will provide input on the recommendation of a candidate for appointment to the position of Academic Director on the Board’s behalf.

6. The Board shall provide advice to the Commander and the Commandant as requested.

7. The Board Chair shall provide the minutes of the Board meetings to the Minister. The Board Chair shall meet with the Minister annually or as required by the Minister.

Composition

8. Voting members of the Board consist of the Chair, nine ordinary members, seven ex-officio members and one member designated by the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada (RMC Club), for a total of 18 members.

9. The following members are appointed by the Minister:

   1. the Chair, a prominent Canadian; and
   2. nine civilian ordinary members whose backgrounds reflect as much as possible the social diversity of the country, in keeping with the fundamental value of equality embodied in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and to encompass an appropriate mix of academic, private sector and public sector backgrounds.
      
      

10. The following persons are ex-officio members, meaning members by virtue of their positions:

    1. the Commander, who shall be the Vice-Chair of the Board;
    2. the Commandant;
    3. the Director Maritime Personel or another officer holding the rank of Captain(Navy)/Commodore selected by the Chief of the Maritime Staff, who can provide the Board with insight and expertise on naval professional development matters;
    4. the Director Army Training or another officer holding the rank of Colonel/Brigadier-General selected by the Chief of the Land Staff, who can provide the Board with insight and expertise on land force professional development matters;
    5. the Director Air Personnel Strategy or another officer holding the rank of Colonel/Brigadier-General selected by the Chief of the Air Staff, who can provide the Board with insight and expertise on air force professional development matters;
    6. the Academic Director of RMCSJ; and
    7. the Principal of the Royal Military College of Canada in his capacity as the Senior Academic Advisor to the Commander.
       
       

11. A member of the RMC Club is selected from the Club membership to represent the Alumni. This member is remunerated in accordance with paragraph 25.

12. The Board Executive Secretary is a public servant on the CDA staff who is assigned to provide administrative support to the Board. The Board Executive Secretary normally attends all meetings of the Board. The Executive Secretary is not a member of the Board and is not entitled to vote with Board members on any issue before the Board.

Meetings

13. The Chair shall convene meetings of the Board at least twice per calendar year. The Vice-Chair may preside over meetings of the Board in the Chair’s absence and may convene a meeting at the request of the Chair or in the event that the Chair’s position is vacant.

14. The Chair may invite other persons to attend and participate in the discussions of the Board. No such attendee, however, shall be entitled to vote on any issue before the Board.

15. Except as provided for in paragraphs 10 and 11, attendance at Board meetings is restricted to Board members pursuant to paragraphs 9 and 10. Stand-in or representative attendance for Board members is permitted only for those ex-officio members listed at paragraph 10, subparagraphs (c), (d) and (e).

16. Board decisions on recommendations or advice will normally be reached by consensus but a vote on an issue may be called at the discretion of the Chair. In such cases, the Chair shall vote only when necessary to break a tie amongst the members.

17. A quorum shall consist of nine members of the Board and shall include:

    1. the Vice-Chair;
    2. at least two other military members; and
    3. at least five civilian members.
       
       

18. Military members of the Board may inform the Chief of Military Personnel (CMP) if they are not in agreement with advice or recommendations formulated by the Board. Military members shall take such action through the Vice-Chair or through their chain of command. If any military member intends to inform the CMP of their disagreement with a decision of the Board, the military member shall inform the Chair of their intention before taking such action.

Term of Appointment

19. The term of service for the Chair is four years with provision for an extension of one term.

20. For ordinary members and for the member representing the RMC Club, the term of appointment is four years, with provision for an extension of a further three years. The Board Executive Secretary will remind members of their status on an annual basis. One year prior to the end of an ordinary member’s term, the Chair shall consider the extension or replacement of the member and make a recommendation to the Minister concerning the member’s appointment extension or replacement. Departures from the Board should be planned so that, normally, no more than three members change in any given year.

Board Committees

21. The Board may appoint an Executive Committee from among the Board members. While the Board is not compelled to appoint an Executive Committee, if one is formed, the Board shall draft specific Terms of Reference. Any terms of reference assigning a matter to an executive committee shall specify that the executive committee shall report the matter to the Board as a whole and that any action to be taken or decision to be made on the matter shall be the sole responsibility of the Board. Any executive committee must include the Vice-Chair. Membership on an executive committee must be reviewed on an annual basis by the Board as a whole.

22. The Board may also appoint other committees of Board members, or committees consisting wholly or partly of persons who are not Board members, for purposes established by the Board. Committee members who are not members of the Board shall be administered under provisions of personal services contracts in accordance with Treasury Board Guidelines. Such contracts can only be entered into under the authority of the Commander.

Control and Administration

23. The Chair reports to the Minister.

24. The Commander, as Vice-Chair, shall be responsible for implementation of the Board’s advice and recommendations.

25. While the Minister appoints the Chair and civilian ordinary members, Treasury Board contracting policy calls for the raising of an individual contract to be signed by the Minister for each Board member other than the ex-officio members. The contracts shall provide for the payment of specified professional service fees and the reimbursement of expenses incurred while carrying out Board business, the latter to be paid in accordance with Treasury Board guidelines.

26. The budget of the Board will be identified by the Board Executive Secretary and will be factored into the overall CDA budget. The Vice-Chair must authorize any expenditure of funds allocated for the Board’s use.

Peter G. MacKay
Minister of National Defence

Date modified:

2023-03-28