Any Branch, Constituency, or District, as well as the Provincial Council, may write and present a resolution to the Provincial Resolutions Chair. The Provincial Chair may also write and present resolutions.

Every resolution written and presented by a Branch must be moved by the writing Branch and seconded by another Branch. A resolution passed by a Constituency or District must be passed at a Constituency or District meeting and moved and seconded by two different delegates at that meeting. A resolution presented by the Provincial Council or the Resolutions Chair must be moved and seconded by two members of the Provincial Council.

At the Provincial Convention a Resolution is moved by a representative of the Branch (or Constituency, District, Provincial Council) that has moved the resolution and seconded by a representative of the Branch (or Constituency, District, Provincial Council) who had previously agreed to second the resolution. Once the resolution has been moved and seconded it is then debated under the Rules of Debate that the Resolution Chair has reviewed with the assembly. Following the debate, the resolution will be voted on by a show of voting cards only.

When a resolution has been passed by the assembly at Provincial Convention, the Resolution Chair writes letters to the appropriate government officials on behalf of Alberta Women’s Institutes. It is hoped that whenever possible the Resolution Chairperson will be able to talk to her local MLA or MP regarding the resolution.

After a resolution is passed at the Provincial Convention every member and/or Branch is encouraged to write to her MLA or MP in support of the resolution. [Numbers of letters impress government officials and strengthen the case of our resolution.]

The resolution guidelines are written to help members formulate good resolutions that require minimum adjustments to be presented to the AWI membership. If you need help or have questions not covered by the guidelines, please contact the AWI Resolutions Chair, Linda Toews at lindat4awi@gmail.com and she or another Resolutions Committee member will be pleased to help you.

Resolutions Guidelines

WHAT MAKES A GOOD RESOLUTION?

There are two things that make a good resolution.

1. It should be short, simple and very clear as to what is being asked and to which government the resolution is addressed. 
2. It should include well-researched background information.

What Does That Actually Mean?

A resolution consists of two parts: the actual resolution that will be discussed at AWI Convention, and the background information that explains why the resolution is important and why members should vote for the resolution.

THE RESOLUTION

1. The actual resolution should only be one sentence long.  If it needs more than one sentence to state the resolution, it should be reworded to make it more concise. The main reason a resolution contains more than one sentence is that some of the background information has been included. Make sure no background information slips into the resolution.

If a resolution contains two or more proposals it should be divided into two or more resolutions.

• A resolution is a call to action. It states simply and clearly what AWI members are asking the government to do.   It also states to which government or government agency the resolution is directed. Is this a provincial matter or a federal concern?  That needs to be stated in the resolution.

•  An AWI resolution follows a specific format. To be consistent, all resolutions presented at AWI Conventions should follow the same format:

                “BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Women’s Institutes urge the Government of Canada to….”

Or

                “BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Women’s Institutes urge the Government of Alberta to….”

It is also acceptable to say the “federal government” or the “provincial government.”

• The resolution needs to be seconded. The Branch that formulates the resolution is the mover and needs to find another Branch to be the seconder.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The background information explains additional information about the resolution. This part is not limited in length but should only be as long as is needed to present the pertinent information.

This is where the Branch moving the resolution can explain why the resolution is important, and why AWI members should vote in favour of it. Research on the topic that supports the resolution should be presented here. If the support comes from an expert or authoritative body, be sure to include the name(s). If there are statistics, include them.  If other jurisdictions have similar positions to that being asked in the resolution, state that here also. Again, this should be as clear and concise as possible to help members decide whether the resolution is one they choose to support.  However, it does not need to be a dry recitation of facts. After all, part of the background information should include why the members should support this particular resolution.

Download Resolutions Guidelines with Examples here.