For the second year in a row, the Ontario Zoroastrian Association held its General Meeting online.

The gathering was held on Sunday, July 18, 2021, at 11:00 AM. One month ago, each member who had paid their membership fee was informed of the time and place of the meeting, and then a link was sent to these members in an email to join the forum via zoom to use on the day of the session. This link was for that member, and no one else could use it.

Likewise, from a month ago, the members who had paid their membership fee, a collection including the announcement of the time of the General Meeting, the agenda, the report of the General Meeting last year, the information of the Board, the details of candidates for each position, power of attorney form to other members and last year’s financial information was sent by mail. Last year’s financial report was prepared by the association’s cashier and checked by an independent accountant.

Each member had to enter the General Assembly through the e-mail they received and the link given to them, and thus attend the meeting with their full name and details. A group of volunteers independent from the board of directors were in charge of counting the votes and the order of the meeting that day, and ten members of the board of directors were present in the Guiv Darmehr hall, while observing distance and having masks on throughout the meeting.

The general meeting began with recitation of the Avesta by a mobed, and then the chairman of the board asked the volunteers of make the meeting official after reaching the quorum of the assembly is reached when at least fifty members are present, and the number of participants was sixty-four, and the meeting was announced as official. At the beginning of the meeting, the sound system and the note and voting system were tested to make sure it was working properly. Based on the agenda sent to all, attendees were first asked to raise any issues regarding the agenda, and then a vote was taken to approve the agenda.

According the second article on the agenda, last year’s report of the general assembly, a copy of which was already sent to the members, was presented and then a vote was taken to approve it. The report included all favorable and non-favorable opinions regarding each item on last year’s agenda, number of agreeing and dis-agreeing members in each vote, plus their comments.

The third article of the agenda was last year’s report of the board of directors. In this report, the association reported a series of different activities, including changing the structure of the association’s website, improving the association’s virtual systems for paying membership fees, buying tickets and donations to the association online, restoring and modifying the door and virtually holding programs. Members present were then asked to give their comments, if any, and finally, a vote was taken to approve or reject the report. The fourth part of the agenda included a review of the association’s financial report for the past year, in which members first asked questions. Then the cashier or other association members answered, and all questions and answers or suggestions were recorded in the minutes. Finally, a vote was taken to approve or reject the financial report, which had been approved by the accountant.

The 5th item on the agenda was allocated to selecting a certified accountant, independent of the Association, to audit next year’s financial report, and the proposed accountant was voted on.  In the final round, new members, who were candidates for specific positions, were elected to positions on the board that had expired after two years, and were nominated for each position. The Ontario Zoroastrian Association, located in Darmehr Guiv, had been completely closed for the past year, holding all its festivals and rituals virtually. This year, the board attempted to reach out to its members by email, telephone, or text message and improve its website systems. In the next part of this article, an attempt will be made to present a report on the programs held.