CAPT Board
Board Members
Dorothy Macnaughton
Chairperson
Linda Savory-Gordon
Secretary
Faye Smedley
Website Manager
Forrest Hinnich
Media Communications
Al Errington
Board Member
David McLachlan
Board Member
Dean Anderson
Board Member
Donna Cushley
Board Member
David Pepper
Board Member
Jock Pirrie
Board Member
Honorary Board Members
Marie Price
Honorary Board Member
Honoured in September 2018
The ACR passenger train was used by Marie for years to reach her camp at Achigan Lake. She was an active member of CAPT and served on the Board for several years. Marie also helped out at many CAPT events.
Marie, Linda Savory-Gordon and Al Errington were responsible for starting the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT).
Dale Innes
Honorary Board Member
Honoured in June 2022
On June 23, 2022 Dale Innes, long time supporter of CAPT, passed away. She was an active volunteer for CAPT since its inception in 2006. She was a principal organizer of the annual “Group of Seven and Glenn Gould Train Events” from 2008 to 2015. She helped with CAPT’s many petitions and postcard signing efforts. Dale was Coordinator of the Music Programme at Algoma University for 20 years, an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music and a virtuoso pianist herself.
She was past president of the Sault Ste. Marie branch of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association. She was an author whose most recent publication in 2015 was the book entitled Seeking Solitude: Glenn Gould and the Goldberg Variations (Penumbra Press) which showcases Gould’s connection to the Algoma region. Dale was highly respected and loved by her colleagues, fellow CAPT volunteers and students. She will be greatly missed.
Heritage Designation of the ACR Corridor Committee
The Mask-wa Transportation Association Inc, in partnership with NORDIK Institute and the Sault Ste. Marie Museum, has begun to do the research for applying to the federal government, and eventually UNESCO, to have the rail corridor between the Sault and Hearst designated as a national and international heritage landscape. This will be based on these aspects of the rail corridor:
- Its First Nation and Metis history: the land has been traditional territory of both Anishinaabe and Cree First Nations for thousands of years and of Metis people for hundreds of years. On it are located sacred places that have highly significant spiritual importance.
- Group of Seven art history: the location where the famous Canadian Group of Seven artists first decided to become the “Group of Seven” when they were living in a boxcar on the train and cabins along the line from 1918. Their paintings of scenes along the ACR became Canadian cultural icons for which they are known throughout the world. Hundreds of their painting sites along the corridor were located by art historian Michael Burtch and adventurers Joanie and Gary McGuffin.
- Franco-Ontarian history: it was of significance for Northern Ontario francophone settlers who arrived in the early 1900s in Hearst and Dubreuilville—two municipalities that are still 95% francophone.
- Geographic significance: (i) the corridor crosses 2 watersheds with rivers emptying in James Bay and Lake Superior; (ii) the corridor passes through two major Ontario forest types: Boreal and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forests; (iii) it also traverses two of Canada’s Terrestrial Ecozones: Hudson Plains and Boreal Shield Terrestrial Ecozones; (iv) topography: it traverses the pre-Cambrian shield resulting in remarkable landscapes; (v) world’s largest game preserve: it passes through the Chapleau Game Preserve which encompasses 2 million acres (700,000 hectares) making it the largest crown game preserve in the world. Hunting and trapping are banned (fishing is allowed) within its borders making it a place where wildlife abounds with healthy populations of moose and black bear as well as timber wolf, lynx and beaver, bald eagle, osprey and species of owl.
Heritage Designation Committee Members: Shirley Horn (former Chief of Missanabie Cree First Nation, first Chancellor of Algoma University, Shingwauk Residential School Survivor and a founder of Children of Shingwauk); Will Hollingshead (Director of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum); Jami van Haaften (former chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Heritage Committee); Michael Burtch (art historian, Group of Seven expert, retired Director/Curator of the Art Gallery of Algoma & a NORDIK research associate); Johnathan Lalonde (Transportation Staff Person, Missanabie Cree Business Corporation); Dr. Nairne Cameron (Geography professor at Algoma U); Gary McGuffin (explorer/conservation photographer); Bruce Clement (Superior Media) and Linda Savory Gordon (secretary of Mask-wa Transportation Association Inc & NORDIK research associate).
CAPT Board Meetings
February 21, 2023
Meeting Minutes
November 16, 2021, AGM
Meeting Minutes
CAPT By-Laws
Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains
(also known as CAPT)
By-Laws, August 31, 2017
Purpose:
The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains is a regional group of individuals, businesses and other interests who recognize the significant social, economic, cultural, historical, and environmental value of Algoma’s passenger trains.
We are dedicated to preserving, enhancing, and reinstating passenger train service, in partnership with NORDIK, as well as increasing connectivity between Algoma communities, provincial and national rail networks.
Membership:
Membership in CAPT is open to any individual over the age of sixteen years who supports CAPT’s purpose. An individual can become a member by allowing their name and e-mail address to be on the CAPT e-mail list.
All members are welcome to attend meetings of the Board and are encouraged to provide input as non-voting participants.
Board of Directors:
CAPT shall be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of no more than fifteen members, each having one vote, except in the case of a tie vote.
The Directors shall reflect the geographic diversity of the region, along with First Nations representation, Franco-Ontarian, at least one youth, a labour representative, municipal representatives, and a representative of persons with disabilities.
Directors shall serve for a term of two years and shall be limited to three consecutive terms, with the option to continue to serve in the same office.
Quorum for meeting shall be 5 members of the Board.
Decisions will primarily be made by consensus except for financial decisions which must have a majority vote. In the case of a tie vote, the Chairperson shall have an additional deciding vote.
Where necessary, decisions of the Board may be made by means of a telephone or e-mail vote. Decisions made in this manner shall be confirmed by a vote at the next regular meeting of the Board of Directors.
An orientation package for new Board members will be developed and Board training will take place during the first Board meeting following the AGM.
Committees will have clearly defined roles and Terms of Reference, which Committee members will draft and bring before the Board for approval.
Executive:
The Executive shall consist of a Chairperson, Co-Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
The Executive shall be elected or acclaimed at the Annual General Meeting. The Executive are responsible for the overall managing of the organization and shall present agendas at meetings which clearly outline items to be reported, discussed and/or voted on.
Chairperson:
The Chairperson shall preside at all Board meetings.
Co-Chairperson:
The Co-Chairperson shall, in the absence of the Chairperson, exercise the powers of the Chairperson.
The Board has the right to appoint a substitute should both the Chairperson and Co-Chairperson be unavailable.
Secretary:
The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Board and the Annual General Meeting to record all votes and to keep minutes of all proceedings. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the records of meetings and recording amendments to the By-laws. The Secretary shall keep an current and accurate list of members.
Treasurer:
The Treasurer shall ensure that full and accurate accounts of all CAPT’s receipts and disbursements are retained. CAPT benefits from the donated support services of Algoma University’s Accounting Department to assist in maintaining their financial accounts. NORDIK issues tax receipts on behalf of CAPT and provides statements of CAPT’s accounts to the Board on a regular basis.
CAPT’s Fiscal Year:
The fiscal year shall terminate on the 30th day of April in each year.
Committees:
The Board may establish Committees as it sees fit. The Board may choose to appoint individuals other than Board members to sit on a committee.
Annual General Meeting (AGM):
An annual general meeting must be held no later than two months following the end of the fiscal year.
The Chairperson shall prepare and submit an annual report to members at the Annual General Meeting. This report shall be e-mailed to members at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
The Treasurer shall prepare and submit an annual report to members at the Annual General Meeting. This report shall be e-mailed to members at least two weeks prior to the meeting.
CAPT’s By-Laws may be amended at a Board meeting or an Annual General Meeting by a majority of those present.
Quorum for the AGM shall be the same as for regular meetings (5 Board members).
Adopted by the Board of Directors on __________, 2017.
Signed by Chairperson ________________
Signed by Co-Chairperson ___________________