Governing Documents
The Anthropocene Advocacy Through Art and Sciences Association (ATASA) is a federally incorporated Canadian not-for-profit corporation and operates on a fully volunteer-based model.
ATASA is constituted under its Articles of Incorporation, which establish the organization’s purpose, membership structure, restrictions on activities, and other foundational provisions. Pursuant to the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, the organization has a period of up to twelve (12) months from the date of incorporation to formally adopt and file its bylaws. These bylaws will define the internal governance framework of ATASA, including procedures related to meetings, elections, decision-making processes, and the rights and obligations of members.
As a federally incorporated not-for-profit corporation, ATASA is required to operate in compliance with the NFP Act. This legislation sets out the legal duties and responsibilities of directors and officers, establishes standards for financial oversight, auditing, and record-keeping, and affirms the statutory rights of members.
Note: ATASA’s bylaws and internal policies will be published upon their formal adoption.
Articles of Incorporation
The Articles of Incorporation are ATASA’s founding legal document, filed with the federal government to formally establish our organization. They define our official name, purpose, governance structure, membership classes, and activity limitations. These Articles serve as the foundation for how ATASA operates and are part of our permanent public record under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.
Schedule 1: Purpose Of Corporation
1.1 The purpose of the Corporation is to operate as a not-for-profit educational, scientific, and environmental advocacy organization based in Ontario, Canada.
1.2 The Corporation shall carry on its activities without the purpose of financial or pecuniary gain for its members, and exclusively for public benefit, education, research, environmental awareness, science communication, and community engagement, and more specifically:
A. To promote interdisciplinary environmental education and ecological justice through initiatives that integrate scientific research, artistic practice, creative communication, and public engagement;
B. To engage students, alumni, community members, and early-career researchers in activities that increase public understanding of earth science, conservation, climate change, sustainability, land-use planning, and related fields;
C. To develop, produce, and disseminate educational, scientific, and outreach resources, including digital tools, reports, geospatial and visual materials, scientific communication products, publications, and community-based learning programs;
D. To conduct, support, and facilitate non-commercial scientific research, applied environmental studies, and community-oriented field activities, including both non-invasive research activities where no permit is required and invasive or active research activities where duly authorized by applicable permits or landholder approvals, including, but not limited to, soil and vegetation assessments, satellite and geospatial analysis, ecological monitoring, historical and policy research, and citizen-science initiatives;
E. To promote community involvement in environmental stewardship, ecological restoration, and sustainable development through collaboration with schools, universities, Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous communities, non profit organizations, local governments, and residents in Ontario, including but not limited to Richmond Hill and Ottawa;
F. To advocate, through non-partisan, evidence-based, and educational means, for the protection of natural, cultural, and scientific landscapes, including urban greenspaces and sites of ecological, heritage, or research significance;
G. To encourage public participation in environmental awareness, scientific literacy, and stewardship through educational events, workshops, field activities, exhibitions, publications, digital platforms, and periodic informational bulletins;
H. To receive, hold, and apply funds, including donations, grants, scholarships, sponsorships, research funding, and other lawful contributions from public and private sources, for the purpose of supporting the Corporation’s research initiatives, educational programs, operational activities, and projects, in accordance with applicable laws
I. To ensure that directors and officers serve without remuneration, except for the reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, and to maintain financial accountability and transparency in the management of the Corporation’s resources;
J. To apply any surplus revenues or other accretions to the Corporation solely in furtherance of its purposes, and not to distribute any such surplus for the personal financial benefit of its members.
Schedule 2: Restrictions On Activities
2.1 The activities of the Corporation shall be subject to the following restrictions:
A. The Corporation shall conduct its activities in compliance with applicable federal, provincial, and municipal laws;
B. The Corporation shall not carry on activities that involve or result in violence, threats of violence, or physical harm to persons, or that are inherently unlawful;
C. The Corporation shall not carry on activities involving eco-vandalism, including the destruction, defacement, or unauthorized alteration of natural environments, ecological features, cultural heritage resources, or scientific infrastructure;
D. The Corporation shall not carry on activities involving trespass, mischief, property damage, theft, obstruction, or other criminal or quasi-criminal conduct, nor activities that unlawfully interfere with the use or enjoyment of property;
E. Nothing in these restrictions shall prevent the Corporation from engaging in peaceful, lawful, and non-violent protest, demonstration, or public assembly in furtherance of its purposes, provided that such activities do not involve violence, eco-vandalism, trespass, property damage, or other unlawful conduct;
F. The Corporation shall not engage in partisan political activity, including the support of or opposition to any political party or political candidate. This restriction does not limit non-partisan, educational, scientific, or evidence-based advocacy consistent with the purposes of the Corporation;
G. The Corporation shall not carry on activities that are inconsistent with its stated purposes as set out in the
Articles of Incorporation.
Schedule 3: Classes of Members
3.1 The Corporation shall have one class of members only.
3.2 Membership in the Corporation is restricted and not open to the public. Individuals may be admitted as members only in accordance with the by-laws of the Corporation.
3.3 Members are limited to individuals appointed or elected to leadership positions within the Corporation, including Directors, and such officers as are eligible for membership pursuant to the by-laws.
3.4 There shall be no public, open, automatic, or general membership in the Corporation.
3.5 Individuals who participate in the activities of the Corporation as supporters, volunteers, participants, affiliates, subscribers, or attendees are not members of the Corporation and have no rights under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act.
3.6 Members shall have voting rights only where member approval is required by the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and shall have no other voting or governance rights.
Schedule 4: Distribution of Property on Liquidation
4.1 In the event of dissolution or liquidation of the corporation, and after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, any remaining property, including physical assets, digital materials, and funds, shall not be distributed for personal gain to any member, director, officer, or contributor.
4.2 All remaining assets shall be:
A. Returned, where applicable, to any individual or institution that had provided materials, equipment, or content to the corporation under the condition that such property be returned upon dissolution;
B. Transferred, where appropriate, to one or more Canadian post-secondary educational institutions, publicly funded libraries, or environmental research bodies whose mission aligns with the Corporation’s purposes and values, and which are recognized as non-profit and non-commercial in nature;
C. Any digital or educational content hosted on public platforms shall be archived, with due recognition to original authors and creators, or deleted upon author request, respecting prior agreements of consent.
Schedule 5: Additional Provisions
5.1 Copyright and Academic Work Ownership
A. All academic, scientific, technical, artistic, or creative works authored by individuals and published, presented, or displayed on the Corporation’s platforms (including, but not limited to, its website, reports, publications, digital repositories, or informational bulletins) shall remain the intellectual property of their respective authors, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
B. The Corporation may publish, host, or reference such works only with the informed consent of the author and solely for educational, research, scientific communication, or public-awareness purposes. Where such works are not already publicly available, the Corporation shall publish or host them only in academically accepted research or reporting formats, with proper citation, attribution, and references, on one or more of the Corporation’s platforms. Nothing in this provision shall be interpreted as transferring ownership of intellectual property to the Corporation, except where expressly agreed in writing.
5.2 Neutrality and Non-Partisanship
A. The Corporation shall remain politically neutral and non-partisan and shall not support, endorse, or campaign for any political party, political platform, or political candidate. All advocacy, research, publications, and public facing activities of the Corporation shall be grounded in evidence-based, educational, scientific, and community-oriented approaches, consistent with its purposes