Anyone who has a question about the Canons, Bylaws and Regulations (CBR) of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa should now be able to find the answer by doing a keyword search of a newly consolidated and updated version of the CBRs available online on the diocesan website.
That is thanks to the work of Canon Henry Schultz, who was tasked with preparing an updated and consolidated version when he was appointed Chancellor for the diocese four years ago, and a couple of other key contributors.
Photo: The Ven. Chris Dunn
One of the challenges of this task was that the last time the CBRs were consolidated and printed was in 2012. That meant that all of the amendments made from 2012 to 2019 were recorded on additional pages but they weren’t integrated into the relevant sections of the CBRs.
So, the first challenge was to cross-check all of the amendments with the records of the Diocesan Council meetings and Synods in which they were made to make sure they were correct. “I had to .. make sure that the changes that we were putting into the consolidated version were consistent with the original enactments made in previous years….It’s tedious but necessary work,” Schultz said.
The next challenge was a technical one. The master digital copy from 2012 was in WordPerfect format, which had to be converted to the now standard format Word document. The technical process for converting one format to the other didn’t really work, so Schultz turned to Ed Hicks, a former colleague at the Department of Justice, to clean it up and turn it into a readable format. “It was yeoman’s work,” Schultz says with much gratitude.
Regina Silva, ADO digital communications coordinator, worked on the final version, producing a table of contents, and searchable HTML and PDF versions to be posted on the website.
The CBRs are ever-changing, said Schultz, but now that the new consolidated version is online, it can be updated each year after Synod and he hopes no one will be faced with a monumental task of updating cumulative years of amendments again.
“I guess it’s a reflection on me that I tend to like things nice and tidy, so … I feel a tremendous satisfaction that .. our own internal rules are now at least up to date and readable, and that’s really important for an organization like ours.”
“We do have a couple of CBRs that are a little bit anachronistic,” Schultz observed. He noted with his familiar wit that the canon regarding the authority of Incumbents, which states that their responsibilities include the ringing of the bell, should remain. “I’ve made it clear, that’s one change I refuse to make,” he quipped.
The CBRs may be viewed online at ottawa.anglican.ca/resources/canons-bylaws-and-regulations-cbr/
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