This article discusses the expulsion of four valuable members of MAAC. Here is what you will find in the article:-
- A Background statement of the facts.
- A discussion of the purpose of the “persona non grata” list.
- The grounds given for expulsion.
- Other crimes supposedly committed.
- The engagement of legal counsel by the Board.
- The Board didn’t follow its own rules, the expulsions are invalid.
- The track record of these latest ‘expellees’.
- Removal of prior accolades.
- What have these ‘expellees’ advocated for?
- The root cause of the problems within MAAC today?
- Other Suspensions/Expulsions – The Real Cause of Loss of the Exemption.
- A discussion of the disciplinary process and how it has been hijacked.
- Summary.
We recognize that this article is long, but as transparency, accuracy and honesty are vitally important, the article should be read carefully, and in its entirety. Innocent people have been persecuted because these facts have not been made public and have, in many cases, been deliberately hidden.
Background.
On July 24th, 2024, letters were sent to four prominent members of MAAC informing them that the Board had made the decision to expel them from membership, for life, and to place them on a “Persona Non Grata” list. This was the first indication given to any of the four that such action was being considered. The letters were signed by the President, Carl Layden, and gave each of the already convicted members 5 days in which to respond. Failure to respond within 5 days, they were told, would result in forfeiture of the right to respond any further and the expulsion would be automatically confirmed. If the accused responded in 5 days, saying that he would submit a rebuttal to the charges, then he would have 15 days in which to make the submission, which the Board would consider at their next convenience. Two of the recipients of these letters were on extended absence from home at the time, at model aircraft-related events, one at the US National Outdoor Championships. One arrived home one day before the deadline expired and the other after it had passed.
The ”Persona Non Grata” List.
To get one of the more absurd aspects of this travesty out of the way first – the provision of a ‘persona non grata’ list at MAAC is something quite new. Its meaning is shrouded in mystery, as is the question of whether authorization to create such a list was ever granted. In modern parlance there is really only one common usage for this expression – nearly all sovereign countries allow properly-credentialled diplomats from other countries to reside on their soil so that inter-governmental matters can be discussed quickly and effectively. If those diplomats behave in a manner that the host country finds objectionable, or if other diplomatic tensions develop between the two countries, the host country might want to have certain foreign diplomats removed. The formal way to do that is for the host country to declare those persons to be “persona non grata”. Exactly what this could mean for a recreational association is difficult to imagine – especially when coupled with an expulsion for life! We imagine that someone on the current Board thinks that this makes them sound very clever. We suppose that another purpose of such a list could be to enable the Board to ban people they don’t like even if they are not, and have never been, members of MAAC. In at least one of the responses to these expulsion letters clarification of both the authorization and the purpose was requested – none was forthcoming.
The Grounds for Expulsion.
Now let’s look at the expulsions themselves. There were some differences in the wording of the notices that were sent, but there was a common theme among them as well. For two of the ‘expellees’ here is what was given as the “Grounds for Expulsion”:-
GROUNDS FOR EXPULSION
We have determined that you are one of the driving forces and authors behind the MAACNews.ca website, which first went live in January of 2023. This site has been used to communicate information to MAAC members and the public (including Transport Canada and NAVCAN) that is inaccurate, untrue, omits relevant information and is presented in such a way as to discredit MAAC’s volunteers and, ultimately, the organization itself. At a time when we are working towards regaining lost RPAS freedoms and obtaining wider flying freedoms on behalf of our members, this is egregiously vexatious, and contravenes bylaw article 12.1.2 (conduct detrimental to the Corporation). Further, the creation of MAACNews gave cause for MAAC to conduct a thorough investigation of other conduct issues most notably leading us to the “Cricket Club” of which you are a self-professed leader. That investigation led to the discovery of a multitude of emails, social media posts and other long- standing issues that the board has determined contain not just untrue and defamatory statements but may have crossed the line into cyber-harassment or other conduct Canadians do not accept. Regardless, the investigation determined there has been a pattern of abusive and highly inappropriate conduct by yourself stretching back at least 2019. The Board believes your coordinated attempts to destroy MAAC progress in restoring MAAC RPAS operations, only to save face for the Cricket Club members who caused the loss, will be seen by the membership at large for what it is – disgusting.
Clearly, you have no intention of ever amending your attitude, behaviour or accepting a member’s role in the proper governance and functioning of MAAC. Most disturbingly, it seems your sole purpose now is to deny others from the ongoing recovery efforts and MAAC’s purpose which is the ultimate enjoyment of our recreational modeling hobby. This continued pattern of willful inappropriate behaviour has given the Board no option but to make your membership suspension permanent, to place your name on a persona non grata list nationally, and to strip you of any awards or accolades MAAC may have given you. MAAC reserves the right to further counter and correct the many false narratives you have generated or contributed to.
These so-called “Grounds” for the action taken by the Board are strong on rhetoric, innuendo, assumptions, and generalizations, but are completely devoid of any supporting facts. There is one extremely telling phrase in this litany of supposed transgressions – which is that the acts complained of are said to be “egregiously vexatious”. Let us examine what that, somewhat florid, description actually means. ‘Egregiously’, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means “shockingly” or “remarkably”. ‘Vexatious’, according to the same source, means ‘such as to cause annoyance’ or, in a legal action, ‘not having sufficient grounds for action and seeking only to annoy’. At that point in time the action was not the subject of a law suit, so the first definition must apply – the dastardly crimes that are claimed to be the cause of this expulsion, from the association that these members have belonged to and supported for many decades, is that the actions of those members have been ‘remarkably annoying’ to the Board of Directors. Let us remind you of what those actions were – belonging to an informal group of friends who discuss issues around model aircraft flying and MAAC’s behaviour; and being accused of being a “driving force” behind a website that publishes truth about actions of the MAAC Board.
Other “Crimes”.
One of the group of four, who had already had his membership suspended, was accused of having subsequently contacted MAAC members of his acquaintance. The crime in this case being that he had no “legal standing” to do so! This is a clear indication of this Board’s sad lack of understanding of basic human rights in a free country. Luckily for us, we live in a society in which the free expression of ideas and opinions, even when they are in opposition to those held by people in positions of authority, is not only allowed, it is applauded. The MAAC Board of Directors considers it to be a punishable offence and somehow believes that it has the authority to determine someone’s “legal standing”. This is not Putin’s Russia, Xi’s China, Kim’s North Korea, Hitler’s Germany, or even Torquemada’s Spain – this is Canada, where citizens, even lowly MAAC members, have the right to speak freely, unimpeded.
The facts of this matter are not as MAAC has held them to be. This suspended member contacted as many members as he could, encouraging them to attend the 2024 AGM and vote. He suggested that if they like what the MAAC board is doing for the membership, they should vote for the resolutions put forward by the Board at the 2024 AGM and, if they didn’t like them, vote against.
A common theme in all of these, and many other controversies that have arisen within MAAC in the last 4-5 years, the Board, and one member of the Board in particular, equates expressing a different opinion from theirs to ‘being detrimental to MAAC’. It might hurt their feelings, but it does not damage MAAC. In this particular case, no actual opinion was expressed – just a recommendation that people exercise their right to be present at an AGM and vote! This Board apparently considers that to be “detrimental to MAAC”. Draw your own conclusion.
Engagement of Legal Counsel.
Since sending out these notices of expulsion the Board has engaged a lawyer to contact at least two of the victims, telling them that all correspondence on the matter must be sent to him. It is not clear whether this lawyer was engaged by the Board itself, on their own behalf, or whether he represents MAAC. The question has been asked, and remains unanswered. If he represents MAAC then the further question needs to be asked – why did the Board think it was necessary to expose MAAC to this expense when they have in place a complete system to deal with such matters by themselves?
One of the victims produced a list of twelve matters upon which he requested clarification or documentation from the lawyer. None was provided.
The Board Didn’t Follow Its Own Rules – the Expulsions Are Invalid.
Section 12.2.5 of the MAAC By-Laws states that “The President shall forthwith notify the member of the Board’s decision and shall provide the reasons therefor”. In the definitions section of the preamble to the By-Laws it is clearly defined that “shall” means “imperative or mandatory”. The word “forthwith” is not included in the By-Law’s definitions section, but the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “at once, without delay”. This section, therefore, quite clearly demands that the President must notify the member “without delay” that he/she has been expelled, and that the notification must include the reasons for the expulsion. The decision was made by the Board, by their own admission, at a meeting held on May 31st – June 1st. The notification was sent by the President 52 days later – that does not meet any interpretation of “without delay”. The notification contained the “Grounds for Expulsion” seen above. The only “reasons for expulsion” provided in the letter are that those unjustly persecuted in this action indulged in conversation with others of like mind, in a group that they gave a whimsical name to, plus – they were in some way connected with a website on which articles were posted concerning actions that have taken place within MAAC. Requests for evidence supporting the so-called accusations of something “detrimental to MAAC” have been ignored.
As the Board failed to follow its own very specific rules on the procedure to be followed when conducting such a member purge, it is clear that the expulsions are invalid and must be vacated.
Track Record of the Four.
The four members expelled in this current batch are all long-standing members of the association, each with a long track record of service to the organization and to aeromodelling in general. They are accused of suddenly working against MAAC, trying to destroy it, and trying to prevent others (and themselves, by the way) from enjoying the activity that they love. If this wasn’t such a gross misuse of power by the Board, it would be faintly laughable. Let us look at the track record of these members:-
Roland Worsfold. Member since 1993. Director for zone C, three and a half 2-yr terms. Leader member. Past MAAC Chair of Chairs. NW Scale Aero Modelers founder member. Past Scale Committee Chair. MAAC special recognition certificate for Scale Committee work. Contest Director 3 events per year. Certified Scale Masters Static and Flying Judge. U.S. Scale Masters Harris Lee Award Winner. International Miniature Aircraft Association “Distinguished Service Award” and North West Scale Aeromodellers “Certificate of Appreciation”. Founding member of 3 MAAC clubs.
Athol Cohen. Member since 1988. Director for zone L, one 2-yr term. Deputy Zone Director – Zone L, one 2-yr term. Club president and flying instructor in S. Africa – Cape Radio Flyers. Secretary/Treasurer of TEMAC for 2 years. Flying instructor.
Richard Barlow. Member since 1961. Director for zone G, three 2-yr terms. Vice President of MAAC for two 2-yr terms. President of MAAC for five years. Formed the Mississauga Model Flying Club (1969) and is a Life Member of it in recognition of his services. Life Member of Humber Valley Model Flying Club in recognition of his services. Chairman of Youth Committee. Chairman of Constitution Committee. Member of the MAAC Hall of Fame. Life Member of MAAC. Leader Member of MAAC. International Team manager (three times).
Roy E. Smith. Member since 1967. Contributor to MAC magazine, NFFS Digest, and the NFFS Symposium. Chairman of the Outdoor Free Flight Committee. Manager of a long-standing Free Flight contest for 15 years (ongoing). Served on the Board of a large NFP for 41 years, in roles such as President, Vice-President, Committee Chairman, and member of Planning, Finance & Property, and Executive Committees – not MAAC, but relevant knowledge and experience.
It can be seen that these four (and there are other major contributors to MAAC who have been treated equally shabbily in recent years, at the instigation of the same person) each have long track records of actively working towards the continued existence of MAAC and its mandate to support those who wish to participate in the activity of building and flying model aircraft. It is quite ridiculous for this Board to suddenly, and without production of any evidence, determine for itself that these individuals have all, after decades in service to MAAC, turned their energies to the destruction of the organization.
Removal of Prior Accolades.
One of the more bizarre acts in this process has been that, not only have the accused persons been expelled from MAAC membership, and placed on this new “Persona non grata List”, they have also had all awards, accolades, etc., that have ever been presented to them by MAAC, expunged. This illustrates clearly that these measures have not been taken impartially, as the result of some proven misdemeanour, they are purely vindictive, personal, attacks. As illustrated above, these four have been outstanding members of the association, with long histories of positive contribution. As a result of those contributions to the activity that they each love, MAAC has seen fit, in the past, to recognize the outstanding nature of their work. Even if they had done something inappropriate in this instance, that does not wipe out their prior achievements. Had it come to light that the awards had been granted falsely, then there is justification for removing them – activity that the Board doesn’t like cannot justify reversing the valid decisions made by prior administrations.
What Have These ‘Expellees’ Advocated For?
What these four (and many others, some of whom have simply left in disgust) believe is necessary, is for MAAC to be served by a Board who diligently obey the law (especially the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act), who take their fiduciary duty seriously (especially in terms of expenditure of MAAC funds) and who work to improve the flying experiences of all of the members of MAAC, not to restrict them beyond government regulations.
The final absurdity of this action by your Board is that none of the things that it finds so “egregiously vexatious” will stop as a result of what it has done. Members of MAAC will (or should) continue to gather in groups, on the flying field or off, and discuss MAAC matters, as will the so-called Cricket Club. People will still, we hope, continue to produce articles for MAACNews, informing the members of what is going on in their organization – especially the things that the Board would like to keep secret but which should be known to the other members.
What is the Root Cause of the Problem?
What is the real problem here? The real problem is that there is no room for discussion within MAAC, under its current leadership. This Board believes that it has absolute, dictatorial, power over everything to do with MAAC. The Vice-President, Randy Hepner, has written that, after electing a Director, the rank-and-file member has no further right to participate in the operation of MAAC, except once a year through the Resolution and Recommendation process at the annual meeting for his geographic zone. That is a serious misrepresentation of the actual position – and is in contravention of the requirements of the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. {NB. He does not mention what the member should do when his right to vote for a representative has been usurped by the Board simply appointing Directors.}
The principal misunderstanding of their role by this Board is that they believe that it is their opinion that matters when making decisions, nobody else’s. That is almost as far from the truth as they can get. The function of a Director of a NFP Corporation is to make wise decisions. That is not quite as easy as it might sound. The fallacy, that has been allowed to fester within this Board, is that, simply by being in the position of Director (whether elected or appointed), they possess all of the wisdom – and thus they make all of the decisions according to their own biases – no questions allowed! That is not the case – or, at least, it shouldn’t be. In fact, upon taking on the role of Director of such an organization, each office holder should push their own pre-determined opinions aside. Their job is to apply wisdom and good judgment, not to re-imagine the organization to their own liking. In order to do that they must seek wisdom, far and wide, engage the population they’re supposed to SERVE, filter all of the information that they can find, and then make a wise decision, one that is not based on their personal biases or allegiances. The decision they make in this way will often not be the one that each, as an individual, would have preferred – but it should always be the one that wise judgment says is the best.
Other Suspensions/Expulsions and the Real Cause of Loss of the Exemption.
These four expulsions are not the first to have been carried out in the last few years. Before then, however, only two seem to have occurred, at least in living memory, one of whom was later allowed to rejoin.
However, because of MAAC’s policy of secrecy – which seems to vary depending upon whether public exposure of the action will suit the Board’s purposes or not – it is not known just how many members have been removed from the association in the last few years. We know of one other case – similar to that of Roland Worsfold – making a total of five – we believe that there have been others. As already mentioned, Roly was already suspended from MAAC when this decision to expel him, along with three others, was made. {It should be noted that another of these four had resigned from MAAC, in disgust, a year earlier, and had disposed of all his modelling paraphernalia, not intending ever to fly again. The action against him was obviously one of spite – nothing to do with justice.} Roly’s crime in the present case was to encourage members to vote at the AGM! The original accusation against him was that he had wrongfully sanctioned a flying field for use, after June 2019, in violation of the requirements of MAAC’s Exemption from Part IX of CARs. Just prior to that, another member was similarly accused of wrongfully sanctioning a different field. He was also suspended. Interestingly, both of those members had a history of having differences of opinion with one member of the Board in particular. Those two members were not guilty of the wrongdoings they were accused of. We should note here that an investigation had revealed a total of six similar cases – only these two resulted in suspension – it is probable that none had any more merit than the two that resulted in punishment.
So, what really did happen – the Exemption, after all, was withdrawn?
During MAAC’s negotiations for an Exemption to the new regulations, that were to come into effect in 2019, it was agreed that a list of existing flying sites, in controlled airspace and in use by MAAC members, should be provided to Transport Canada and NAV Canada so that those sites could be exempted from the requirement for such flying sites (in controlled airspace) to be approved by NAV Canada prior to use – a ‘grandfathered’ list. This was primarily agreed to so as to avoid a situation where a long list of sites would have to be brought to NAV Canada for approval immediately after the regulations came into effect – with the consequent delays and disruption to existing flying activities. Clearly, Transport Canada/NAV Canada also felt that operations that were already occurring safely did not need their safety review – but they did need to know what and where they were, for their records.
The problem arose initially because, matching the Board’s obsession with secrecy, the Transport Canada Advisory Group chose to create the ‘grandfathered’ list on their own, in secret, without reference even to the Directors from each of the zones. Even those Directors didn’t know that was happening – let alone the membership in general. MAAC did not have complete records of the fields in use by its members – up until that moment in time it had not been necessary. MAAC’s rules allowed people to fly anywhere that they had permission from the property owners to do so. Nevertheless, the TCAG went ahead and compiled an incomplete list from what records there were and presented that to Transport Canada/NAV Canada. Even that list was less complete than it could have been because some fields that were, in fact, in MAAC’s system, were registered as ‘private’ so that non-club members couldn’t turn up to fly uninvited. The details of those sites did not automatically show on the website. The TCAG apparently wasn’t aware of that and didn’t scan the records for them. Some fields were also in use, had even been acknowledged by MAAC in some cases – to the extent of providing notices of insurance to the property owners – but did not appear in the electronic records. The list was glaringly incomplete. Without providing details that anything had been submitted to Transport Canada, the only thing that MAAC’s membership was told was that existing flying sites were ‘grandfathered’ and no other action would be necessary – except for new sites that were to be registered after June 1st, 2019. Members could perhaps be forgiven for believing that sites they had been flying over for years continued to be available without further action.
Had the Board been open and transparent about what was going on, and had they charged the TCAG to be similarly open and transparent, and had either body had the commonsense to ask the membership to provide details of all of the sites they were flying on that were in controlled airspace, none of the ensuing debacle would have occurred. What Transport Canada needed was a list of all sites in controlled airspace in use by MAAC members prior to June 1st, 2019.
The next thing to happen was that various fields were showing up on the MAAC system as being registered after June 1st, 2019. This was the fault of the MAAC system. At that time, whenever a club’s affiliation with MAAC was renewed online, if there was a flying field registered as belonging to that club, the date of registration of the field would be changed to the date of renewal. No record was kept of when the field was originally registered. This was taken as evidence that a field had been sanctioned by a Director in contravention of the Exemption conditions. At this point, the situation might have been recoverable. It is possible that, if the TCAG had gone to Transport Canada and made a clean breast of it – acknowledged that a mistake had been made and that the list of ‘grandfathered’ sites was incomplete – perhaps Transport Canada would have understood and allowed a complete list to be compiled and submitted. They would probably have been concerned that such a thing had happened, they might very well have wanted a full explanation of how it happened and what steps had been taken to ensure that no such mistakes would occur in future, but there is some chance that no more serious action would have been taken by them. Instead of taking that course, the contact person for the TCAG reported to Transport Canada that the conditions of the Exemption had been contravened by two MAAC Directors and that disciplinary action would be taken. A mistake made by the group that had led the process in MAAC was made to look like a deliberate act by two Directors. This was not only inaccurate; it was almost bound to lead to what happened next – the Exemption was withdrawn. The two Directors who were the scapegoats for this had not been the cause, they had not done anything wrong. The representatives of MAAC to Transport Canada, those who managed the entire process in secrecy, and the Board who had directed them, were entirely to blame. They tried to cover up their culpability by the ridiculous shift of blame. Evidence of all of this was presented, and it was ignored. The Board sacrificed two of the association’s most valuable members in order to deflect the wider blame that was theirs. Even sadder, if that is possible, is the fact that Transport Canada’s decision to withdraw the Exemption was made because they had come to realize that the real fault lay with MAAC’s inadequate record system – a system that had been inadequate for over two years since the Exemption was granted (and even prior to that, while negotiations were taking place) and which, despite knowing that it needed major revision, the Board had done nothing to fix.
The Disciplinary Process Has Been Hijacked.
It is a remarkable fact that, for a large part of its existence, MAAC has had an extremely flawed disciplinary process. It is far too wide a subject to be expounded upon here, but the fact is that it didn’t really matter much for decades – because no-one at the Board level had any inclination to use it as a weapon in settlement of grievances. That changed recently, and certain individuals saw an opportunity to wreak vengeance upon people that had spoken, or acted, in ways that they didn’t like. It is highly unfortunate that a large part of the membership was unaware that changes that were introduced at the most recent AGM, and accepted, gave the Board inquisitorial powers. The infamous Spanish Inquisition was actually based on principles that were closer to currently accepted tenets of justice than the new MAAC process is. Most of the membership also did not know that the Board had been provided with legal advice recommending that, in the interests of justice, a completely opposite approach should be taken – and offering to help with the process.
It is interesting to note that the decision to expel these four members was made exactly one day before the AGM at which the Board anticipated that their draconian new disciplinary procedures would be ratified. Now the membership can see the results of that change. Who will be next?
Don’t speak up, don’t insist on knowing what is going on in your organization, don’t question anything, keep your head down – or you too could find yourself expelled for life and placed on a list of “persona non grata”. Is that the MAAC you want? Is that the MAAC that will work on your behalf, to make your flying life better?
Summary.
In summary, this Board has abused the association that many of us love. The latest revisions to the By-Laws have provided a mechanism whereby the Board can, at its sole and absolute discretion, remove anyone from membership who challenges any of their decisions. You have seen the very first volley in this campaign to rule by fear, silence criticism, and act unlawfully without accountability. That is your present-day MAAC!