Yesterday’s annual general and special meeting of the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada held at the Toronto Congress Centre drew a large showing of members thanks to a hotly contested election for positions on the association’s board of directors.

A by-law amendment and special resolution, which had received passage at the board level earlier in the year, was brought before the membership at this meeting. The amendment sought to change the mandated regional representation in order to reflect membership distribution, while the special resolution was aimed at reducing the overall size of the board of directors.

Although both of these motions received the assent of the majority of those present, they failed to achieve the required 2/3 vote in order to be passed.

With membership growth, there were 11 candidates vying for the eight available seats on the board of directors. Current president David Barber, along with directors Wayne Harbin, Roy Maiero, Reg Lawrence (Newfoundland), Gil Ennis (Saskatchewan), Treasurer/Secretary Keith Pepper, and first-time board members Doug Vanderburgh and Dean Whalen were elected.

Membership growth and advocacy for independent brokers continue to be the top priorities for the association, which has seen a steady influx of new members in the past 18 months.

Executive Director John Whaley reported at the meeting that membership had more than doubled during his two-year tenure, and now exceeded 3,000 brokers from coast to coast.