Postponing or cancelling a general meeting or AGM

Sometimes there are exceptional reasons (such as the death of a community person or a natural disaster) when you might need to postpone or cancel a general meeting or AGM. Postpone means to delay or reschedule the meeting for a later date. 

Once notice has been given for a general meeting or AGM the meeting cannot be postponed or cancelled unless the corporation’s rule book has rules saying this can be done and how. 

If your rule book has no rule about it then the meeting cannot be postponed or cancelled – you must proceed to hold the meeting. When you get to the date and time for the meeting one of these things will happen:

• You have enough people for quorum and can start the meeting. You open the meeting and can propose a resolution to postpone or cancel the meeting. The decision is then for members.
• You don’t have enough people for quorum within an hour of the start time for the meeting and cannot start the meeting. Most rule books say if you don’t reach quorum within an hour, the meeting is automatically delayed (adjourned) to the next week at the same time, same place. If no one turns up to the adjourned meeting, the meeting is ‘abandoned’.