Community organizations do not need to ask for assisted dying; they are very good at administering it themselves. For years, these essential but fragile entities have suffered from chronic underfunding, while others spend lavishly. Having held leadership positions in several community organizations over the past two decades, I have seen many problems, including two major ones: the incompetence of administrators and the glaring absence of governance policies.
On the one hand, we have directors who show up to board meetings at the beginning of the month to eat chicken, but whose involvement is often limited to that of green plants. On the other hand, some retirees, former executives comfortably settled with their nest eggs well filled, decide to “do social work” in the community environment. Their lack of training and understanding of the internal mechanisms of organizations leads them to make decisions without understanding the implications. Result: poor or even non-existent governance, which hinders the proper functioning of these structures.
It is absurd that an organization manager has to run after a treasurer’s signature so that employees can receive their salaries on time. Foundations, the government, Centraide, subsidize these organizations to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes making do with distorted accountability, based on approximate statistics, where the percentages are artificially inflated to show a fictitious increase in services rendered. All this to maintain subsidies, but at what price?
Try calling an organization to get information about their services: you will get an answering machine in 60% of cases, with a callback that may come four days later. This observation is not universal, but it is widespread enough to be worth denouncing. In 2001, the government adopted its policy of recognition of community action, emphasizing the importance of respecting the independence of autonomous community organizations. But today, it is time for Quebec to legislate, to establish an authority to monitor spending and governance.
Most of the organizations I have led were in dire need of recovery, both operationally, financially and humanly. Boards of directors have excessive power, but are seriously lacking in the knowledge to make informed decisions. They do not trust senior management, do not establish committees and indulge in interference and micromanagement. As for senior management, they often find themselves alone in the field, facing an administrative monarchy disconnected from reality.
It is time for a major reform of the governance of these organizations. The well-being of service users depends on it, as does the mental health and motivation of employees, who see their work as much more than a simple vocation. These reforms are necessary to transform a sometimes toxic environment into one where excellence and integrity prevail, for the benefit of all.