Frequently asked questions

Every year, non-profit organizations incorporated in Quebec are required to prepare and hold an annual general meeting. The law and our general by-laws (CPQVO-401) stipulate that this meeting must take place within four months of the end of our fiscal year, i.e., before the end of October. All voting members of the QOVPC (SSC chairpersons, regional coordinators, members of the board of directors and advisory board) are invited to attend. For the AGM to be legal, at least 30% of the members must be present for the duration of the meeting, including at least 25% of the members of each of the following groups: SSC chairpersons, regional coordinators, members of the board of directors.

The AGM is an opportunity for voting members to ask questions about the documents that have been shared with them, including the previous year’s financial statements, the current year’s budget, and the QOVPC’s annual report, and to elect the members of the Board of Directors for the coming year.

The AGM has been held virtually since 2020, whereas historically it was part of the annual congress. The congress was canceled from 2020 to 2023, first because of the pandemic and related restrictions, and then to reduce costs during a period of program rebuilding. The congress reappeared in 2024 in Victoriaville, without including an AGM. A survey conducted during the 2024 congress confirmed the members’ agreement to keep the AGM in virtual format and independent of the congress, and to hold a congress every two years rather than every year. The next congress will be held in September 2026 at the National Police School in Nicolet.

The cadet program is often described as being free. Obviously, it cannot truly be free, but it is free for parents. In reality, the entire Canadian population contributes to this program by paying income tax. This source of funding is obviously limited to activities funded by the Canadian Armed Forces.

With regard to the funding of the League (at all levels), the funding obligations are described in section 6.18.7.2 of the National Headquarters’ Policy and Procedures Manual. According to this document, assessments are considered part of the fund generation or fundraising activity required at the three levels of the League to support its obligation to the Air Cadet program. The national assessment is based on the quota of cadets in each provincial committee and is mandatory for each provincial committee.

Each provincial committee is authorized to use its own assessment based on its regulations, and this provincial assessment is mandatory for each SSC in its territory.

Each SSC is authorized to use an assessment as a source of revenue. This assessment may be requested from parents/guardians in the form of money or volunteer hours, but cannot be mandatory for them. Failure by a parent to pay an assessment cannot under any circumstances be used to prevent a cadet from participating in squadron activities.
This funding model has been in place since the creation of the Air Cadet League of Canada in 1941. The national headquarters and provincial committees are constantly seeking new sources of funding to ease the burden on SSCs. In 2024-2025, the QOVPC received a donation of $750,000 from Mr. Welley Gérard Cyr, earmarked solely for provincial scholarships for years (and even decades) to come. It also received a donation of $20,000 from Top Aces, to be used for repairs to a tow plane.

The method used to calculate each SSC’s assessment takes two factors into account:

• The size of the squadron, i.e., the number of cadets (the quota), calculated by RCSU-E based on the number of cadets in the squadron each month of the previous training year (September to June); and
• The administrative support provided by the provincial office to the SSC, which is essentially the same regardless of the size of the squadron.

The size of the squadron is an important consideration since the amount of the national assessment is based on the quota provided by RCSU-E. The current assessment method recognizes that the majority of SSC assessments are used to pay the administrative costs of the QOVPC, including the salaries of our employees, professional fees, major maintenance of tow planes and gliders, and a portion of insurance. The administrative needs of the SSCs are essentially the same regardless of the size of the squadron. Employees are there to support the SSCs and regional committees, which they do with the support of the Board of Directors. As established in section 4.7 of our general by-laws (CPQVO-401, available on cadetsair.ca), Board members are not compensated for their work.

Starting in the 2025-2026 training year, each SSC’s assessment is determined by the size category in which it is classified based on the quota provided by RCSU-E. The table below lists the categories based on the number of cadets and the assessment amount for each category:

Each provincial committee is free to establish its own process, which will depend on its needs. Only three of the provincial committees have a provincial office and employees to handle a large number of SSCs: Ontario – 117 squadrons; QOV – 94 squadrons; British Columbia – 57 squadrons. Several years ago, the provincial committees in Ontario and British Columbia set membership fees at $125 or $150 per cadet, which remain much higher than the QOVPC assessment.

The league is an integral part of the squadron. A squadron that finds itself without a sponsoring committee must either be closed or placed under guardianship in order to recruit new members for the sponsoring committee (depending on the situation and the availability of appropriate administrators for the guardianship).

The cadet program is based on a partnership between the Canadian Armed Forces and the three leagues, governed by a memorandum of understanding. A squadron cannot exist without a sponsoring committee, notably because officers cannot legally sign contracts (e.g., for the rental of premises) or have access to the squadron’s bank account. Members of the sponsoring committee must be members of a provincial league committee to comply with the requirements of the memorandum of understanding. And our national rules stipulate that each provincial committee must be incorporated in the province where its head office is located and comply with applicable provincial and federal laws and regulations. The provincial office works with the SSCs to ensure that all applicable requirements are met.

In addition, each provincial committee owns the fleet used for cadet familiarization flights and for the summer training of future glider pilots in its region. The costs associated with major fleet maintenance are therefore the sole responsibility of the League.

The league’s funding model is based on assessments, ranging from the local to the provincial and then to the national level. The national headquarters and provincial committees are all continually seeking new sources of funding to ease the burden on SSCs. The QOVPC has been able to secure funding for specific activities (e.g., provincial scholarships, contribution to the repair of a tow plane). However, a large portion of the QOVPC expenses is administrative (and mandatory), and external funding sources are not interested in supporting this essential part of our budget. This does not mean that the QOVPC will abandon its efforts to secure funding, but it does limit our chances of success.

As indicated in the answer to question 1, the cadet program is not free. In fact, according to an assessment published in November 2020, it cost the Canadian Armed Forces (and therefore Canadian taxpayers) more than $3,800 per cadet per year in 2019-2020.

As indicated in the answer to question 1, all SSCs are authorized to use an assessment as a source of income. It can be requested from parents/guardians in the form of money or volunteer hours, but cannot be mandatory for them. A parent’s refusal or failure to pay an assessment cannot under any circumstances be used to prevent a youth from registering or a cadet from participating in squadron activities. Notably, it is not permitted to require a cadet or their parents to purchase lottery tickets.

The RCSU is responsible for cadets, so it can limit the nature or number of fundraising activities in which cadets participate. This information is available in CJCR Order 9010-3. The sponsoring committee alone is responsible for fundraising activities in which cadets do not participate.

The QOVPC owns the tow planes and gliders used by the RCSU during familiarization flights but has no role or decision-making authority over the RCSU’s activities with its aircraft. If a familiarization flight is canceled and cannot be held in the same year, it is up to the squadron (officers and SSC) to determine whether another activity could be organized to compensate.

Almost all QOVPC documents are now available in our website’s library. Documents CPQVO-116 (Who We Are) and CPQVO-612 (Annual Planning Guide for Local and Regional Committees) are a good place to start to answer your questions.

The board of directors is always looking for new members! If you are interested in joining the Board, you may wish to consult the CPQVO-160 (Description of Duties for Members of the Board of Directors) and/or speak to the Chair of the Nomination Committee, Mr. Raynald Bouchard.