Minute Taking Tips for Corporate General, Administrative and Financial Committees Minutes are the official record of a meeting and are meant to provide an outline of what happened, not who said what. They capture the essential business of the meeting; decisions made and actions assigned. When drafting minutes assume public access and use these tips: What should be included in minutes? 1. Name of the committee, task force or group that is meeting. 2. Date, time, and location. 3. List of attendees, guests, and regrets (identifying also the chair, and recording secretary). 4. Use the agenda to formulate the outline of the minutes. 5. Include the full title and date of committee reports presented during the meeting. 6. A record of all motions presented, what was decided, short rationale for decisions, what additional actions were created and who will lead each action item. 7. Time of adjournment. 8. Minute pages should identify the name of the meeting, date, and page number on each page. Note: there is no legal authority, other than for Board minutes, under which sections of meetings may be closed or held ‘in‐camera’ What to leave out of the minutes: 1. Do not record verbatim any conversations, comments, or discussions (minutes are a reflection of what was decided, not what was said). 2. Do not quote individual’s statements during conversations. 3. Avoid chronicles or lengthy discussions that reach no conclusion. 4. Other than recording who made a motion, it is not necessary to record the name of the seconder, nor anyone involved in any discussion. Keep Privacy in Mind: Keep personal information personal information (PI) and personal health information (PHI) out of the contents of minutes wherever possible. Personal Information as per s. 2(1) FIPPA means identifiable individual information, including: • Information related to race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or marital or family status of an individual, • Information related to education or the medical, psychiatric, psychological, criminal or employment history of the individual or information relating to financial transactions an individual has been involved in, • Any identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual, • The address, telephone number, fingerprints or blood type of the individual, • The personal opinions or views of the individual, • Correspondence sent to an institution by the individual that is implicitly or explicitly of a private or confidential nature, and replies to that correspondence, • The views or opinions of another individual about an individual, and • The individual’s name where it appears with other personal information about the individual. Note: Any minutes containing PHI are be subject to the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA)