A CPA Section is a group of psychologists with common interests. Sections may be added, change or disappear from time to time at the discretion of the CPA Board.
Sections have official status under the By-Laws of the Association. They are the primary agents through which the particular and special needs of members are met and interests served, and have the power to:
- Initiate and undertake activities of relevance to its members.
- Draft position papers on topics of relevance to the Section.
- Initiate policy statements in areas of expertise.
- Organize meetings within CPA.
- Make specific representation to external agencies or organizations, if it has received the approval of the Board of Directors to do so.
- Recommend that CPA make specific representations to external organizations or agencies.
A Section must number at least 25 Fellows/Members to continue. The By-Laws of the Association mandate that the Board of Directors may dissolve a Section when the Section's membership falls below 25 Fellows/Members. In some cases, a Section may be merged with another to form a new Section while still addressing a given content area.
Sections play a key role in CPA’s Annual Convention programming in June, as the majority of the content is Section-driven. Sections identify speakers for their program, review their Section’s submissions, and retain a certain amount of the program for their Section in the form of posters, conversation sessions, theory reviews and symposia. As per by-laws, Sections must hold an Annual Business meeting during the convention; they may choose to host a reception.
You can enroll in a CPA Section online, in several ways:
- when completing the online Membership Renewal application
- when completing the New Membership application form
- as a paid CPA Member/Affiliate, you can click on Membership Profilein the Members Only Area to enroll in a section at any time.
Please contact the CPA Member Service Centre at membership@cpa.ca or by telephone 613-237-2144 (Toll Free 1-888-472-0657) ext. 324 if you need any assistance.
It all depends on the Section. If you would like more information on a Section, you may contact the Section Chair by going to the CPA Section website (https://cpa.ca/sections/) and going under the Section that interests you. Each Section webpage contains a description of the Section’s mission and contact information for the Chair.
According to Section by-laws, “any member may resign from membership in the Section by giving written notice to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Section. Membership dues are not refundable following resignation.”
The Section Associate category is for individuals who do not qualify for membership or are interested in joining only one section and receiving their section communication, along with a quarterly newsletter from the CPA.
The fee to become a Section Associate is $85 + the fee for the chosen section + tax.
Section Associates do not have access to BMS Liability Insurance, nor do they have access to CPA Member Benefits or the ability to vote or hold office in the association. A full list of benefits, by category, can be found here - https://cpa.ca/membership/
To apply to be a Section Associate - https://cpa.ca/membership/becomeamemberofcpa