Capable Interdependence

Constitution & Operating Charter - Version 0.2

Consultation draft

Status: Non-binding public consultation draft Published: July 2026 Companion document: Founding Framework - Version 0.1

This draft translates the Founding Framework into proposed institutional rules. It is not the constitution, bylaws, cooperative rules, shareholders' agreement, subscription agreement, tenancy agreement, employment agreement or other definitive document of any legal entity. It creates no membership, investment, housing, employment, voting, redemption or property rights.

Final rights and obligations can exist only through adopted governing instruments and signed agreements reviewed by qualified advisers. Where this draft uses must, it states a design requirement for final documents. Where it uses proposed, the rule remains open for founding review.

Every member should be needed. No member should be trapped.

Article 1. Purpose and authority

1.1 Purpose

The institution exists to create and operate communities that increase six forms of wealth: physical, relational, capability, economic, environmental and purpose.

1.2 Constitutional priority

No policy, employment decision, housing arrangement, enterprise agreement or emergency order may override the rights adopted in the final constitution except where law requires otherwise or a narrowly defined emergency provision applies.

1.3 Rule of law

The institution and its officers remain subject to applicable law, final legal documents and independent adjudication. Community custom is not a substitute for law.

1.4 Non-theological authority

No religious, spiritual or philosophical teacher receives governance authority by virtue of belief, status or personal relationship with the founder.

Article 2. Institutional structure

2.1 Separate functions

The final structure should separate, where legally and practically possible:

• Land ownership and long-term stewardship.
• Resident governance and shared services.
• Commercial enterprises and employment.
• Housing rights and occupancy administration.
• Health information and care coordination.
• Ethics, complaints and independent oversight.

2.2 No total-life counterparty

No person or office may unilaterally terminate a member's housing, employment, healthcare access, governance rights and financial interest through a single decision.

2.3 Entity map

Before accepting capital, final documents must disclose every relevant entity, its purpose, directors, ownership, conflicts, contracts with related parties and relationship to members.

2.4 Open structural decision

The founding group must determine whether land, housing, membership and enterprises are held through a corporation, cooperative, trust, partnership, society or coordinated set of entities. This draft does not select that structure.

Article 3. Membership path

3.1 Visitor

A visitor may experience the community under ordinary guest terms. A visit creates no expectation of membership and should not involve recruitment pressure or a request for immediate capital.

3.2 Fellow

A fellow participates for a defined period under written terms covering housing, work, compensation, privacy, insurance, supervision and departure.

3.3 Provisional resident

A provisional resident participates for a proposed six-to-twelve-month period. The person and community evaluate mutual fit, conduct, contribution, boundaries and conflict behaviour.

3.4 Full member

A full member receives the rights, vote, obligations and access defined in final documents. Membership must not be implied through marketing, residence, employment or investment alone.

3.5 Steward

A steward is an experienced member entrusted with a defined mentoring or institutional role. Steward status confers responsibility, not superior personal worth.

3.6 Admission

Admission criteria must be written, relevant to community functioning and applied without prohibited discrimination. Major financial decisions must not be requested during a short period of emotional enthusiasm.

Article 4. Fundamental member rights

Every full member must have rights to:

• Freedom of conscience, belief and lawful expression.
• Secure private living space under written terms.
• Private finances, property, correspondence and relationships.
• Outside travel, work, education, media, healthcare and professional advice.
• Know the rules, budgets, conflicts and decisions affecting them.
• Fair compensation for substantial work.
• Criticize leaders and policies without retaliation.
• Participate in governance as final documents provide.
• Report misconduct confidentially and, where appropriate, anonymously.
• Receive notice, reasons, evidence and appeal before serious sanctions.
• Leave without organized shunning, harassment or reputational retaliation.
• Receive whatever financial value is legally owed under final agreements.

These rights are not rewards for good standing. Any limitation must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, documented and reviewable.

Article 5. Member responsibilities

Members must:

• Respect the dignity, privacy and autonomy of others.
• Meet written housing, work, safety and financial obligations.
• Care for shared infrastructure and environmental systems.
• Disclose material conflicts of interest.
• Avoid harassment, coercion, discrimination and exploitation.
• Participate honestly in governance and conflict processes.
• Maintain at least one practical capability beyond a primary occupation over time.
• Support reasonable emergency preparation.
• Avoid using access to housing, work, care, capital or belonging to compel loyalty.

No responsibility may be interpreted as a duty to protect the reputation of the institution at the expense of truth, safety or lawful reporting.

Article 6. Housing and private life

6.1 Written occupancy rights

Every resident must receive written occupancy terms describing duration, fees, privacy, maintenance, guests, accessibility, termination, notice and appeal.

6.2 Housing separation

A work dispute, political disagreement, complaint against leadership or decision to leave employment must not automatically terminate housing.

6.3 Privacy

Entry into private living space requires consent except for a documented emergency, lawful inspection or written maintenance process with reasonable notice.

6.4 Relationships

The institution has no authority to assign partners, prohibit lawful adult relationships, direct reproduction or sever outside friendships.

6.5 Open housing decision

The founding group must define whether residents rent, hold occupancy agreements, own interests, receive licences or use another model. Marketing must not imply ownership or permanence until final documents establish it.

Article 7. Work, enterprise and stewardship

7.1 Employment independence

Membership is not employment, and employment is not evidence of loyalty. Members may work for outside employers or operate independent businesses subject to ordinary conflict and site-use rules.

7.2 Paid work

Substantial operational roles require written duties, hours, compensation, supervision, performance standards, time off, accommodation, complaints and termination procedures.

7.3 Shared stewardship

The proposed ordinary expectation is two to four scheduled hours per week of shared stewardship, adjusted for disability, health, age, caregiving and other contributions.

Stewardship may include common meals, gardens, trails, hosting, snow clearing, safety practice and common-space care. It must not replace paid operational work.

7.4 Enterprise governance

Each community enterprise must disclose its owners, directors, related-party contracts, compensation approach and relationship to the community. Enterprise managers do not receive disciplinary authority over a member's private life.

Article 8. Capital, ownership and financial transparency

8.1 No rights by implication

A contribution creates only the rights stated in final signed documents. It does not automatically create residency, housing, employment, liquidity, appreciation, return or permanent membership.

8.2 Independent advice

Before any contribution is accepted, each prospective participant must be encouraged and given sufficient time to obtain independent legal, tax and financial advice.

8.3 Transparent use of funds

Final materials must state intended uses, reserves, fees, related-party payments, acquisition conditions, construction contingencies, operating runway and circumstances permitting material reallocation.

8.4 Related-party transactions

Material transactions involving the founder, directors, officers, family members or controlled entities require disclosure, independent review and approval without the conflicted person's vote.

8.5 Financial reporting

Members should receive periodic financial statements, budgets, material variance explanations and an annual independent review appropriate to the size and legal structure of the institution.

8.6 Open capital decision

The founding group must define what the contemplated contribution legally represents, which entity receives it, whether it is equity, debt, a cooperative share, a contractual participation right or a combination, and what transfer or redemption limits apply.

Article 9. The Community Assembly

9.1 Composition

The Assembly consists of all full members in good standing as defined by final documents. Good standing cannot be removed merely for criticism, protected reporting or lawful outside association.

9.2 Reserved decisions

The Assembly should decide:

• Constitutional amendments.
• Admission or removal rules.
• Election and removal of the Stewardship Council.
• Material land sale, mortgage or change of purpose.
• Material related-party transactions.
• Extraordinary capital commitments.
• Merger, replication, dissolution or disposition of core assets.
• Extension of emergency authority beyond its initial period.

9.3 Proposed thresholds

Ordinary Assembly decisions should require a simple majority of votes cast with quorum. Constitutional, core-asset and dissolution decisions should require a proposed seventy-five percent supermajority and any additional legal threshold.

No person should hold a permanent veto. Any temporary founder protection must expire under Article 13.

9.4 Participation

Members must receive reasonable notice, accessible materials, conflict disclosure and a meaningful opportunity to question proposals before major votes.

Article 10. The Stewardship Council

10.1 Purpose

The Council guides ordinary policy, appoints or oversees professional management and protects the long-term purpose defined by the constitution.

10.2 Composition

The proposed Council contains five to seven members elected for staggered two-year terms, with no more than two consecutive full terms without a break.

10.3 Duties

Council members owe duties to the institution as defined by law and final documents. They must disclose conflicts, protect confidentiality appropriately and distinguish institutional interest from founder preference or factional loyalty.

10.4 Removal

The Assembly must be able to remove a Council member through a defined process that protects both accountability and procedural fairness.

Article 11. Professional management

Qualified managers should operate finance, infrastructure, safety, health coordination, hospitality and commercial enterprises under written delegations.

Managers are accountable for performance and compliance. They do not acquire constitutional authority merely because their expertise is necessary.

Delegations must identify:

• Decisions the manager may make.
• Spending and contracting limits.
• Information access.
• Reporting requirements.
• Conflicts and prohibited actions.
• Review, renewal and termination.

Article 12. Independent oversight

12.1 Ethics and audit body

The institution must maintain an ethics and audit body with access to records necessary to review conflicts, financial conduct, complaints, emergency powers and member rights.

12.2 Independence

At least one-third of the body should consist of qualified outsiders who are not residents, employees, material investors or close relations of leadership.

12.3 Ombudsperson

Members must have access to an external ombudsperson or equivalent independent reporting channel.

12.4 Reporting

The oversight body should publish an annual anonymized report describing complaint categories, response times, substantiated findings, recommendations and unresolved systemic risks.

Article 13. Founder authority and sunset

13.1 Founder status

The founder may hold roles defined in final documents but receives no authority outside those roles.

13.2 Proposed transitional seat

The founder may hold one transitional Council seat during the founding period. The seat should expire automatically at the earliest of:

• Three years after the first permanent site closes.
• The admission of twenty-four full members.
• A date fixed in the definitive founding documents.

After expiry, the founder may stand for ordinary elected office under the same term limits as other members.

13.3 Temporary protective powers

Any proposed temporary founder consent right must be limited to a short list of mission-altering decisions, disclosed before contributions are accepted and subject to automatic expiry. It cannot govern private relationships, complaints, employment discipline, health information or individual housing disputes.

13.4 Conflict

The founder must disclose and recuse from decisions involving personal compensation, controlled entities, family members and disputes in which the founder is a subject.

Article 14. Emergency powers

14.1 Trigger

Emergency authority may be used only for an immediate threat to life, health, essential infrastructure, legal compliance or core assets.

14.2 Limits

An emergency order must state the threat, authority used, measures taken, rights affected, decision-maker and expiry.

14.3 Proposed expiry

Emergency authority should expire within seventy-two hours unless renewed by the Council. Any continuation beyond fourteen days should require Assembly approval and independent oversight review.

14.4 Prohibited use

Emergency authority cannot be used to suppress criticism, cancel ordinary elections indefinitely, seize personal accounts, compel ideological statements or retaliate against departure.

Article 15. Conflict, complaints and discipline

15.1 Ordinary conflict path

Where safe and appropriate, ordinary disagreement proceeds through direct conversation, facilitation, mediation, written review, independent adjudication and appeal.

15.2 Serious matters

Harassment, abuse, discrimination, retaliation, financial misconduct, safety threats and complaints against leaders bypass compulsory informal resolution and proceed to trained independent review.

15.3 Procedural fairness

Before serious sanction, a person should receive notice, the substance of the allegation, a reasonable opportunity to respond, an impartial decision-maker, written reasons and an appeal route.

15.4 Interim safety measures

Temporary protective measures may be used where necessary, but must be proportionate, time-limited and reviewed promptly. They are not findings of guilt.

15.5 Prohibited discipline

Public humiliation, collective punishment, coerced confession, sleep deprivation, forced labour, relationship control and retaliation against lawful reporting are prohibited.

Article 16. Health, data and vulnerable people

16.1 Health information

Health data belongs to the individual and may be accessed only for consented care, a lawful requirement or an immediate safety emergency.

16.2 Separation

Health information must not be available to ordinary employers, membership decision-makers or political leaders except for narrowly defined accommodation or safety needs.

16.3 Children

Children must have recognized education, outside contact, age-appropriate privacy, safeguarding policies and independent avenues to report harm. No child may be required to profess community doctrine.

16.4 Elders and dependent adults

Care arrangements must preserve dignity, consent, outside access, financial protection and independent review. Caregiving responsibilities require training, compensation and respite where substantial.

Article 17. Departure and removal

17.1 Voluntary departure

A member may leave without being required to justify the decision. Notice, occupancy transition, financial settlement and confidentiality obligations must be defined in final agreements.

17.2 No retaliation

The institution and its agents must not organize shunning, harassment, frivolous claims, employment blacklisting or reputational retaliation.

17.3 Financial settlement

Final documents must state valuation methods, deductions, payment timing, liquidity limitations, transfer restrictions, insolvency priority and dispute procedures. No liquidity should be promised unless it is legally and financially supportable.

17.4 Involuntary removal

Removal requires a serious and defined basis, proportionate response, procedural fairness and independent appeal. Removal from membership must not automatically determine every separate contractual relationship unless final agreements lawfully provide otherwise.

17.5 Quality of departure

The annual State of the Village should report anonymized departure numbers, categories, settlement timing and disputes. A healthy institution learns from why people leave.

Article 18. Amendment, review and dissolution

18.1 Amendment

No person may amend the constitution alone. Amendments require notice, reasons, rights-impact analysis, member discussion and the adopted supermajority threshold.

18.2 Periodic review

The constitution should receive a formal review at least every three years during the first decade and at least every five years thereafter.

18.3 Experiments

The community may authorize time-limited policy experiments that identify purpose, scope, measures, responsible person, rights constraints and automatic end date.

18.4 State of the Village

An annual public report should address finances, member well-being, capability, environment, resilience, governance, complaints, departures, leadership transition, failures and amendments.

18.5 Dissolution

Final documents must define the vote, creditor protection, member claims, treatment of housing, disposition of land and restricted assets, records custody and wind-down authority.

No founder or officer should receive an undisclosed preferential claim on community assets.

Schedule A. Decisions required before definitive drafting

The founding group must resolve:

1. Which entity or entities own land, operate businesses and govern residents?
2. What does a contemplated CAD $1M contribution legally purchase or entitle a participant to?
3. Are contribution, membership, residency, housing and employment separate?
4. Which securities-law pathway and investor eligibility rules apply?
5. Which decisions require simple majority, supermajority, class consent or unanimity?
6. What temporary founder rights exist, and precisely when do they expire?
7. How are Council members nominated, elected, removed and replaced?
8. How are housing rights priced, secured, transferred and terminated?
9. How are voluntary exits valued and funded when the institution lacks liquidity?
10. What happens on death, incapacity, divorce, insolvency or attempted transfer?
11. What work is paid and what stewardship is expected?
12. How are related-party transactions reviewed and approved?
13. What reserves and acquisition conditions must exist before a first site closes?
14. What insurance, safeguarding, privacy and health-data standards apply?
15. How are deadlock, failure and dissolution handled?

Schedule B. Proposed reserved decisions

The definitive charter should include a schedule of decisions reserved to:

• The Assembly.
• A supermajority of the Assembly.
• Any legally defined class of security holder.
• The Stewardship Council.
• Professional management.
• Independent oversight.
• Emergency authority.

No reserved power should exist only in custom or personal understanding.

Schedule C. Documents still required

This Charter does not replace:

• Incorporation, cooperative, trust or partnership instruments.
• Securities offering and subscription materials.
• Shareholder, member or unanimous agreements.
• Landholding and mortgage documents.
• Occupancy, tenancy or housing agreements.
• Employment and contractor agreements.
• Enterprise governance documents.
• Privacy, health-data and technology policies.
• Safeguarding, harassment and complaint policies.
• Emergency, wildfire and safety plans.
• Insurance and risk-management programs.
• Tax, accounting and financial-control policies.

Adoption path

Version 0.2 should proceed through:

1. Founding-group review and a written decision register.
2. Independent governance and community-operations review.
3. Legal, tax, securities, real-estate and accounting analysis.
4. Rights and abuse-resistance review by advisers independent of the founder.
5. Redrafting into the actual instruments required by the selected legal structure.
6. Individual independent advice for each prospective participant.
7. Formal adoption only through the procedures in the definitive documents.

Until that process is complete, this remains a proposal for how power should be constrained - not a claim that the constraints are already legally enforceable.