points" at its general meeting in April 1936 and sent the matter to the AAU of C for consideration by a mail-in vote. The CAHA executive was empowered to take action as seen fit regardless of the vote's outcome. CAHA president First term Duncan was elected president of the CAHA on April 14, 1936, succeeding E. A. Gilroy. Duncan and the CAHA approved cuts to expenditures for player allowances and team expenses for national playoffs, after an operating loss of C$7,000 during the 1935–36 season due to declining revenues at Allan Cup and Memorial Cup games. The CAHA banned movement of players to the United Kingdom until an agreement was reached with the BIHA and approved a draft agreement with the United States to limit the number of transfers and recognize each other's suspensions. AAU of C president W. A. Fry issued an ultimatum to the CAHA in a letter to Duncan on May 6, 1936. Fry decreed that if the CAHA went ahead with its amateur definition reforms and break away from the AAU of C, the CAHA would lose the right to participate in ice hockey at the Olympic Games since the AAU of C was aligned with the Canadian Olympic Committee. Fry also stated that the AAU of C would not entertain the proposals nor have a mail-in vote on the question. Duncan was critical of Fry for publishing quotes from the letter in his Dunnville Chronicle before the letter was received. Duncan pushed ahead negotiating a series of agreements with other hockey associations, to develop relationships which protected the CAHA's interests and make itself independent of the AAU of C. In June 1936, the CAHA and the BIHA reached an agreement to govern and require transfers between the associations and recognition of each other's suspensions. The CAHA also sought legal advice which assured it would retain control of the Allan Cup and Memorial Cup. The Winnipeg Tribune reported that Duncan and the CAHA had already taken the first steps to separate in November 1936, since players in the ODHA and the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association were not required to get a registration card from the AAU of C. Duncan announced that the CAHA had reached an alliance with the South African Ice Hockey Federation on December 9, 1936. The agreement meant that the CAHA now had formal relations with all areas where organized hockey was played,