NCWC 125th AGM - June 2018
Report on the 125th Annual General Meeting and Conference of the NCWC
Niagara College Conference Centre, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. – June 7-10 2018
Our TACW sent two delegates Eileen Lackie and Connie Zboch to the NCWC AGM for one day, Saturday, June 9th of the four-day conference. We arrived Friday evening at 7 pm, just in time for the banquet at the Niagara College, Benchmark restaurant. It is a teaching college and we were beautifully served by the students while entertained by harpist Ann-Marie Regehr during dinner. We later listened to interesting speaker Elizabeth Zimmerman of the YWCA and vice chairman of the Niagara Poverty Reduction Network.
We stayed overnight in the student residence building with the other delegates and the next morning attended the conference in the common room. The opening reception had been on Friday where the delegates were greeted by Niagara College President Dan Patterson, and welcomed by the NCWC president Sandra Cohen-Rose. Other special guests included the Lord-Mayor of Niagara-on-the- Lake Pat Darte.
Friday morning the first Plenary session was followed by boards and convenors and local provincial councils giving their reports. The second Plenary session opened in the afternoon, which included Policy Development, Resolutions, and Updates, chaired by Carol Schweitzer. The evening ended with the banquet which Eileen and I fortunately arrived on time to attend.
Saturday, June 9th we attended the third Plenary session and had a chance to meet the 31 registered delegates who came from across Canada: Vancouver, New Westminster, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Niagara District, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. To vote, Toronto, as a local council, had a value of 10 total votes and we participated in all the presented motions.
Some of the Resolutions and Updates took time as amendments were discussed and word-changes were made. TACW had already discussed the Resolutions in our March meeting. Now the Resolutions are ready to be printed by the NCWC and to be delivered to the relevant MPs.
The highlight of the afternoon was the NCWC Education Fund joint program led by Gracia Janes as the EF President. The panel gathered from the Niagara District Service Providers was informative as their topic was on “Eliminate Poverty through Life Skills, Education, and Empowerment of Women.” We were surprised that there are 30 agencies involved in this area of 13 municipalities and the need is great to help those on or near poverty. For example, 700,000 meals were provided in the past year for needy or homeless people and 200k received help to find shelter. Elizabeth Zimmerman from the YWCA said the first need is “a roof over head and food in the belly” before a person can be helped medically, talk about income, social assistance or getting ready to get a job or take courses to update their skills. There are also micro loans of $1,000 for people who have a business idea and feel they can accomplish the task.
One speaker focused on a centre for “one-to-one” encounters as she pointed out many homeless are so alone they never are addressed by their first name. One such person the staff knew not only his name but his birthday and reminded him to come the next day for a birthday celebration and a cake. He refused a few times and then suddenly agreed and asked to bring his son. (One success story at a time).
Another pressing problem is human trafficking. The young women are very vulnerable as part of the Niagara District is a casino/entertainment area. The panel continued on another topic of “Shining a light on programs that help end barriers that hinder women living in poverty.” After this presentation the delegates joined the panel in a question period. These everyday problems need solutions and the president of NCWC Sandra Cohen-Rose gave an Overview of “Common Problems” of Eliminating Poverty which she had presented to the United Nations in New York.
Of note was the successful Bring and Buy auction the delegates enjoyed as a fundraiser to NCWC and collected $861.
The president of the Manitoba Council of Women invited all delegates to Winnipeg next year for a busy AGM and tour of the city. After a break for refreshments, Eileen and I decided to drive back to Toronto while it was still daylight. The delegates however went on a tour of a winery that evening in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
On Sunday, there was a fourth Plenary session for discussing the Resolutions and any unfinished business. This was a very full and thoughtful AGM and we were pleased to participate for a short time as the Toronto delegates.
Thank you!
Eileen Lackie and Connie Zboch