PCWO 121st AGM - June 2014
Report: National Council of Women of Canada – 121st AGM
on June 7, 2014, at the Extended Stay Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
I was the TACW delegate to the NCWC annual general meeting in Ottawa on Saturday, June 7th, 2014. There were 27 registered participants and I was impressed with all the work by many of the convenors, vice-presidents, and board members from various committees. This year the common program was: Women’s Mental Health – “Shining a Light on Mental Health and Stigma.” Denise Mattok, NCWC president, opened the session and in her report explained that NC had cut expenses down by closing the National office, savings of $50,000 a year. The NC is now a virtual organization run by member volunteers. The 5 year contract with Cannon photocopier ended and will save $5,000 a year.
Successful negotiations with the artist, Larisa Cheladyn, who produced the “Celebrating Women” series for NC resulted in an exchange of eleven remaining painting with Larisa for the rights to the painting, “Fabric of a Nation.” Since the artist’s husband even packed and sent the paintings to Edmonton the NC was saved that expense and can now store the remaining “Celebrating Women” in a smaller storage space.
Funding is a problem since the NC does not receive money from the government (it could not submit Resolutions to the government if it did). The NC also cannot fundraise so it is up to its local and provincial councils and private donors to support the national council. With the savings put in place this year, the NC feels it has sufficient funds for 6 years. Further to the storage and insurance expenses, the archives, the Historical info and the Early Women’s Movements (such as yearbooks) have to be moved as well. The cost estimate is about $300 an hour for moving. The motion was carried that Council could use up to $17,000 from the reserve fund.
The Budget was presented with many pages but the actual income this year seems to be from investment, $16,000 and membership fees only about $5,000 and total for this year seems to be about $36,000.
Resolutions in Plain Language -- proposed by Mary Potter
There was much discussion on changing the format for writing resolutions. Some feel the new format would be clearer to Government in presenting Resolutions. The Old Format uses ‘Whereas’ and ‘Resolved’ and gets to Why you are doing, therefor is the Conclusion. The New Format gives Statement of Policy, as well as Request of Government. The material therefor comes up first rather than as Background as in Old Format. The agreement seem to be for the next 2 years to write the resolutions in both formats.
Resolutions
The heart of the Councils.
There were 5 Resolutions. The three that were carried are:
1. Access to MIFEPRISTONE (RU486): for use in Medical abortion – this would be for women requiring medical abortions of short-term pregnancy.
2. Employment Insurance Reform regarding TIPS – this would require the EI Act to include all declared tips as insurable earnings for the purpose of calculating EI premiums.
3. Global Farmland Rush - that any land takeover by a foreign country not be detrimental to the local farmer and local food supply.
And some change in the wording was recommended for the next two:
4. Moratorium on the use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides – that this pesticide not be used on farm crops as more studies show the pesticide kills bees and other pollinators.
5. This is the Resolution from Toronto Council researched and written by Eileen Lackie:
One-Third Reduction in Sugar Content in Processed Food, Soft Drinks and Juice – too much sugar can cause obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.
I voted for the Resolutions as stated, but the vote, taken several times, was to send the Resolutions back to Toronto for amendments. We will have to work on this to be ready for March 2015 when they are presented again.
NCWC Education Fund Program
The afternoon program was chaired by Gracia Jones, president of the NCWC Education Fund which is coast to coast and was founded in 2001. The fund depends on the generosity of all of Councils, members, and friends and can give tax receipts.
This year the focus us on Mental Health. The guest speaker was Dr. Heather Stuart, a professor at Queen’s University. Dr. Stuart, among her many specialties, works in mental health-related stigma: “Many people with a mental illness will tell you that the hardest part is not the illness itself, but the stigma. So severe is the stigma that two-thirds of Canadians who experience a mental illness will not seek help. With one in five adult Canadians experiencing some form of mental illness, the stigma can be paralyzing and limit access to proper care and support.” Dr. Stuart was a compelling speaker as she outlined the perception and reality of Mental Health:
Most Canadians recognize that someone with mental health problem needs professional help, must see doctors and can recover. But, most people do not want to associate with someone with or past mental illness. There is a stigma attached to these illnesses. In Canada, the hospitals have deinstitutionalized the mentally ill with the result of less hospital beds and some being criminalized. In fact, 60-80% in prison have mental health issues. Public health concerns internationally, nationally, and locally want to approach an OPEN-MINDED look at the mentally ill. Many feel shame, guilt, and have low self-esteem. Even the United Nations recasts this as a Human Rights Issue. Bell Canada has spent $69,000,000 on this problem and is unique among business in recognizing the illness. Most written articles do not mention treatment, and this leaves the public to think that mentally ill people are violent and depressed. Media needs to give positive news on recovery.
A note on Police Procedure:
Usually a former patient in hospital, even for a temporary problem, cannot get by the border and a positive step would be not to share this information with the Border Police.
Panel Discussion
In the afternoon there was a Panel Discussion which illustrated the positive aspects at advocacy. Dr. Catherine Gilbert, co-founder of “Our Harbour”, a resident if the “Our Harbour” program Ms. Teresa Lundy, and Mrs. Anita Marley, a volunteer at Ottawa’s Royal Hospital and editor of the “Client’s Voice” newsletter all spoke on the positive approach to mental illness.
“’Our Harbour’ is a long-term housing program in Montreal for people of diverse backgrounds living with mental illness.” In practical terms we learned the Board finds an apartment and look after the heating, telephone, etc. for three recovering resident who agree to share and co-operate with each other. A fee is charged (not rent) and support which gives stability to the clients. The residents are out of hospital and recovering. For clients ‘off the street’, other help is necessary as they are too unstable for this program.
The volunteer from Ottawa, who suffers from deep depression but is now in recovery, mentioned the difficulty of getting help as she has seen ten psychiatrists since 1975. She explained that mental illness is a chemical imbalance in the brain and not a character flaw. A high-profile recovery patient is Margaret Trudeau who is an advocate for a National Policy, to look at what is available in social work and who looks at the whole picture of mental illness.
NCWC Development Organization
Some excerpts from the Chair’s, Bonnie Destoune’s, Report, 2013-14:
The NCWCDO was established to assist small communities to establish projects that will support initiatives that address various community, health, and welfare needs. The abuse and violence against women continues; children at risk and children with disabilities are ignored so small initiatives can make a significant contribution towards improvement of the disadvantaged. The primary supporters of the Development Organization are the NCWC, local councils and individual members.
The TACW collects their donation every meeting in our “red telephone” bank and forwards it once a year to the NCWCDO. The following four organizations received fund of $450.00 each in 2014:
1. Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies, which has 150 female students in Afghanistan;
2. Moiz Academy, Pakistan, funded desks and materials for school and shoes for children;
3. Kambrui School for the Hearing Impaired, the only school for the deaf in Nairobi and has 300 children;
4. Echelon Des Pays D’en-Haut Quebec, a community based art program for adults with mental issues.
The guest speaker for the NCWCDO was Beth Kent, from “Our Kenya Kids” which supports seven primary students at the school for the deaf and gave a most interesting talk about the school and of the students there. A second speaker was Maryam Sahar from the Kandahar School and who is now studying in Canada.
I enjoyed the official lunch and dinner with the delegates and participated in the Auction, which was fun and I even bought a copy of “Fabric of a Nation”, the signature piece of NCWC art portfolio.
Thank you for the opportunity to be your delegate at the Conference.
Connie Zboch, past president
Toronto and Area Council of Women