Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Statistical Survey Operations have voted in favour of new collective agreements that contain no concessions. The collective agreements cover both regional office and field interviewers.

The four-year collective agreements, which expire on November 30, 2011, provide for across-the-board annual wage increases of 2.3 per cent for the first year from 2007 to 2008 and 1.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years. The agreement also broadens the definition of “family,” which now applies to various other leaves. It also improves the Bereavement Leave article and secures commitment from the employer to improve its communication to employees on pension and retirement options and to provide pre-retirement seminars.

Despite negotiating under very difficult circumstances your bargaining teams were able to win some gains without allowing for any concessions.

February 28, 2009 marks an important milestone, the 10^th anniversary of the International RSI Awareness Day – a day set aside each year to focus attention on repetitive strain injuries. Held on the last day of February, it is the only ‘non-repetitive’ day on the calendar and is officially observed on February 29^th (in non-leap years, RSI Awareness Day is observed on February 28^th.) On this day, workers and their Unions participate in various activities to help raise awareness about RSI and the need for action aimed at prevention, rehabilitation and compensation.

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Negotiations with Purolator Courier Ltd. are set to commence on April 21, 2009. The parties have scheduled three (3) days for this initial meeting.

Establishing dates for the commencement of collective bargaining for this round has been challenging. Following ratification of the bargaining proposals by the membership in September 2008, a Notice to Bargain was sent to the employer on October 16, 2008. The parties had originally agreed to exchange bargaining proposals on December 15, 2008. However, due to a series of unforeseeable circumstances, negotiations had to be postponed to the New Year.

Although the collective agreement has an expiry date of December 31, 2008, the terms and conditions of employment contained in the agreement will be extended until the parties reach a new agreement or the parties are in a legal strike or lockout position, unless the bargaining agent consents to the alteration of the terms and conditions.

This bargaining unit has approximately 140 members in British Columbia.

We may have to erect a tombstone on Parliament Hill and inscribe it “Here lies pay equity,” if Canada’s MPs support the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act, buried deep in C-10, the Conservative’s Budget Implementation Act.

Eleven recipients of the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the country’s highest honour given to women, and more than 60 experts on women’s human rights have called on Stephen Harper to drop this legislation because it empties women’s right to equal pay for equal work of its meaning. But media space has more readily been given to those denigrating pay equity with such old saws as “Equal pay for work of equal value is like comparing apples and oranges.” In contrast to Canada, the EU has recently moved to strengthen its pay equity legislation. The European Parliament has called “for the organization of a European Equal Pay Day to contribute to raising awareness about the existing wage gap and to encourage all those involved to take additional initiatives to eliminate this gap.” Yet in Canada, conservative economists continue to posit, contrary to extensive evidence, that the market, if left unregulated, will resolve wage and other financial inequities. But history shows that the absence of market regulation leads to, rather than prevents, gender inequity. And recent global economic events further reveal the problem with unregulated markets.

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February 18 to May 10, 2009, Teck Gallery, SFU Vancouver Campus (515 W. Hastings)

As part of BC’s Black History Month celebrations, please join us for the opening reception and curator’s talk with the Ruth Wynn Woodward Chair in Women’s Studies, Dr. Afua Cooper, 6PM Wednesday, February 25, in room 1400 at SFU Vancouver (515 West Hastings) followed by refreshments and a tour of the exhibition.

Following the model of the Vancouver Parks Board’s Remarkable Vancouver Women poster project in 2008, this poster exhibit is curated by Dr. Afua Cooper, the Ruth Wynn Woodward Chair, Women’s Studies, SFU, who has partnered with the SFU Gallery to create this exhibition.

The exhibition explores an often-ignored aspect of BC’s history, highlighting the various ways that members of the Black community have enriched the culture, and contributed to the growth and development of the province. This exhibit has several objectives: to briefly document the marginalized history of the Black presence in BC; to celebrate that experience, pay homage to the women and men who helped build British Columbia; and finally, to highlight and commemorate the above as part of BC’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

Hours:  The Teck Gallery is on the street-level floor of SFU’s Vancouver Campus at 515 West Hastings Street. The Teck space is accessible whenever the campus is open to the public; most days this is from 7:30 am to 10:00pm. Tel: 778-782-4266, Email, Web

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through BC 150, a Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts initiative, the Heritage Legacy Fund of BC, and the Celebration and Commemoration Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the Government of Canada.

The Conservatives’ Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-10) legislates rates of pay for employees of Treasury Board and all other federal agencies. The bill legislates wage increases of 2.5%, 2.3%, 1.5%, 1.5% and 1.5% from 2006-2011.

For PSAC members, who are covered by collective agreements, the provision that allows the government to roll back negotiated wage increases covers any increases during the period from December 8, 2008 to March 31, 2011. The Act explicitly states that it will roll back any wage increases that differ from this formula, stating that they “are of no effect and are  deemed never to have had effect,” during this period.

A string of broken agreements

This attempt to rewrite history will directly affect a large number of PSAC members who negotiated wage increases and collective agreements freely and fairly with their employers.

• Canada Revenue Agency: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2.5% will be rolled back, even though it was negotiated back in October 2007.
• National Gallery of Canada: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2.5% will be rolled back.
• Canada Council for the Arts: the 2.5% negotiated increases for 2009 and 2010 will both be rolled back.
  Canadian Museum of Nature: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2% will be rolled back.
• National Arts Centre: the 2009 negotiated increase of 2.5% for the ushers and tour guides will be rolled back and the 2.5% increases for 2009 and 2010 for property management, security and parking services will be rolled back.

Workers’ rights under attack

PSAC is convinced that Bill C-10 violates a 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found free collective bargaining to be encompassed and protected by the 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court stated that: “Recognizing that workers have the right to bargain collectively as part of their freedom to associate reaffirms, enhances and promotes the values of dignity, personal autonomy, equality and democracy that are inherent in the Charter.” The 2007 ruling also made a point of rejecting earlier Supreme Court decisions that excluded collective bargaining from the Charter’s protection, saying those decisions would not stand up to principled scrutiny.

If workers have a Charter-protected right to bargain collectively, then it is reasonable to expect that the contracts they negotiate should be protected as well and not subject to the whims of politicians.

Download the fact sheet here (pdf).

Ottawa – The 166,000-member Public Service Alliance of Canada made its submission to the Standing Committee on Finance today, criticizing the federal government for only allowing three days of debate on the far-reaching Budget Implementation Act, given its serious implications for workers’ and women’s rights.

In particular, PSAC’s submission highlights the following problematic features of the Act:

• The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act would make it virtually impossible for women in the federal public sector to be paid equal pay for work of equal value. It uses pay equity as a bargaining chip during negotiations where the employer historically holds the balance of power. It bars unions from supporting members who want to make pay equity claims. Bill C-10 would do nothing to narrow the income gap between women and men in the federal public service.
• The wage roll-backs contained in the Expenditure Restraint Act would overturn collective agreements that were fairly negotiated. Bill C-10 undermines workers’ constitutional right to free collective bargaining.

“Government officials have admitted that there’s no proof that the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act will save the government any money. So why is it in the budget bill?” asked John Gordon, PSAC National President. “It won’t help the economy or save jobs. It will prevent women in the federal public sector from demanding equal pay for work of equal value. It has no place in the budget.”

PSAC is demanding that Parliament remove the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act from Bill C-10 and halt the wage roll-backs contained in the Expenditure Restraint Act.

Prince George Regional Women’s Committee AGM and 2009 elections of officers meeting

• March 7th 2008
• Ramada Inn, 444 George Street, Prince George, Alder Room
• time: Following the IWD Breakfast, approx 11AM – 12:30PM

Election for Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, any sister in good PSAC membership standing can run for an elected position.

Tentative Agenda

• Adoption of Feb. 21st/09 minutes
• 2008 Financial Statement (adoption)
• Elections
• Round table discussion/questions

Airport bird-control officers unionize, employer loses work contract

Vancouver International Airport declined to renew a long-standing contract to keep birds off its runways shortly after employees joined a union, and instead awarded the new contract to a non-union company without going to public tender.

• visit www.keepyvrsafe.com for more info

Airport representative Rebecca Catley said Thursday the bird-control contract went to Airport Wildlife Management International without public tender due to a “short time-line” to find a replacement after the airport decided not to renew its annual contract with Commissionaires B.C.

The airport says it chose not to accept the commissionaires’ request last October for a 29-per-cent cost increase shortly after about a dozen wildlife control officers joined the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees.

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The Pacific Aboriginal Network (PAN) would like to invite you to our Learning Day Event and Annual General Meeting March 5th. This event is free.

Develop Your Learning Plan – Unleash Your Brain’s Potential

The brain is different than other organs of the body. Many organs wear out with repeated and sustained use. However, the brain actually thrives on challenge. Use it or lose it is something that all cognitive scientists agree on.

In this workshop we will look at how we can use learning plans to increase our intelligence, learning skills and advance our careers. Not only will you learn how to fill them out, how to prepare for the learning plan interview with your supervisor, you will learn how to use them to keep your brain functioning very well for the rest of your life. There are practical things that all of us can use to exercise our brains.

We will also discuss options – courses, volunteering, portfolios, job shadowing, mentoring, transferrable skills, etc. that will be helpful in your career.

The workshop will be followed by a network lunch.

• Time: 8am – 2pm (lunch included)
• Location: Blue Horizon Hotel, Downtown Vancouver
• Cost: Free
• Who: Open to Metis and Aboriginal Federal Public Service Employees
• Registration: Send an email to vanessa.schols@inac-ainc.gc.ca

Workshop Facilitator Bio

Bob Aitken is with the School of Instructional Development at Vancouver Community College. He teaches in the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program and the Diploma in Adult Education Program offered by Vancouver Community College. He has a MEd in Curriculum and Instruction. He travels extensively working with faculty in schools and colleges, leaders in corporations, government and non-profit organizations to help them realize the value of brain research to working, leading, training and living. His practical approach and sense of humour have made him a popular speaker at national and international conferences.

Space is limited so rsvp soon.

Ottawa – Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Parks Canada have voted in favour of a new collective agreement that contain no concessions.

The union achieved some significant breakthroughs with the new agreement, including:

• The establishment of a national rate of pay for members who are in the General Labour and Trades (GL) and General Services (GS) classifications. This was a high priority bargaining demand for the union and the victory concludes a 41-year battle to remove regional rates of pay for trades people in the federal public service.
• The agreement also contain language that requires the government to review the use of contractors and consultants in order to avoid layoffs through strengthened workforce adjustment appendix provisions.

The four-year collective agreement, which expires on August 4, 2011, provides for across-the-board annual wage increases of 2.3 per cent for the first year from 2007 to 2008 and 1.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years.

“It was a long and difficult round of negotiations for our negotiating team and our members – in a less than ideal economic environment,” says PSAC regional executive vice-president for Atlantic Jeannie Baldwin. “But our union members’ 18 months of hard work, perseverance and strong solidarity paid off with better working conditions, not just for today’s members, but for future generations of Parks workers.”

“A clear majority of our members have voted to accept the tentative agreement,” says PSAC national president John Gordon. “We see this as a vote of confidence for the bargaining team and the union.”

Ottawa didn’t do cost estimates for new Tory plan, senior officials acknowledge

OTTAWA — Ottawa prepared no estimates to demonstrate that a controversial and divisive shift in establishing pay equity for 400,000 federal public servants would ultimately save taxpayers money, senior officials acknowledged yesterday.

Under the new regime the Harper government first unveiled in a restraint package last fall, the Canadian Human Rights Commission will be forbidden from hearing complaints from federal public servants on pay equity. That has previously served as the first step in a dispute process that led to litigation forcing Ottawa to dole out big settlements for pay imbalances.

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Ottawa – The Public Service Alliance of Canada is encouraging opposition members to remove legislation from the budget bill that would prevent women in the federal public sector from demanding equal pay for work of equal value.

The 166,000-member union is concerned that the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act will remove women’s ability to file pay equity complaints, making the process even more difficult than the current complaints-based system.

The “pay equity” bill is part of the omnibus Budget Implementation Act (Bill C-10), which was tabled on February 7, 2009. PSAC refutes the notion that this legislation is “proactive,” given that it ignores the recommendations made in the well-respected 2004 report from the federal Task Force on Pay Equity. The union contends that the new scheme would make a bad system much worse, removing pay equity’s status as a human right and opening it up to market forces.

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Vancouver International Airport union demands independent inquiry into snow removal problems at YVR after learning new details concerning a jet crash in an early January snowstorm and damaged caused by plowed snow, while landing on runway that should have been closed; union releases crash photos

Vancouver – A union representing hundreds of workers at Vancouver International Airport is demanding an independent inquiry into snow removal problems at YVR after learning new details of a jet crash during a snowstorm in early January.

A Mexican-registered Cessna Citation 650 business jet with five people on board crashed off Runway 12 after landing in a snowstorm at Vancouver at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday January 4, collapsing its nose gear when it went through 18 inch deep plowed snow alongside the runway edge lights, according to a report from Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS).

But original YVR reports to the media said the nose gear “collapsed after landing” and did not mention that the nose gear was broken by the heavy, ploughed snow, says Stephen Dunsmore, Regional Vice-President Pacific of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees – a component union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The union is also releasing photos of the jet crash on the PSAC BC website at www.psacbc.com.

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Union will challenge wage roll backs and the destruction of pay equity

On Friday, February 7, the Conservative government introduced an omnibus bill to implement the provisions of the federal budget that contains two “poison pills”: legislated wage rates for federal public sector workers and a problematic overhaul of federal pay equity legislation.

PSAC is committed to fighting wage legislation that would affect any of our members – especially if it threatens free collective bargaining. We also oppose changes to legislation that would undermine pay equity as a human right and make it much harder for women to demand equal pay for work of equal value.

Wage roll-backs

Bill C-10, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on January 27, 2009 and related fiscal measures, legislates national rates of pay of 2.3%, 1.5%, 1.5% and 1.5% from 2006-2011, for employees of Treasury Board and all other government-affiliated agencies.

The bill explicitly states that it will roll back any wage increases that differ from this formula, stating that they “are of no effect and are deemed never to have had effect.” (19 b)

This would directly affect PSAC’s members at the Canada Revenue Agency, who negotiated wage increases of 2.5% for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Bill C-10 would effectively break their collective agreement and override the 2009 wage increases that they freely and fairly negotiated with the federal government.

PSAC is convinced that Bill C-10 violates a 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision that found free collective bargaining to be encompassed and protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The union will challenge Bill C-10 and its impact on workers at the CRA and elsewhere.

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The SV agreement has been signed. The provisions in the new collective agreement are now in effect, and the employer has 150 days to implement the new rates of pay and issue cheques for retroactive pay reflecting the wage increases going back to August 5, 2007.

The four-year collective agreement, which expires on August 4, 2011, finally gets rid of regional rates of pay and will begin a national pay grid on August 5, 2009, for the GL, GS and HS groups. The agreement provides for across-the-board annual wage increases of 2.3 per cent for the first year from 2007 to 2008 and 1.5 per cent for each of the remaining three years. It includes a new annex on apprenticeships that outlines a commitment to train to the highest possible standards and provides for salary protection while members are in an apprenticeship program. The agreement also strengthens the Workforce Adjustment provisions and requires the government to review the use of contractors and consultants in order to avoid layoffs.

Competition Start Date: February 03, 2009
Closing Date: February 17, 2009
Position Title: Secretary (50%)
Employment Type: Term – up to 2 years

Download the full job posting at the national website (pdf).

Purpose of Position

As part of the Regional Office administrative team provides administrative and secretarial support to the Regional Office and participates in the provision of comprehensive administrative services that enables the regional office to fulfill its role in a timely and credible manner. Under the direction of the Regional Coordinator, assists in the maintenance of the administrative aspects of the regional offices while carrying out a wide variety of administrative, secretarial and clerical responsibilities to ensure the efficient operation of the regional office.

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The February 14th Women’s Memorial March is held on Valentine’s Day each year to honour the memories of the women from the Downtown Eastside who die each year due to the violence of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse. The Women’s Memorial march began 18 years ago after the brutal murder of a Coast Salish woman that left the neighbourhood in shock. This was the catalyst that moved women to take action against ongoing violence of women in the Downtown Eastside.

The heinous and unimaginable violence that took the lives of Sereena Abotsway, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Mona Wilson and Brenda Wolfe has left a void in the community.

According to Marlene George, Feb 14th Memorial March Committee Organizer, the community is also awaiting justice for the murders of the additional twenty women. “We demand a full measure of justice for the twenty women whose murders have unfortunately become a closed chapter for this government. These women may not be with us today, but we cannot let their lives and struggles be forgotten.”

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Vancouver Area Council AGM – October 21st, 2008
Held at the PSAC Regional Office – Joyce Street Vancouver BC

In attendance:

• Megan Adam (UEW 20147) – delegate
• Jamey Mills (UTE 20027) – delegate
• Robert Strang (CEIU 20944) – delegate
• Jack Seto (GSU 20008) – delegate
• Bill Plemming (GSU 20008) – delegate
• Tracy Shudo (CEIU 20949) – delegate
• Rhonda Johns (UPCE 20095) – delegate
• Bruce Ogilvie (UTE 20027) – delegate
• Sam Wiese (CEIU 20949) – delegate
• Terri Lee (AGR 20044) – delegate
• Sid Wong (AGR 20044) – delegate
• Sharon Tieman (UPCE 20101) – delegate

• Ann-Marie Friesen (UEW 20729) – guest
• Deanna Wilson (NAT 20088) – guest
• Crystal Graber (CEIU 20974) – guest

• Monica Urrutia – PSAC staff

Agenda

• Call to Order
• President’s Report
• Treasurer’s Report
• Bylaw Amendments
• VAC Executive Elections
• Resolutions to PSAC Convention
• Delegate to PSAC Convention Election

Continue reading below, or download the Vancouver Area Council AGM minutes, October 21 2008 (pdf)

Agenda – M/S/C Sam W, Megan A

President’s Report – Sam spoke mostly to Political Action and the actions she has taken, specifically surrounding the Federal Election and Defending Quality Public Services. (Report to be attached.)

M/S/C Sam W, Jamey M

Treasurers Report – Amendment request on budget to increase DLC affiliation from $400 to $600. M/S/C Megan A, Rhonda J – rationale- we are allocated this amount and should spend it

Report- M/S/C Sharon T, Tracy S

Amendment request to reduce donations from $300-$200. M/S/C Jamey M, Megan A – rationale-to balance the other amendment

Budget W/Amendments – M/S/C Sharon T, Rhonda J

-A discussion then occurred surrounding a resolution in regards to the VAC surplus

Bylaw Amendments – Amendment request to include Port Moody to the Jurisdiction of the VAC. M/S/C Jamey M, Megan A

All other bylaw amendments were carried with Sam W as the Mover and Megan A as the 2nd.

Elections:

• President – Sam W – Nominated by Sharon T – Won by acclamation
• 1st Vice President – Jamey M – Nominated by Megan A – Won by acclamation
• 2nd Vice President –Rhonda J – Nominated by Sam W – Nominees Terri L (Jack S) and Robert S (Jamey M) respectfully declined. Won by acclamation
• Secretary- Megan A –Nominated by Sam W – Nominee Terri L (Tracy S) respectfully declined. Won by acclamation.
• Treasurer – Sharon T –Nominated by Sam W – Nominees Jack S (Jennie) and Tracy S (Sid) respectfully declined. Won by acclamation.
• Members at Large – Bruce O – Nominated by Jamey M, Terri L – Nominated by Sam W and Robert S – Nominated by Megan A. Won by acclamation

Resolutions to PSAC Convention:

Temporary Foreign Workers

The Public Service Alliance of Canada will work through the Canadian Labour Congress to demand that the Federal Government overhaul its current temporary foreign worker programs by ensuring that these workers have access to full rights of citizenship, not just temporary access to jobs; and

PSAC will work through the CLC to demand that the Federal Government provide the same rights of access to Permanent Residency and/or Citizenship to Foreign Workers as any other individual; and

PSAC will call through the CLC for a full review of Canada’s immigration programs, including the role of Ministerial exemptions, the use of spot-checks and the addition of penalties for employers violating regulations; and

PSAC will continue to work with CLC member unions and progressive organizations to ensure that temporary foreign workers rights are protected.

M/S/C Sam W, Megan A

May Day

Whereas May First, known as May Day or International Workers’ Day, is a historic commemoration and international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the working class and labor movement dating back to the struggle for the eight-hour work day in the United States and Canada on May 1, 1886; and

Whereas May Day is not officially recognized in Canada or the United States, but instead has been replaced with “Labour Day”,

Whereas May Day commonly sees organized street demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world; and

Whereas there are local activists/community organizations that hope to reclaim the historic tradition of May Day in Canada;

Be it resolved that locals/branches of the Public Service Alliance of Canada work with or support local activist/community organizations presently involved in organizing May Day actions to include as many workers and workers’ organizations as possible on May First 2009 and subsequent May Days; and

Be it further resolved that locals/branches/Area Councils of PSAC be encouraged to join or endorse May Day Organizing Committees; and

Be it further resolved that the PSAC call upon Federations of Labour to promote and assist the labour movement to fully participate in every community to reclaim the fighting tradition of May Day on May First of each year with demonstrations, rallies and meetings to highlight the workers’ movement in Canada as part of the international May Day actions which take place around the world.

M/S/C Sam W, Megan A

Election of Delegate to PSAC Convention

• Delegate- Megan A
• 1st Alternate- Terri L
• 2nd Alternate- Sam W

Emergency Resolution – an emergency resolution was brought forward by Terri L and was tabled to the next meeting.

Swearing in to occur at next VAC meeting.

Meeting Adjourned.

PSAC Okanagan Regional Women’s Committee
Minutes of Meeting November 15, 2008
ABC Restaurant, Harvey Avenue, Kelowna

In Attendance:

• Susan Yaciw UTE 20003
• Nicole Jefferies USGE 20153
• Roberta Gourlie CEIU 20915
• Linda Woods NAT 20140
• Kelly Megyesi CEIU 20915
• Gabrielle Villecourt USGE 20153

Continue reading below or download the Okanagan RWC minutes, November 15 2008 (pdf)

The meeting was called to order at 11:10a.m. with Kelly Megyesi in the chair.

Minutes: Minutes from October 4 were distributed and accepted. m/s/c

Treasurer’s Report: Kelly advises there has been $1300 in revenue and $40 in expenses
leaving a balance of $2536.31. m/s/c

Old Business:

• Susan provided copy of J. Leenhout’s report of June 2008 CEIU BC/AB/Terr Women’s Training and Conference (copy attached). A short training segment about media communication was presented by Koraliey Little. An update of Bountiful was provided and four working groups produced letters to the editors of major newspapers.
• Lee Lakeman of the Vancouver Rape Relief and Crisis Center gave an insightful presentation regarding the movement to legalize prostitution prior to the 2010 Olympics. An idea of a newsletter to all members was discussed with a goal to issue quarterly or semi-annually. Title to be “WOMBATS.”

New Business:

2009 National Convention:

• S. Yaciw elected as Area Council delegate. R. Gourlie elected as 1st alternate. R. Gourlie presented approximate costs to attend convention ($300 airfare, accommodation unknown, $510 meals/incidentals @$85/day, $1000 Lost Wages @ $200/day, $225 registration fee, $125 ground transportation = $2160 + accommodation.
• Motion (Kelly, seconded by Susan) THAT $500 from OAC + $500 from ORWC be
  provided to assist alternate to attend convention.
• Amended Motion (Kelly, seconded by Gabrielle) THAT $200/per convention day to a maximum of $1200/convention, split between OAC and ORWC, be provided to assist alternate to attend convention
• Carried
• Discussion surrounding amount of money in account and desire to utilize meaningfully.
• Motion: (Kelly, seconded by Susan) moved THAT $500 be given to local womens’ organizations throughout Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Armstrong. Carried

December 6:

• Motion: (Kelly, seconded by Nicole) moved THAT for Dec 6 National Violence Against Women Day, ads in newspaper be taken out throughout the Okanagan with this theme. Carried
• Ad to contain similar to ORWC honours National Day of Remembrance of Violence Against Women.
• Action: Kelly to contact Patrick at Reg’l office for suggestions for ad.

March 6:

• Lots of ideas put forward on how to celebrate International Women’s Day next March. Best suggestion was a card and package of stickies to every members.
• Action: Gabrielle to design log for card.
• Action: Susan to provide short paragraphs on OAC and ORWC.
• Action: Kelly to obtain cost of stickies.

Next Meeting: January 24, 2009 (Tentative)

Adjourned at 11:45 a.m. m/s/c