Minutes from the January 17th Regina Human Rights Committee Meeting
South SK Human Rights Committee
Meeting Minutes
January 17, 2012
Present: Gary Sparvier, Chair Bryan Thomson, Vice-Chair
Melissa Brandt, Secretary Janette Husak, Treasurer
Steve Van Opstal, L 40229 Bruce Cook, L40022
Michael Schell, L40064 Satinder Bains, L4A008
Kyara Moone, L40811 Alex George, Casino ReginaDCL
Lisa Garnier, Regional Representative
The meeting convened at 6:05 p.m.with roundtable introductions.
Previous Meeting Minutes:
The minutes of the October 18, 2011meeting were reviewed. The committee would also like to acknowledge the contributions and assistance of Brother Satinder to the National Aboriginal Day event.
M/S/C Satinder/Steve That the October 18, 2011meeting minutes be adopted.
Finances:
The closing bank balance on December 31, 2011was $4,638.47.
M/S/C Melissa/Michael That Brother Satinder be reimbursed $90.47 for dinner expenses.
NAPC Update:
Brother Alex provided the Committee an update on activities. The next meeting for NAPC will be March 26-28. Through the summer he travelled with Sister Alisha through the Prairies. They visited all locals and promoted the establishment of circles/committees throughout the Prairies. The requirements set out in the PSAC Constitution present a challenge when it comes to setting up a committee.
There was some discussion about the situation in Attawapiskatand what can be done here. It was suggested there is a need for training/education of members. Brother Alex referred to the course he and Sister Alisha developed. He indicated the content of the course could be modified to make it suitable for delivery to all PSAC members as a weekend course.
Other Business:
A discussion related to raising the profile of the Committee ensued. The Committee needs to promote itself and build connections with members in order to get them to come out to meetings. One barrier to getting the message about the Committee out is getting email notices past local presidents. Many don’t distribute emails to their local. It was also noted that often the emails do not contain sufficient detail to draw the interest of members.
Sister Lisa observed there is also a lack of follow through. She pointed out the December 2011 event did not happen because people agreed to do things and then didn’t live up to the commitment they had made.
Brother Bryan, Sister Kyara & Sister Janette agreed to work together and develop a statement to reflect what we want to convey about the Committee including our focus.
Brother Michael, Brother Gary and Brother Steve agreed to work together and develop a list of speakers/presenters for future meetings. Their first task will be to find a speaker for our next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Next meetings: March 13 (guest speaker to be arranged); March 27 (