Lethbridge Regional Women’s Committee
Virtual meeting via Zoom - June 25, 2020 @ 6:00pm
Meeting Minutes
Attendance:
Stephanie Erb (30048), Sherry Hunt (30048), Karen Mah (30048), Danielle Poissant (30907), Krysty Thomas (30048), Dolly Ablitt (Calgary PSAC Rep), Shelagh Hanson (Regional Women’s Rep)
The meeting was called to order at 6:20 pm
1. Adoption of Agenda
2. Review Previous Meetings minutes
• K Mah clarified that there were 2 meetings, including the March meeting. S Erb will load onto the drive. D Poissant motioned to pass and S Erb seconded. Passed by consensus.
3. Financial report – S Erb
• Closing balance on June 25, $1434.06
• Cheque for $1900 – S Erb will mail it and include a letter to explain the lateness of the delivery.
• K Mah mentioned that the committee had voted to bump up the amount to $2000 (January meeting) and lateness in getting the cheque to Harbour House
• S Erb motioned to accept current financial statement. K Thomas seconded.
• S Hunt has $200 cheque from the Labour council for the YWCA event which did not occur due to COVID.
• S Erb was at the bank, and brought up the issue of switch Kristy Slattery to Sherry Hunt. This may require going into the bank and signing papers. S Hunt questioned if there was an issue that all signatures are from one local? D Ablitt and D Poissant both did not have an issue with this.
4. Old business:
• S Hunt shared the response from the AB Education Minister regarding the lack of child care funding; it was a standard, underwhelming reply.
5. New business
• D Ablitt reminded that any proposals for new activities should be submitted
a) Planning – summer 2020 art contest
• S Hunt - limit the area to voting municipalities in southern AB south of Calgary
• K Thomas – can put the winner’s artwork in a collage, also need to include a liability clause
• K Thomas and S Hunt will work on rules; S Erb and D Poissant will work on finding prizes
• Can also promote with libraries and Lethbridge Recreation
• Announce winner on Labour Day, run for the month of August
• Have some crayons to send to those who need supplies
• See if some MLAs will promote the contest (Lethbridge West has agreed to)
b) Mask project with Lethbridge Area Council
• K Thomas – will write a proposal to get funding from Area Council money.
• For sewers, have some connections with Canadian University Federation of Canadian Women. LRWC can help with coordinating volunteers.
• Masks will go to vulnerable women in the committee (e.g. women’s shelter).
• S Hunt mentioned that they are already doing this in Medicine Hat. D Poissant added that they only need sewers.
• D Ablitt reminded all that PSAC has a policy that they will not produce or include union signage on masks.
• S Hanson confirmed that Marianne is aware of these projects and supplying them to the general public was okay.
c) PSAC COVID-19 update on activities – postponements of events.
• D Ablitt - Conventions are moved forward a year with no changes to delegates or resolutions.
• For women’s committees – have to have 4 meetings/year. Attendees for conferences have to attend at least 2 meetings in a calendar year prior to a convention.
• PSAC staff are not going back to the workplace until September. There will be no member contact until logistics are determined. In October, meetings will be by appointment only.
• Smaller education opportunities. Will likely restart face to face education in 2021. There will be 2 basic courses on the new platform fairly soon. The rest of the courses are expected to be available in the fall, including the TUB course.
6. Next meeting – don’t need to meet until Oct.
Roundtable:
• S Hunt – child engagement survey by the UCP government is being held as the accreditation is gone. Currently, there is now only licensing (for health and safety) however it will expire in January. The AB government is not consulting with the experts, focussing on business models that promote more kids with few adults (essentially babysitting). S Hunt will send information to aid LRWC members in filling out the survey.
• K Thomas – working on a proposal to support care packages that the Sage clan and Sweetgrass Youth alliance could distribute to women living on the street. They don’t have access to drinking water even. S Hunt motioned to approve and D Poissant seconded.
• S Erb – waiting for background information to bring to the committe to support the Kerber friendship program at the U of Lethbridge. This program supports students with food services and more recently, are helping international students stuck in the country. The LRWC could assist with financial help and food delivery. Also attended a CSPS seminar put on by TBS and PSAC regarding mental health and return to work. They developed a guidebook that came out this week. D Ablitt - the guide will be sent out this Friday.
• D Poissant – during National Public Service Week was informed that the proposals put forward to management were not bring implemented. Acknowledged support given in K Thomas’ letter to the editor that was published today. Added that management wanted employees to put in a business case to continue working from home.
• K Thomas – S Hunt sent a letter to AB ECE Association and the Labour Minister (among others), which Labour Council endorsed. She will share her letter to the editor with the Committee. She added that COVID has been a huge mental health strain to federal public servants.
• K Mah – mentioned a French news item that cited over 400 federal public service members had contracted COVID and wondered if anyone had heard this news.
• D Ablitt – there will be a virtual campaign to support bargaining. Noted that Sobey’s is taking a province wide strike vote on Friday, citing the “Heroes to zeros” campaign.
K Thomas motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:42 KT pm
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