PSAC Regional Women’s Committee Meeting
April 18, 2012
In Attendance: Carol, Karon, Dawn, Darlene, Deanna, Robyn, Cathy
Regrets: Paula
1. Call to Order
2. Accepted agenda, with change, M/S Karon/Dawn
3. Accepted minutes from last meeting (February 15, 2012). All agreed
4. Karon read letter of thanks from S.N.O.W. for our contribution
5. Treasurer’s Report – motion to accept – all agreed
6. Old Business – none
7. New Business:
1. Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) Update:
The CCAAC’s latest update included information on “Affordable Child Care or Corporate Tax Cuts: Where do we stand? Federal Budget 2012” Highlights of the analysis were:
• The majority of Canadian families with children under 5, faced with unaffordable fees and a critical shortage of spaces, will continue to turn to unregulated care
• Canada’s commitment to ending child poverty will continue to lag further and further behind.
• Canada will continue to rank last among 25 developed countries in meeting the minimum benchmarks for Early Childhood Education and Care (UNICEF).
• Canada will continue to fail to meet its international treaty obligations as a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Shared the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) 2012 Alternative Federal Budget that affirms that “an accessible, well-designed, high-quality child care system can more than pay for itself; it creates jobs, promotes health, advances women’s equality, addresses poverty and grows the economy.” http://www.policyalternatives.ca/ThirstyforChange
• Deanna spoke of their website/first nation children/Shannon’s Dream
• What are we prepared to do – what actions/brainstorming can we come up with; Robyn suggested we should contact Jaime Castle from Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada as to what they would like us to do
• Robyn also spoke of the United Nations – Status of Women Meeting she attended in New York. No agreed solutions came from this meeting – left them wondering what happens now? She said they also touched on the following subjects: violence, poverty and rural women. Robyn was very proud of the fact that a rural woman from Manitoba was at this meeting and voiced her concerns about the plight of the rural women. Robyn will provide more info to Deanna
2. WFA: National Capital Region was the hardest hit, Prairies was the next largest area.
3. School Supply Drive:
• Establish a working committee: Cathy and Deanna
• Contact the Bombers to see which game they will give us to collect our supplies from the Bomber fans. We would also like the Bombers to give a little more advertising of this project.
• As well the committee still has monies left from last year’s drive that will be used to purchase supplies for this year’s school supply drive
• We will solicit the locals for donations
4. Native Women’s Association of Canada:
• Health Programs are cut
• Sisters in Spirit are now called “Evidence to Action”
• Faceless Dolls Seminar – workshop that depicted the missing/murdered Aboriginal Women
• There are 582 women on their National Database of missing aboriginal women
5. May 1st – May Day Rally. Tracy and Deanna offered to pick up anyone wanting to attend this rally at the City Hall and then march to the Exchange District.
8. Next Meeting – May 16, 2012 @ 5:15pm
9. Adjourned at 6:50pm M/S Dawn/Darlene