Jackie Nettleton, Saskatoon Area Council Representative
Report to the Prairie Region Council
January 2014
The PSAC regional office was renovated this summer so we were unable to have a face to face meeting in August. However we still managed to organize ourselves for the Saskatoon and District Labour Council’s Labour Day BBQ. PSAC volunteers helped prepare the food and then set up our own table. We handed out helium balloons and stickers. Unfortunately the chap sticks arrived too late. Hopefully they will keep until next year. The weather was beautiful for a change and the entertainment was excellent.
We met in regard to Bill C4 and planned lobby groups. Louise Mardell also offered lobby training which several of us attended. However we found that the Saskatoon M.P.s (all Conservative) did not want to meet with us as PSAC. They were only willing to meet with their own constituents and even then, they informed us that they were all booked up.
The Saskatoon Area Council and the Regional Women’s Committee partnered again this year to put on an Open House. We had a speaker from the Saskatoon Food Bank. The RWC and AG local 40022 had both participated in the Food Bank garden this past year and people coming to the open house were encouraged to bring a food bank donation. Also, we dedicated the board room to our brother Howard Willems who passed away from mesothelioma due to his exposure on the job. Howard was a dedicated PSAC member and social justice advocate who spent a lot of time in the board room. We now have two plaques mounted on the door and the wall of the boardroom as a reminder of his hard work and dedication. It was especially nice to have people from the Saskatoon Labour Council there to talk of their remembrances of Howard’s contributions to the wider labour movement and to the community.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jackie Nettleton
Saskatoon Area Council