Greetings and Happy New Year,

The start of a new year brings with it a time for making resolutions which off times are never fulfilled however we can make our resolutions a reality by careful planning, preparation and following the guidelines.

I am forwarding recent attachments received from National for the National Manual of Policy and Procedure as well as an excellent report on resolutions talks with the government which will be in the next issue of the Canadian League should you be unable to open it.

1. Checklist for Reviewing Proposed Resolutions (replace pages 5 & 6)
2. Resolution Section (replace pages 17 – 19b)
3. Parliament Hill Revisited (keep scrolling down till it appears)

While the pages may at first glance look similar it is important to note the additions/changes in order to follow the correct procedure for resolutions to be acceptable at all levels. .

The next three articles are taken from Betty Anne Brown, National Resolutions Chairperson’s December communique.

Parenthetical Referencing – What is it?
In a brief, this is the easiest way to identify the source of statistics, direct quotes and ideas. Immediately after they are quoted or referred to, the name of the source is put in brackets e.g. (Tremper), then another item of back up, perhaps another source might have been quoted e.g. (Zummach). If Zummach is quoted again, immediately afterwards, the brief would have been (Ibid), meaning the same source. Then at the end of the brief, those sources are listed alphabetically according to the author. It would be printed:

References
Tremper… identify the names of collaboration, the name of the article, where it appeared
Date
Zummach …

An effect of a Resolution
In an effect to be authentic, after the acceptance of Resolution 2007.02 Global Accountability for Canadian Registered Mining Companies, the national executive voted to divest the League of all investments in mining companies with overseas operations in developing countries.

How are Things Connected?
Prior to the national convention in August 2007, the federal government contacted the League inviting its input on their planned pre-budgetary consultation across Canada. During the convention, National Chairperson of Legislation, Mary Nordick and Resolutions Chairperson, Betty Anne, seized the opportunity to review all past resolutions in this fiscal light. A brief was produced which was forwarded to the government committee by the deadline. National president Lorette Noble appeared before the pre-budget consultation in December when it was held in Montreal. Yes, our voices are being heard through resolutions, it is important that we continue to follow the action plan for resolutions still requiring action.

Good news!

Bill C-2 An Act to amend the Criminal code (also known as Tackling Violent Crime bill) includes Age of Consent passed the House of Commons on November 28. This bill is currently before the Senate having passed the second reading on December 12 and has now been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. If passed by the senate, C-2 will raise the age of consent from 14 to 16.

Bill C-484 An Act to amend the Criminal Code injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence) is a private members bill sponsored by MP Ken Epp. It was moved by him that the bill be read a second time (anticipated date Feb 29th) and the expected vote date on whether it is referred to Justice committee or dies, is March 5th. During the League delegation visit to Parliament Hill, Secretary of State, the Hon. Jason Kenny requested the support of League members in sponsoring this bill as he feels it is pro-life as well as pro-choice as the mother has chosen to give birth to her child. Please encourage members to write to their MP’s to vote in favour of this bill now.

Titles only of proposed resolutions from your diocese should reach me by the new date of February 4th and as previously mentioned councils can still be working on resolutions up till your cut off date, Please emphasis that the rules and criteria for resolutions must be adhered to in order to eliminate any misunderstandings and avoid hurt feelings should a resolution be rejected.
Offer your assistance and invite a Life Member in your diocese to assist.

Goals
Will I reach mine of at least one resolution from every diocese? With your help and encouragement to parish councils in your diocese it can happen!

Hoping that you have received a good response to the annual reports and I look forward to receiving yours by February 15, in order for me to compile mine for March national deadline.

May 2008 bring peace, joy and hope and may Our Lady of Good Counsel guide and bless us each and every day.

Your League Sister,
Sheila Q….

Dear Sisters and Father Terry,

Diocesan Legislation chairpersons Kamloops – Lucille W……., Nelson – Pollyana K….., Prince George – Lorraine T……., Vancouver – Suzanne E.., Victoria – Blanca S…., White Horse – vacant

Welcome back to another CWL year as we continue to work at loving one another and walking humbly with our God. For the new chairperson there is a lot to learn and one of the best way is to use the internet as I did to acquire this information last Tuesday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided to reconvene Parliament on October 16th, when he presents a new Speech from the Throne. This will delay the opening of Parliament and allows the opposition parties to vote on the government agenda. There is a possibility the government could be defeated resulting in Bill C-22 dying on the order paper. To express concern about this potential event, members are urged to contact the senators immediately at LEG-JUR@sen.parl.gc.ca and express their concern about the potential death of this bill.

Bill C-22 An Act to amend the Criminal Code (age of protection) and to make consequential amendments to the Criminal Records Act had first reading in the House of Commons on June 22, 2006. This bill would rise the age from 14 to 16 years at which a person can consent to non-exploitative sexual activity. (The government uses the term “age of protection” rather than “age of consent.”) This bill had second reading in the House of Commons on October 30, 2006, and was referred to the justice and human rights committee.”

October 16th, is when Prime Minister Stephen Harper will open a new session of Parliament with a throne speech – followed by a House of Commons vote of confidence on the speech in which the Conservative minority could be defeated, prompting a federal election. If an election comes it will be interesting to monitor the amount of money each political party will spend, the promises made and the issues each will bring forward assuring the voters that they will be the best party to lead the Parliament of Canada.

Our job is to monitor and study current and proposed government legislation at all levels of government this can be pursued by reading Hansard, government publications, newspapers and other media.

To access the Parliament of Canada on the internet type the Parliament of Canada for information regarding the provincial government type Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Names and addresses for MP’s and MLA’s are available from these sites.

The Definition of Hansard for your information is the unofficial name of the “Official Report of Debates” in the federal Parliament of Canada. Hansard is also used to describe the official record of debates in the provincial and territory legislative assemblies. The name Hansard comes from the family originally responsible for reporting debates in the British House of Commons. In the federal House of Commons and Senate, Hansard is published in both official languages, English and French, after each sitting. The debates are translated and transcribed as they occur, then edited and corrected before being published, usually the next day.

The CWL National website has detailed action plans for resolutions 2007.01, 2007.02 and 2007.03 adopted at the 87th annual national convention. The action plan for resolution 2007.03 ask that we promote the on going palliative care issues. I believe that talking with our family doctor about the palliative care available in our communities would be a starting place.

Provincial Education & Health Chairperson Nancy Simms has asked that members send their feed back regarding The Social Justice 12 Response Draft and accompanying Response Form that are now available on the Web and downloadable via http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/drafts/ to her. This is in regards to the agreement with the BC Ministry of Education and the Correns.

Please contact me if you require help, have questions or information to pass on.

God Bless,
Your Sister in the League,

Gloria G……..