Dear League Sisters and Father Tran,

I hope everyone had a rejuvenating summer and were able to find some sun somewhere.  Fall is definitely here in Yukon.  The leaves are turning, the berries are ripe and the mountain tops are white with fresh snow.

Resolutions:

Three resolutions were passed at the National Convention in Winnipeg under Education and Health:

2008.02 – Restrictions on the Sale of Products Containing Triclosan
2008.03 – Toxic Substances in Household Products
2008.04 – Accurate Food Labelling

Awareness, Prevention and Treatment of Depression, a resolution passed at the B.C. Provincial Convention, was not presented to be voted on as a resolution but has been given to the National Chairperson of Education and Health for further action.

Euthanasia:

I would urge all councils, diocesan and parish to educate their members on this topic. The Keynote Address at the National Convention in Winnipeg was given by Dr. Moira McQueen, Executive Director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute; Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Senator Sharon Carstairs.  Their presentations were followed by a workshop on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.

All three presenters gave passionate talks on why we should be concerned about end of life issues.  The workshop created lively discussion based on real life experiences.

Dr. Moira McQueen is the author of a book, Bioethics Matters – A Guide for Concerned Catholics.  The book is designed to inform and educate Catholics about vital topics in bioethics. These matters often call for detailed knowledge of Catholic teaching, but many of us do not know enough about what that teaching says on these kinds of issues.  We want to know more about that teaching when we are making moral decisions in these areas, for good conscience decisions call for good information. The book is available from Novalis at www.novalis.ca.

Alex Schadenberg has a website at Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.  Also, available from Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is a DVD and discussion guide, Turning the Tide, Dignity, Compassion and Euthanasia.

Catholic Organization for Life and Family has two publications on this topic, Choose Life! and Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide –Urgent Questions.

The CWL National website has two workshops on euthanasia, on the website under programs – Christian Family Life: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide 1 ¾ hr. and Euthanasia 15 min.  Both can be used for diocesan or parish use.  I have purchased the DVD, Turning the Tide to be used throughout the province.  It is an excellent presentation and can be used in conjunction with the two workshops.   The DVD also has a guide to use with it.  Or using all these resources, you can create your own workshop to fit your individual needs.  If you would like to borrow the DVD, just email me and I will send it out to you.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide is a topic that is back in the news.  Bloc Quebecois MP, Francine Lalonde has reintroduced Bill C-407, a bill that would have legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada.  Robert Latimer has been released from prison and has moved to Ottawa to lobby for legalizing euthanasia.  If a federal election is called, CWL members must be educated to ask their federal candidates where they stand on euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Senator Sharon Carstairs talked about end of life care.  Palliative care provides dignity and comfort to the dying.  It attends to spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the person. It involves living well to the very end. Resolution 2007.03 Hospice Palliative Care: An Integral Component of the Canadian Health Care System was adopted last year at the National Convention and according to Senator Carstairs still needs addressing as she is concerned that palliative care is not being delivered to every Canadian.  Those in urban centres are more likely to receive palliative care than Canadians in rural areas.

The Catholic Health Association of British Columbia is holding their annual conference on September 18th in Coquitlam on “Best Practices in End of Life Care”.  Registration deadline is September 12th. I encourage Education and Health Standing Chairs to attend this conference if possible and send a report to the other chairs not able to attend and to me since I am too far.

Education:

The children have gone back to school (school starts at the end of August for most children in Yukon). Many parishes do not have Catholic schools and parents and volunteers are starting their catechism classes. Also, Rites of Christian Initiation are beginning.  This is a good time to volunteer to help teach and to volunteer in the Catholic Schools to keep in touch with what is happening in our schools. Please keep abreast of what is happening in curriculum development through the BC government’s website, The new IRP for Social Justice 12 has been released.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel continue to guide you in your work.

Dear Sisters in the League,

BC Ministry of Education

I recently received the following two emails from the BC Ministry of Education. I encourage you to visit these sites and keep members updated.

1. The Curriculum Implementation Schedule is now available on the curriculum website at:  http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/imp_sched.htm
2. The summary to the needs assessment conducted on the Grades 8-12 Social Studies curriculum is now posted and can be found at: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/reports/ss8-12_exec_summary.pdf

I am also enclosing an attachment of Review of Making Space, Giving Voice produced by The Catholic Civil Rights League.

Bursaries

(I know I wrote this in my last communiqué, but to date I have only received one Molly Boucher Bursary application from the entire BC/Yukon, SO…) Please encourage members to apply for the National and Provincial bursaries. The National bursary deadline is May 31, 2008 to be postmarked and sent to the National office.  The criteria and application forms are on the national website under form and supplies. The Provincial Molly Boucher Bursary criteria and application forms can be found on our provincial cwl website and the deadline for all applications to be sent directly to me is March 31, 2008.

MaterCare

A reminder to mail your Canadian Tire money to MaterCare International where they can turn it into cash. Some old Canadian Tire money is now collectible and sells on eBay for far more than its face value. Let’s continue to help this worthy cause and send your Canadian Tire money to:

MaterCare (Canada)
c/o Joe Winchester
785 Aztec Ave.
Orleans, ON   K4A 4Y7

Monthly Canadian Health Awareness

A motion is before the House of Commons to officially recognize September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. For the motion to pass it must be accepted by every Member of Parliament. Let’s join in the campaign! Send messages to your MP asking them to support motion M-427. Go to website www.ovariancanada.org to learn more.

March is National Epilepsy Month. Since my husband developed epilepsy in his late thirties, this is a health issue that hits close to home for me and I believe many of us need more education on.   For more info. Visit www.epilepsy.ca

Health & Environment

Our National Education & Health Chairperson, Judy Lewis reminds us in her latest communiqué that scents from shampoos, hairsprays, fabric softeners, etc. can create numerous health problems for people that are sensitive to scents. Judy reminds us that;

“Valuable members, with potential for becoming leaders, are being lost from League meetings and activities. There are reports of members being unable to attend functions due to health related issues from scents.”

“Following are some suggestions for member actions. Be sensitive to members’ needs. Be aware of what ingredients are in the products used. The telephone numbers on the product labels can be called to ask if the product is fragrance free or unscented and if a masking agent has been added to hide scents. Signs need to be posted stating members are sensitive to scents. Never state a room or building is scent free because that is impossible to guarantee and councils can be held legally liable for someone who gets sick from scents.”

Other topics from Judy Lewis are:

Outdated Mixes
A website to check for dangers that may be posed if outdated dry mixes are used is http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp.

Canadian Health Network
Eighty per cent of the 15 million Canadians on-line seek health information on the Internet. Canadian Health Network fulfills the federal government’s commitment to individual engagement and responsibility for health and supports organizations building healthy communities. It is used by 395,000 people monthly, 40 per cent of whom are health professionals sharing information with clients. It has more than 20,000 quality, peer-reviewed resources in English and French, and in-depth information on 25 health topics and population groups.

Environment
The following information was obtained from the Island Waste Management Corporation. For additional information visit their website at www.iwmc.pe.ca.

Glass can be recycled forever! Glass is 100 per cent recyclable. The same glass can be recycled a million times over to produce bottles and jars of the same high quality every time. A jam jar today could be a juice bottle next month, then a salad jar, a ketchup bottle, and so on.

Original glass is made from three main materials: sand, silica, and limestone. These materials are melted in a furnace at a heat of about 1500 degrees Celsius. Once liquefied, the molten form is dropped into moulds; blowing air into the moulds creates the shape of a bottle or jar.

At recycling facilities, glass jars are sorted into colors, and crushed into a product called “cullet”. Cullet is often mixed virgin glass materials to produce new products.

Making new glass from cullet saves energy because recycled glass melts at a lower temperature than virgin raw material. Less heat required means that less energy will be used in manufacturing which helps to conserve the use of resources such as oil and coal. Each glass bottle recycled keeps valuable non-renewable resources such as bauxite, iron-ore and sand in the ground. And above all, saving energy reduces acid rain, global warming and air pollution.

Not all glass products can be recycled. Items such as dishes and mirrors cannot be recycled because they contain material that would contaminate the recycled glass bottles and glass containers and damage the glass making machinery.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel continue to guide you in your work for God and Canada.

Dear Sisters in the League,

I pray everyone had a blessed Christmas! During the Christmas season I received an email from the Ministry of Education regarding new curriculum that is up for review, therefore I am passing it on to you to as per my last communiqué of December 4, 2007.

Dear Colleagues:

The Sustainable Resources 11 and 12 Response Draft (2007) curriculum is currently available for review and response.

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/drafts/welcome.htm

The British Columbia Ministry of Education is interested in receiving feedback on the Sustainable Resources 11 and 12 Response Draft (2007) from education and community partners. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you feel would be interested in providing feedback on the draft document. Feedback can be provided to the Ministry of Education by completing the online Response Survey. This Response survey can be used for either individual or group feedback.

Please complete the Sustainable Resources 11 and 12 Response survey BEFORE February 12, 2008.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES 11 and 12 RESPONSE DRAFT

Waël Afifi

Education Officer
Sustainability Programs Unit
Learning Management Division, BC Ministry of Education

wael.afifi@gov.bc.ca
Phone: (250) 387-4428

I believe by reviewing this curriculum we will be not only understand our education system better, but also be learning about our environment.

Bursaries:

Please encourage members to apply for the National and Provincial bursaries. The National bursary deadline is May 31, 2008 to be postmarked and sent to the National office. The criteria and application forms are on the national website under form and supplies. The Provincial Molly Boucher Bursary criteria and application forms can be found on our provincial cwl website and the deadline for all applications to be sent directly to me is March 31, 2008.

Annual Reports:

By now all Diocesan Chairpersons should have received the annual reports from all parish councils. If you have not received a report, just call the council and give them a gentle reminder that you are still in need of their report. I am positive every council in our province has done some work in regards to education & health that is in need of reporting. Once you have received all reports, please compile them and send your report to me as soon as possible. The deadline to have your report into me is February 15, 2008.

January & February:

January is Alzheimer Awareness Month. You will find a treasure of information regarding Alzheimer disease at www.alzheimer.ca. Share this website with everyone as we work together to grow in understanding how to give help for today and hope for tomorrow.

February is Heart & Stroke month. Here is how to recognize if someone is having a stroke and possibly save their life. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. NOTE: Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue… If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

May God Bless you as you continue your work for God and Canada.

Nancy S.

Dear Sisters in the League,

Now that we are into the Advent season it is my prayer that each of us will take time out of our daily busyness to remember the hope, love and joy with which Advent bestows on us.

“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” Is. 122

Bioethics: I recently received the below email from our past national president Marie Cameron and found the recommended website to be an excellent source of information on bioethics and the church’s position on these crucial issues.

“This was sent to me from one of my CWL friends and I am forwarding it as I find his articles very informative. Fr. Tad was here in Calgary at St. Mary’s University College this weekend for some seminars. Marie

Fr Tad is a respected and well known US expert ( Ph.D at Yale and post doctoral work at Harvard) on bioethics and an advisor to the American Catholic Bishops. He writes weekly on Bioethics issues. His writing is absolutely consistent with the magisterium of the Catholic Church and is a good source of formation for you and for me on these very topical and important issues That’s why I am sending you his website. Please read some of his articles. They are short and clear. http://www.ncbcenter.org/makingsense.asp

In case you want to know more type Father Tad Pacholczyk into Google.com,  you will get quite a bit to read.”

Ministry of Education: At our provincial fall executive meeting we discussed the fact that the ministry of education will from now on be informing the provincial Education & Health Chairperson on any curriculum that is up for review and requesting possible feedback on each curriculum. It was decided that it would be too extensive a job for the provincial chairperson to review and respond to all curriculum drafts. Therefore, when I receive notice of a new draft up for review I will immediately pass the information on to all diocesan Education & Health Chairpersons who in turn should contact their Catholic School Superintendent requesting if they have been informed of the draft and for any feedback they may have. If the Superintendents see areas in the curriculum that we as a League need to be addressing to the Ministry, the diocesan chairpersons should then be informing me as the provincial chairperson so that I can inform all members of BC/Yukon to take the appropriate action.

I just received the below email late last week. I know that the deadline for feedback does not give us much time, but let’s do what we can.

“To Education Stakeholders:

The British Columbia Ministry of Education has posted two draft Daily Physical Activity documents for public review and response.

The Draft Program Guide for Daily Physical Activity: Kindergarten to Grade 9 and the Draft Daily Physical Activity Resource: Kindergarten to Grade 9 are available on the following Ministry of Education web site:

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/drafts/welcome.htm

The Ministry of Education is interested in receiving feedback on these drafts from education and community partners. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you feel would be interested in providing feedback. Feedback can be provided to the Ministry of Education by printing the Response Forms, completing them and then faxing them to the location listed at the bottom of the form. The Response Forms can be used for either individual or group feedback.

Please complete the Response Forms and mail or fax them BEFORE January 15, 2008

To: Daily Physical Activity Project
Ministry of Education
PO Box 9183 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9H9

Fax: (250) 356-2316

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THE DRAFT DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DOCUMENTS.

Thank you.”

Social Justice 12 Curriculum: Thank you to all members that worked so hard to review this curriculum and let their voices be heard. I believe the resounding concern for all members is to continue to find the balance in society to respect our neighbours while still upholding our values that are rooted in Gods Word.

Bursaries: Encourage members to apply for both the Molly Boucher Bursary (deadline for application forms to be mailed to me is March 31/08) and the National Bursary (deadline application forms to be mailed to national office is May 31/08). Both application forms can be obtained on their respective websites. Let’s encourage our members to apply!

Annual Reports: Diocesan Chairpersons you should now be receiving annual reports from all parish councils. I would strongly recommend that if you have not received reports from all councils by the 15^th of this month to just call the parish in which you have not received and give them a gentle reminder. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to make 2007 the year of 100% reporting??

Reading Group: Did you know that there is a program on our national CWL website that is a guide to starting a reading group in your council as a method of spiritual education and personal growth? Check it out and start one in your council!!!

December is The Christmas Seal Campaign: Over 3 million Canadians cope with one of five serious respiratory diseases – asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, tuberculosis (TB), and cystic fibrosis. These and other respiratory diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, respiratory distress syndrome and sleep apnea affect individuals of all ages, cultures and backgrounds – from children to parents to grandparents.

National Communique: I have enclosed Judy Lewis’ last communique. Please read and take the suggested action on resolution 07.03 Hospice Palliative Care: An Integral Component of the Canadian Health Care System and on the three proposed resolutions. Judy also has some interesting information on MaterCare which reminds us to continue in our efforts to help this worthwhile cause.

May you have a holy Advent season and a blessed Christmas as you continue your work for God and Canada.

Nancy S….

The Hon. Shirley Bond
Minister of Education
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4

Dear Minister Bond,

The Catholic Women’s League of Canada is a national organization rooted in gospel values. One of the eight objects of our League is “to contribute to the understanding and growth of religious freedom, social justice, peace, and harmony.”

The settlement agreement between the BC Ministry of Education and two private citizens (Murray Corren and Peter Corren) has given them an unprecedented role in influencing provincial curriculum development in all subjects from Kindergarten to Grade 12. This settlement agreement has the potential to denigrate the legally protected moral and religious beliefs of parents and children.

Therefore the BC & Yukon Provincial Council of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada, representing nearly 9,000 members and their families, urges the BC Ministry of Education to continue in its history of acknowledging religious freedom, social justice, peace, and harmony by allowing parents of children in the public school system the right to educate children in conformity with their moral and religious convictions. This right can be affirmed by allowing parents to use the alternate delivery option in areas of the curriculum that conflict with their moral and religious convictions.

I will be in Victoria for meetings with the Provincial Government on March 28 and I am very much looking forward to that. It would be a good opportunity to meet with you as well should your schedule permit.

Sincerely,

Barbara Dowding
CWL BC/YK Provincial President