Greetings and blessings to all as we begin a New Year.

 As you know the First Session of the 40th Parliament was prorogued on December 4th by the Governor General and the throne speech, scheduled to be read on January 26th will open the 2nd session of Parliament.   Please note that our BC Provincial government will resume on February 26th.  To all Legislation chairpersons that means our sabbatical is over and it is time for us to get busy, keep updated by following Hansard and carefully watch for old Bills being presented under new numbers.

The following immediate release from ministry of Attorney General, dated 7th January regarding a special prosecution into allegations of criminal misconduct in Bountiful states “Today the RCMP arrested two Bountiful residents, James Oler and Winston Blackmore, on charges of polygamy pursuant to the Criminal Code.   The arrests are the culmination of an intensive, seven-month charge assessment review by special prosecutor Terrence Robertson into allegations that these individuals breached section 293 of the Criminal Code by entering conjugal relationship with more than one individual at a time”.The complete statement can be found at www.gov.bc.ca. I look forward to receiving your annual reports by the 15th February in order for me to  complete my report for National by 15th March.   Congratulations to Lucille W., Kamloops Diocesan Legislation Chairperson for being the first to report!

May the peace of Our Lord and the guidance of  Our Lady of Good Counsel be with us as we continue our League journey.

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……..