The Triennial Convention is keeping everyone very busy here! If you wish to keep apprised of Convention News, we have a lovely bulletin for you to read:
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Convention News – Day 1 |
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Convention News – Day 2 |
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Convention News – Day 3 |
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Convention News – Day 4 |
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Convention News – Day 5 |
August 9, 2011 marks the eleventh commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. This year’s theme is: Indigenous designs: celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future.
In conjunction with this day, and the important principle of self-determination, we wanted to promote the movement for tribal peoples and encourage you to join it. Survival International works with hundreds of tribal communities and organizations across the globe. They are “funded almost entirely by concerned members of the public and some foundations” and refuse national government funding “because governments are the main violators of tribal peoples’ rights”.
In keeping with their work of achieving recognition and respect of tribal people, they work to protect the lands of uncontacted tribes. Oil industries and illegal logging pose a serious threat to these tribes; namely, contact with outsiders could expose them to infectious diseases and wipe them out. It’s for this reason that uncontacted tribes should be left alone and their lands should be protected.
You can help by going to Survival International’s website. There, you can write a letter to President Garcia of Peru, President Rousseff of Brazil and Prime Minister Singh of India, urging them to protect uncontacted tribes. You can also donate to Survival International on their website.
In honour of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, Survival International has also compiled a list of nine tribal facts.
The staff at the National Component has been working like little bees to bring you the coolest Convention binder you’ve ever seen. The print shop is busier than Santa’s workshop, the policy wonks are screening documents for the ever-elusive Catch-22, and computer geeks are having a battle royale over the use of Helvetica.
With that said, you’re not off the hook! These binders are huge: ergo, you’ve got a lot of reading to do. It is definitely a good idea to glance through these and make a few notes before Convention.
Oh yea! Don’t print these at home!
Reason 1: your printer will plot its revenge against you – it’s an 800+ page document.
Reason 2: we’ll be printing these for you and shipping them to St. John’s…. That way you don’t have to worry about impaling someone when your binder drops out of the aircraft’s overhead bin.
Enjoy!
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Convention Agenda (updated on: August 4, 2011) |
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Convention Information (updated on: July 27, 2011) |
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National Component Bylaws |
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Proposed National Component Bylaws |
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National Component Policies |
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Constitution & Bylaws Committee Report (updated on: August 4, 2011) |
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Finance Commitee Report (updated on: July 27, 2011) |
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Definitions of Financial Terms (Budget Explanation) (updated on: July 27, 2011) |
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National Component Financial Statements |
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General Resolutions Committee Report (updated on: July 27, 2011) |
July 12, 1933 — The Screen Actors Guild holds its first meeting. Among those attending: future horror movie star (Frankenstein’s Monster) and union activist, Boris Karloff. (via our friends at the AFL-CIO and unionist.com)
Wishing everyone a joyous Canada Day!
While Diefenbaker’s most memorable quote is probably “Everyone is against me — except for the people!”, his remarks when presenting the Canadian Bill of Rights are especially poignant during this most patriotic day:
“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.”
June 27, 2011 – Members attending the PSAC Atlantic Regional Convention, including members of the National Component, took part in a rally in St. John’s to save the Newfoundland and Labrador maritime rescue facility. A crowd of over two thousand rallied to show their support.
Provincial Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones said: “We rely on search and rescue every single day to save the people that we love at a time of distress, […] We’re asking Stephen Harper to not put a price on the lives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”
The rescue centre has been designated for closure as of June 2012.
In her speech to the crowd, Jeannie Baldwin, PSAC’s REVP for the Atlantic Region, called the Conservatives’ decision to close the centre “nothing short of reckless.” She added: “We know how ruthless, and how dangerous, and how fatal the North Atlantic can be. And Stephen Harper is playing around with lives here. He is ignoring the public will, the public good, and the public safety. Three hundred and fifty members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada are here to support the Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans who brave these dangerous waters every day. At the end of the day, they deserve to come home to their family safe and sound.”
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Many photos of the rally can be seen on the National Component’s Flickr site! |
Canadian Multiculturalism Day was established by Royal Proclamation in 2002. It recognizes that our country has been shaped by contributions of Canadians of various multicultural groups and communities. The Proclamation reads in part:
Whereas multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage;
Whereas Canadians of all backgrounds have made and continue to make valuable contributions to Canadian society;
Whereas it is considered appropriate that there be, in each year, a day to mark and celebrate those contributions and to recognize Canadian diversity; […]
Now know you that We, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada, do by this Our Proclamation declare June 27 of each year as “Canadian Multiculturalism Day”, a celebration of the contributions of Canada’s diverse people to Canadian society.
Take a moment today to celebrate the rich fabric of Canadian society; diversity in our country, as in our union, makes us stronger!
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is the National Holiday of Quebec and part of the 11 days of Celebrate Canada. It was first celebrated in Lower Canada in 1636, when the colony mainly operated as a fur-trading venture. Today, the national holiday is a celebration of French culture within Canada. In many cities and towns in Quebec and other francophone communities across the country, parades and parties are held and fireworks light the sky.
When asked what Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day means to them, Louise Patrice and Jean-Pierre Nault, co-presidents of the Francophone Committee, pointed to the following words drawn from fetenationale.info:
An occasion to meet again
Around a joyous fire, a large table or before scenes in which our artists sing, let us take advantage of these worthwhile occasions offered by Quebec’s National Holiday to tell stories, as have people done here for centuries, from the moment they first gathered. Let us do it in total friendship and in complete solidarity, because these are features of our community, which, throughout literature, have often been made clear. Let us therefore tell each other stories… and let us sing them too, because many of them have been brilliantly made into music.
Bonne Saint-Jean tout le monde!
This National Aboriginal Day, celebrate the rich contributions Aboriginal peoples have made to Canada!
From Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada:
In co-operation with national Aboriginal organizations, the Government of Canada chose June 21 for National Aboriginal Day because it is also the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For generations, many Aboriginal peoples have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day. Today, Canada is proud to recognize the unique achievements of Aboriginal peoples – in fields a diverse as agriculture and the environment, to nation-building and the arts – with a national day of celebration.
National Aboriginal Day kicks off an 11-day celebration of Canadian culture and heritage: National Aboriginal Day (June 21), Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24), Canadian Multiculturalism Day (June 27) and Canada Day (July 1).
June 16, 2011 – PSAC members, including National Component members, joined CAW members on the picket line in support of their strike. They were thrilled to see us there – together, we marched through the terminal and yelled “Shame, shame, shame!” to scabs working the Air Canada counter. While we were making noise in the Ottawa airport, we got news that a tentative agreement had been reached. Cheers of joy and chants of solidarity filled the terminal. We got back on the bus (and took a few CAW members with us!) and went to support members at CUPW, in the hopes we could help them accomplish the same!
The CUPW members locked out of the Ottawa sorting facility were surprised and overjoyed to see our solidarity bus arrive. One CUPW member was even overheard saying: “You brought the big guns!”
Unions standing in solidarity together: now those are big guns indeed!
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Many photos of the rally can be seen on the National Component’s Flickr site! |