Public Service Alliance of Canada

Call to Order:
At 8:55 a.m. with Sr. Benson in the Chair. Sr. Benson welcomed Sr. Noreen Klassen, Southern Saskatchewan Rep to the PRC. Sr. Klassen has stepped in to the position vacated by Sr. Janet Letwinka.

Congratulations to the PRC members who were elected to component positions during the recent convention cycle:

	Sister Marianne Hladun, Equal Opportunities National Director for Agriculture
	Sister Janet Letwinka, National Vice-President for CEIU
	Sister Pat Mason, re-elected National Vice-President for Deer Lodge Centre
	Br. Brian Molsberry, re-elected Regional Vice-President for MB & SK for UNDE
	Br. Steve Pellerin-Fowlie, 3^rd National Vice-President for CEUDA
	Brother Don Rogers, National Vice-President – Manitoba for CEIU

Brother Rogers has requested a temporary leave as the Equity Groups Representative on the council and 1^st alternate, Brother Danial Curotte has assumed the duties although he was unable to attend this meeting.

The PRC discussed the position of RWC and consensus was reached that Sr. Benson would send a letter to Sr. Balwinder Dhaliwal to suggest requesting her alternate to step in until she is ready to return to the Council.

Sr. Benson provided a detailed overview of the budget to date. The Finance Committee recommended that the PRC Members budgets be rolled over from year to year for the length of their term. Consensus was reached on this recommendation.

Action: Sr. Jamieson to send PRC Members budgets to the PRC on a six month basis.

Sr. Benson reported that Sr. Letwinka was at the Conference and was involved in developing the Prairie Region Action Plan. The action plan had a proposal to have the PRC strike a Health & Safety Sub-Committee. Sr. Ellis, Br. Molsberry, Br. Bains and Br. Krokosh will form the committee. Discussion ensued on the action plan.

Action: Br. Molsberry will contact Sr. Maggie Armstrong, Regional Rep in the Calgary office. Sr. Benson will follow up with Sr. Davis & Br. Tony White once Br. Molsberry reports. Sr. Benson will provide the funding report to the committee when it is available.

3. Report from SFL Youth Conference & PSAC National Youth Committee:
Brother Geoff Sutherland, Prairie Region Youth Rep provided a verbal report on his activities to date including attending the first Youth Committee meeting in Ottawa in September. Br. Sutherland also spoke about the SFL Youth Conference he attended. Round table discussion ensued on youth issues.

Sr. Hladun and Sr. White put forward a request for “seed” money to start initiatives. The request is for $1,000.00. Some of the money will be used for outreach and the work of Br. Sutherland. The request was referred to the Finance Committee.

Sr. Hladun reported on the CLC Labour Issues Campaign Meeting which centred on the Saskatchewan provincial election and how she feels it ties into the 3 area councils and their work in Saskatchewan. Sr. Hladun requested a donation from Political Action line item. Sr. Benson advised the PRC that the PSAC has already contributed $5,000.00 to Lorne Calvert's campaign.

Discussion ensued on what action to take once the NBOD approves discipline procedures with respect to the fines/sharing of information.

Action: Sr. Benson will discuss concerns with the AEC including the discipline letter which is sent to the individual and the component. The component is responsible for sending the letter to the local. The fine collection process could also be looked at by the NBOD. Sr. Davis suggested that in our Strike Prep Course there should be clear procedures on strikes, discipline and fines.

v Resolutions 12, 16 & 19 have been forwarded from the Prairies Regional Convention to Ottawa and are attached to these minutes.

v PSAC Constitution change for Regions and for Strike/Discipline was covered in Line Item #6.

v Sr. Benson reported that some of the Area Council resolutions went directly to Ottawa. A committee will be struck to deal with these resolutions and forward them to convention.

Action: Sr. Jamieson will send the NBOD Minutes to the PRC who do not already receive them. Sr. Jamieson will request copies of the resolutions and will forward to the PRC.

Sr. Benson updated the PRC on the Term Study. She shared a letter sent by Sr. Nycole Turmel on September 24, 2002 to the NBOD which talked about the various recommendations, as well as a template to be used by the departments as they wanted to take ownership of this process. The Draft Term Employment Policy is expected to be ready by December 31, 2002 however it cannot be sent out by PSAC as it is a joint committee.

Discussion ensued regarding some departments making appointments and some contemplating or actually doing layoffs. Sr. Hall advised that CEIU has developed a grievance policy on their website for overworked indeterminate employees and terms that have been laid off. Sr. Benson advised that Sr. Turmel's letter is on the PSAC website.

Action: Sr. Jamieson to send a copy of Sr. Turmel's letter & the final policy to the PRC and will arrange to have the PRC Reps added to the mail out list from the RO's. Sr. Jamieson will also send out all information on the term study and the joint learning electronically. PRC can also check the PSAC National Site for updates on any national initiatives. Sr. Davis will reinforce with regional reps that the PRC is aware of any meetings. PRC Reps are able to contact Sr. Crystal Shier and Br. Marc Pacek who sit on the Term Study Committee.

Sr. Benson provided an update on collective bargaining in the region and also provided the national perspective. She also provided an update on the dental plan negotiations and advised that Br. Mike McDonald, Director of Collective Bargaining is looking at measures to enhance the dental plan as it is not tied into a collective agreement. Br. Pellerin-Fowlie asked if a standing committee could be struck to lobby changes to the PSSRB so that staffing classification can be negotiated. Sr. Benson advised we should wait for the Quail Report before looking at such a committee.

10. Staff Positions and Hiring within the Region:
Sr. Davis provided an update on staffing.

11. Supply Chain Project – Update:
An update was provided by Br. Molsberry and Sr. Buck. There is quite a bit of support in the Prairies. Brother Molsberry wishes to thank all of the members that assisted. Senator Sharon Carstairs, and MPs Bill Blaike and Cheryl Gallant have all spoken on the issue.

12. Union Cards:
The PRC discussed concerns with respect to the union cards. Apparently, one component has submitted a resolution to convention. Currently, the most effective method to update information is to access the PSAC website under membership updates.

Br. Molsberry requested copies of training materials within PSAC and their components. Sr. Davis responded that the information is massive and we do not have access to component specific training. As well, the CLC and Federation materials are not shared with affiliates. It is best to contact the CLC and federations individually. A discussion ensued as to the value of our education more specifically the CLC Winter School and the SFL Spring School.

Sr. Buck expressed her concern on how facilitators were chosen for the Joint Learning Program (JLP) as well as the Department of National Defence's hesitancy to become involved with the JLP. Sr. Ellis, a facilitator with the JLP and she apprised the PRC of the various problems in getting the JLP up and running. For example, both parties union and management must sign the application or it will be sent back causing undue delays.

The Committees met at 8:30 a.m. and the meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. with Sr. Benson in the Chair. The REVP Report and the PRC Reports were presented and discussed. Sr. White provided additional information to her report. An open discussion with respect to various concerns of the PRC and their locals ensued.

Sr. Chelick attended a meeting with the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) and will forward the notes to be posted on the Prairie Region website. Sr. Buck advised that she is attending the AFL School on Clear Communication. Sr. Hladun reported that she will be at the CLC Labour School and will be facilitating a Stewards Course with an emphasis on unions and the history of unions in Saskatchewan.

Sr. Buck asked that the PRC consider whether or not a member of the Council should attend PSAC Convention as an observer. The decision was tabled until the next PRC meeting which will be in Winnipeg in March.

Sr. Buck thanked the Reps who have submitted their biographies and reminded those that haven't to do so ASAP. Sr. Buck is working with MWG on an apparel contract and she presented the latest information. She would like to have a PRC contact for each regional office (RO) so that your name and contact number can be posted on the web page to allow members to contact you to make payment arrangements. The orders will be delivered to each RO.

Sr. Hladun reported that the Communication Committee will order:
v    50 hats to be used by the RO's for donation requests
v    250 Bibs for the use of the Regional Offices
v    25 Prairie Region Flags
v    200 Key chains
v    500 Fridge Magnets
v    200 Mugs

Action: Sr. Buck will work with Sr. Jamieson to work out the terms of the apparel ordering.

The Education Committee asked each PRC Member to phone their allocated locals to advise them the education survey has been sent out and they are seeking their assistance to ensure that the survey is completed and returned to the respective RO. The PRC are also to attend and fully participate in the education forums. The Education Committee will be assisting in the planning of the Prairies Union School and will also be involved in the organizing committee. The Education Committee also advised the PRC that it is part of their responsibility to ensure that education courses are filled.

Action: The PRC Members are to phone their respective locals upon return to their region.

The Political Action Committee reviewed the request for a donation of $1.00 per member to the CLC Labour Issues Campaign in Saskatchewan and in light of the money already spent they felt unable to commit the $1.00 per member as requested for the 3,000 members in Saskatchewan. However, the committee felt the request had merit and they suggested the amount of $.50 per member which calculates out to $1,500.00. The recommendation was passed to the Finance Committee for review.

There was a brief presentation on the plight of the Customs Officers regarding their classification grievance. Br. Steve Pellerin-Fowlie, 3^rd National Vice-President for CEUDA and Sr. Janet Hayward, VP CEUDA Local 40031, Sr. Benson, Sr. Connie Gress, President of the Regina Area Council as well as and members from the United Mine Workers of America braved the weather to attend a CEUDA demonstration at the North Portal Border Crossing. The media attention was significant with Br. Pellerin-Fowlie providing interviews in both official languages.

Action:
A request for financial support to cover some of the costs for the demonstration was approved by the Political Action Committee and referred to the Finance Committee.

Br. Molsberry provided an introduction of the PRC finances to Sr. Klassen during their committee meeting. The Finance Committee recommended the approval of the following expenses:

v Expenses up to $300.00 to CEUDA Local 40031 for the North Portal demonstration

Action: Sr. Jamieson will consult with Sisters Benson and Davis and will send out an email with proposed dates in mid to late January for the meeting to be held in March. Sr. White suggested the use of an email calendar. Sr. Jamieson will try to arrange this. As well, a conference call should be convened in January.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT PSAC negotiate a revision to the current Health Care Plan to allow for 100% medical coverage and the issuance of prescription cards.

v The resolution is too ambiguous. Not all PSAC members have the same health care plan. It is unclear as to which plan is being referred to.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT PSAC negotiate a revision to the Public Service Health Care Plan to allow for 100% medical coverage and the issuance of prescription cards.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT Section 15 (2) (b) be moved to a new Section 15 (2) (c) and Section 15 (2) (b) now state as follows:

Human Rights Committees of the Alliance may be organized where there are at least three (3) Components willing to participate and upon application to the Alliance Executive Committee.”

v That this resolution allows smaller communities to have a joint committee to address human rights.

(This resolution is to be sent to the next PSAC Triennial Convention from the Prairie Region Convention if passed by the convention floor.)

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the PSAC Constitution be amended to allow for the full funding of local delegates, equity group committee delegates and regional women's committee delegates to attend their respective Regional Triennial Conventions.

v The equity committees need money to function as is supplied to other recognized committees under the PSAC Constitution.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the PSAC Constitution be amended to allow for the full funding of local delegates, equity group committee delegates, regional women's committee delegates and Region Council Members to attend their respective Regional Triennial Conventions.

THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION OF CONCURRENCE IS CARRIED.
(81 In Favor / 54 Against)