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Prairie Region Council Meeting
September 29 - October 01, 2006
Edmonton Regional Office
In Attendance: Sr. Robyn Benson, REVP
Br. Brian Molsberry, Alternate REVP
Br. Satinder Bains, Southern SK. Rep
Sr. Marianne Hladun Northern SK. Rep
Sr. Carol Casey, Northern SK. Rep
Sr. Dale Buck, Manitoba Rep
Sr. Barb Hall, Manitoba Rep
Br. Shawn Bergeron, Manitoba Rep
Br. Gerry Pendulak, Manitoba Rep
Sr. Mary Veilleux, Northern Alberta Rep
Sr. Niru Channan, Racially Visible Rep
Sr. Canan Karamanoglou, Women’s Rep
Br. Danial Curotte, Aboriginal Rep
Sr. Fran Mohr, DCL Rep
Sr. Patricia Davis, Regional Coordinator - PSAC Staff
Br. Dwight McLeod EA to REVP - PSAC Staff
Regrets: Sr. Gwen Jackson, Southern Alberta Rep
Sr. Barbara Abramchuck, GLBT Rep
Sr. Jo Chelick, Northern Alberta Rep
Br. Calvin Veeder, Southern SK. Rep
Br. Derek Christensen, Persons with Disability Rep
Observers: Br. Frank Lloyd, UNDE
Br. Ron Flathers UNDE
Friday September 29th, 2006
A.M. PSMA/Collective Bargaining Training
Theresa Johnston PSAC-CBB
P.M. Regional Council Committee Meetings
Saturday September 30th, 2006
1. Meeting Called to order 9:10 A.M.
Opening Remarks
Sister Benson welcomed the Council and introduced Br. Gerry Pendulak who will be replacing Br. Dwight McLeod as Manitoba Rep. Br. Pendulak was then sworn in by Sr. Robyn Benson
3. Adoption of Agenda
4. Adoption of Hours of Session
5. Adoption of Previous Minutes
The PRC approved the following minutes:
a. Prairie Region Council Meeting, March 4th – 5th, 2006
b. Conference Call, May 23rd, 2006
c. Leadership Meeting March 6th, 2006
6. Report of Elected Officers
Sr. Benson presented her report
Br. Molsberry presented his report
Northern Alberta Reps
Sr. Chelick, report was circulated in her absence
Sr. Veilleux presented her report
Southern Alberta Reps
Sr. Lewis presented her report
Northern Saskatchewan Reps
Sr. Hladun and Sister Casey presented a joint report.
Southern Saskatchewan Reps
Br. Bains presented his report
Manitoba Reps
Br. Bergeron presented his report
Aboriginal Rep
Br. Curotte presented his report
GLBT Rep
Sr. Abramchuck report was circulated in her absence
Racially Visible Rep
Sr. Channan presented her report
Youth Rep
Sister Benson advised that the election for Youth Rep is underway and should be completed prior to the New Year
Women’s Rep
Sr. Karamanogolou presented her report
7. Committee Reports
Education Committee
Br. Bergeron presented the Education Committee report
It was agreed that there will be a fuller discussion with respect to the School at our next meeting.
Finance Committee
Br. Molsberry presented the committee recommendation to reduce the number of financial statements. The PRC discussed the use of the present multi account system and agreed that we would reduce our accounting to two financial statements.
Political Action Committee
Sr. Hladun presented the Political Action Committee report
Honours and Awards Committee
Nothing to report
Health and Safety Committee
Sr. Hall presented the Health and Safety Committee report
Convention Committee
The committee was struck this meeting and the members are Alberta Naydene Lewis, Manitoba Barb Hall and Saskatchewan Carol Casey Equity Danial Curotte. Sr. Benson reported that the Convention will be held in June 2008 at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg. It is Manitoba’s turn to host the Convention and the Fairmont is the only unionized hotel that can accommodate us.
Communication Committee
Sr. Veilleux presented the Communication Committee Report
Area Council Committee
Sr. Casey presented the Area Council Committee Report
Finances
The September 2006 financial statements were accepted as presented by Br. Molsberry.
9. Items submitted
SV and TC Groups
Sister Casey asked for an update on the status of the dispute resolution vote for Table Two and Three. She indicated that if there are to be vote meetings held then speakers notes as well as more background information is needed in a timely fashion. Sister Benson advised that Table Two did not meet the requirements under Regulation 15 so there will not be a vote and they will remain on conciliation right to strike. Table 3 will have a vote and the NBOD will be making a decision next week as to process.
NASHI
Sister Hladun showed a very moving “NASHI” Video which the PSAC “sponsored”. The PRC discussed Sister Hladun’s trip and the very worthwhile work of NASHI.
PSAC Survey
Sister Veilleux shared some concerns that members had brought to her attention with respect to the survey. Sister Benson thanked Sister Veilleux and indicated that there had been concerns raised in other Regions however we as a Union received more positive then negative feed back. As this was our first time doing such a survey we did expect that it would not be perfect but a step in the right direction for membership outreach. Sister Benson also provided background information on the process undertaken by Envronics, explanation of focus groups, questions used and overall intent of survey as she was a member of the sub committee who worked on the survey.
Veterans Act
Sister Veilleux raised concerns with respect to staffing of veterans, and more specifically over direct appointments, Br. Molsberry advised that this type of information should be sent to Sr. Mary Chamberlain UNDE for investigation. Sister Benson advised that she now sits on PSCAC and may be able to bring forward the concerns recognized by UNDE.
Information
Report from PRC Observer to Convention – Sister Hall
Open Discussion
There has been some discussion at the previous PRC meeting that perhaps we need a template for the Council Members reports. It was determined that each Rep will report according to the By-Laws and will honour the deadlines.
The Council discussed the timings, duration and locations of the meetings. As the “items submitted” dictates the length of the meeting the Council needs to respect the deadlines as established by the REVP so that appropriate hotel accommodations and flight arrangements can be made. The agenda items should be identified as information giving, seeking or decision required. We will continue to have conference calls in between our face to face meetings as denoted in our bylaws. Meetings will be held on Saturdays and till noon on Sunday unless our agenda otherwise dictates. Travel to the meeting will commence at noon on the Friday so that the Council arrives at a reasonable hour. We have in the past given advance cheques upon request but it was felt that we should make advances the norm not the exception. This will eliminate the Assistant to the REVP having to prepare cheques for the Council members before they leave the meeting. When planning the location of our meetings we should have flight schedules available so that we have all of the information we need to make an informed decision.
Next Meeting:
March 2007 in Winnipeg,
Fall meeting in Saskatoon
Sister Benson thanked the Council for their work.
Meeting Adjourned 5:00 P.M.