The labour council was successful in obtaining an HRDC Job Creation Partnership placement for a 27 week project. Betty Burkitt will be contacting labour organizations in our area. The goal will be to update and expand the labour community directory at the same time we will be hopefully expanding the membership of the council.
Natalie and I attended the OFL Health Care conference in Toronto on March 26th, 28th. The conference was excellent and the guest speaker Ralph Nader gets better with age.
There is a health care forum regarding privatization being held in Kingston on April 24th, Natalie Mehra, Ross Sutherland along with other members from our community are organizing this important event.
We are fortunate to have Michelle Lupa from the Ontario Health Coalition attending tonight's meeting. Michelle was a guest on " Labour's Voice in the Community" today to inform the public about the real effects of the Mike Harris cuts to health care on the citizens of Ontario. We are also very fortunate to have Winnie Ng the new Director, C.L.C. Ontario Region with us tonight. Winnie also taped a show on "Labour's Voice in the Community" Our community was updated about the different programs and campaigns the Canadian Labour Congress are currently involved with across Canada.
Our labour council was well represented at the Hastings, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington NDP nomination meeting when Al McPhail from CUPE secured the candidacy.
The labour council education institute was a complete success. There were 47 sisters and brothers in attendance. Everyone had an opportunity to get a flavour of the Growing Gap thanks to an overview from Natalie Mehra. The participants were exposed to the CLC's literacy program with a presentation from Jerry Lee Miller from the Congress. Our labour movement is stronger with the knowledge the participants gain at each of these excellent weekend educationals. Peter Boyle and Bev Norman deserve our thanks for a job well done.
Labour council was represented at the United Way Volunteer Appreciation night held on April 6th. We were introduced to Bhavana Varma the new Executive Director who will definitely be a breath of fresh air. Bhavana recognizes the importance of the labour movement being an equal partner with the United Way. Clearly, an improvement from the past E.D.
Natalie and I attended the opening of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions ( OCHU) giving a welcome and greetings on behalf of our council and the Kingston Action Network and The Kingston District Health Care Coalition. CUPE local 1974 hosted this important conference and we appreciated the invitation. The OCHU delegates held rallies at both the Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospitals in opposition to hospital closures and cutbacks to our health care system.
I would encourage all delegates of our Labour Council to spend some time with the CEP members at Bell Canada, 450 Princess Street. Their struggle is our struggle as they stand up against downsizing and union busting from their greedy employer.
The annual Day of Mourning event is set for April 28th at the Steelworkers hall. The guest speaker will be Mark Parent from Windsor who will talk about the asbestos disaster, which is taking place in Sarnia. Betty Burkitt deserves praise for volunteering to organize the food and refreshments for the day. Betty managed to have everything donated to the council from the community. The poster contest is receiving an excellent response from the area schools and we owe a sincere thank you to Peter Boyle for organizing this event.
The council is applying for a Canada Arts Council grant to publish a book about the workplaces of the past based on artist Nan Yeomans work. Nan has painted the landscape of Kingston over many years including the Shipyards, Locomotive Works, Tannery, Woolen Mill etc..
We are hopeful that we will also be successful in securing two summer career placements for the council. As previously reported we will produce a labour community calendar with executive, regular meeting dates, places and times along with special events. The other student will be a special event coordinator who will work with our Labour Day committee being responsible for all aspects of the day.
In closing, we will shortly have the opportunity to make a difference in the political landscape of Ontario. I am hopeful the delegates at tonight's meeting will decide to give the maximum donation to both of our NDP candidates Al McPhail and Beth Pater. In addition our delegates must be involved in the election process, supporting the only party which supports working people the NDP, clearly on our side.
As always,
In solidarity,
Charlie Stock
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