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Legislation
Directive
#3 15/Jan 10 | Directive #2 11/Sept 09 | Directive #1
27/Aug 09 | Convention
Report
Directive # 3 - 15 January 2010
Chair: Anne
Madden
'Alone we can do so little, together we
can do so much' Helen Keller
Happy New Year
Ladies,
The Governor General prorogued the Second Session of the
40th Parliament on Wednesday, December 30, 2009. The Speech from the Throne, which will
open the Third Session of the 40th Parliament, is scheduled to be read on
Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
Prorogation of
Parliament
The prorogation of Parliament ends a session. This is
done by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, either
by means of a special ceremony in the Senate Chamber, or by the issuing of
a proclamation published in the Canada Gazette. Both the Senate and the
House of Commons stand prorogued until the opening of the next session. During a period of prorogation (or
recess), the Speaker, the Prime Minister, Ministers and Parliamentary
Secretaries remain in office and all Members of the House retain their full
rights and privileges. The principal effect of ending a session by
prorogation is to end business. All government bills that have not received
Royal Assent prior to prorogation cease to exist; committee activity also
ceases. Thus, no committee can sit after a prorogation. In order for government bills to be
proceeded with in a new session, they must be reintroduced as new bills or
they may be reinstated, if the House agrees to this. The Standing Orders provide for the
automatic reinstatement of all items of Private Members' Business in a new
session. Committee work may also be revived either by motion in the House,
or in committee, depending upon the nature of the study. Prorogation does not affect Orders or
Addresses of the House for the tabling government reports required to be
tabled by statute. Requests for responses to committee reports or petitions
are still valid following a prorogation. These continue in force from one
session to another, but are ended by dissolution.
Bill C-384 An Act to amend the Criminal
Code (right to die with dignity)
Assisted (or Facilitated) Death: The
Debate in Canada
January
2010 - Suspension of the parliament until 3 March will delay second
reading of
Bill
C-384. The private member's bill, which would decriminalize assisted
suicide, was introduced by Parti Québécois MP Francine Lalonde. Previous
attempts to amend the law, Bill C-407 (2005) and Bill C-562 (2008), died on
the Order Paper with the dissolution of parliament in the fall of both
years. A private member's bill receives two hours of debate in parliament
before it is voted-on at second reading. Bill C-384 received its first
scheduled hour of debate 2 October 2009. It is extremely important to stress to our members, parishioners,
co-workers, friends and family the importance of writing letters or
emailing our Members of Parliament stating that we want Bill C-384
defeated! You can be sure that Francine Lalonde will be bringing this back
again.
This
Bill and others that died when the parliament was prorogued are still very
important such as Bill C-268 and Bill C-58 that have to do with the
Criminal Code and trafficking; and child pornography and the internet. It
is our duty to monitor these and make our Members of Parliament
accountable.
HST Harmonized Sales Tax - Passed 3rd
and final reading on November 9th and will go into effect on
July 1, 2010.
My
New Years gift to you is to give you this address and encourage each of you
to download these forms:
Address of the
Attorney General for Power of Attorney Forms
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/pgt/poakit.asp
The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee has produced a Power of
Attorney Kit that will help you appoint the person you want to make
decisions for you when you are no longer able to do so for yourself.
Many people believe that if something happens and they are unable to
make decisions for themselves, their family can do so for them. This is not
necessarily true. For financial decisions, legal authority is needed. You
can give this authority by naming someone in a continuing power of attorney
for property.
For personal care decisions such as where you live or what you eat,
you can give legal authority by naming someone in a power of attorney for
personal care.
While it's very important to consider whether to make a power of
attorney, you don't have to, and no one can make you sign one if you don't
want to. But remember, if you don't make a power of attorney, someone may
have to be formally appointed some day to make decisions for you, if the
decisions involve matters other than medical treatment.
These forms are downloadable for free from this website. Lawyers can
charge up to $300.00 to do these for you.
'The
difference you make today counts in all our tomorrows'
C.H. Pearce
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Directive #2 11 September
2009
Chair: Anne
Madden
Hello,
I thought we should get down to business. I am very
excited about this committee. I had no idea how interesting this would be!
Have you ever heard the phrase: "that you don't know what you don't know?"
This has been the case for legislation and me. I have a wonderful
sub-committee chairperson who is extremely knowledgeable and keeps me both
informed and on my toes! I recommend that you all form a sub-committee. It
can be someone who is at home and has the time to be looking at the
government web sites, to be an extra pair of eyes on issues and on the
resolutions and directives passed by the CWL. We need to stay on top of our
politicians and make them accountable for their actions.
It is important to get to know your local politicians
and your Member of Parliament (MP) and Member of Provincial Parliament
(MPP). Call them; make an appointment to meet with them; ask to be put on
their mailing lists. Ask them their opinion on one of our resolutions
perhaps euthanasia would be a good starting point. Then follow their voting
and check that they are accountable to their word. I am including several web sites that
will be helpful to you for this committee.
www.parl.gc.ca www.parl.gc.ca/legisinfo www.canada.gc.ca or www.cpac.ca
These will give you information on current Parliamentarians;
info re: Bills, Chamber & Committee Business, an explanation of terms
used in the government and general information on Legislation. If you do
not have access to the internet, this would be an excellent reason to have
a sub-committee to be your 'eyes' on what is happening in parliament.
The TOLL FREE NUMBER to contact any Minister or
Department in the Federal Government is: 1-866-599-4999.
We as taxpayers are paying for this number and it is seldom used or known
about. Put this number in your telephone book for quick and easy access.
The House of Commons resumes September 14, 2009. Please
monitor the Private Bill C-384 on euthanasia, to see when it comes up
again. Remind your members to be writing individual letters. I have
included the 'Letter Writing Guide" that can also be downloaded for free
from the National web site: www.cwl.ca
one personal letter has the impact of 50 - 500 taxpayers that didn't bother
to vote! The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition has been working diligently to
stop this Bill. They have put together a website that will be updated with
articles and information for individuals to help defeat Bill C 384. www.stopbillc-384.com
Pay close attention for the possibility of a fall
election. All Bills currently before Parliament would die on the Order
Paper and would require submission again after an election.
Please promote the White Ribbons of Signatures Week,
October 18th to 25th. You could drop off a bunch of
white ribbons to your MP to wear that week. Federal Bills C46 and C 47 deal
with Internet Service Providers. Please have members write letters to their
MP and to the Attorney General in support of these Bills and remind them of
the White Ribbon of Signatures Campaign.
Resolution
2009.03 Hate Messages
This is one of the resolutions that passed at National
this summer. It is very timely! There were several articles in the Toronto
Star in early September related to this. The first refers to a one time member of
a Canadian neo-Nazi group who is declaring victory after the Canadian Human
Rights Tribunal denounced the country's Internet hate speech law as an
unconstitutional violation of free expression. This is known as the Lemire
Case. The second article speaks to section 13 of the Criminal Code. s.13
deals with Hate under the Canadian Human Rights Act; s.319 of the Criminal
Code deals with hate and promoting hate. The Criminal Code has more clout....
makes hate a criminal offence.
The parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has
agreed to an internal review of s.13 of the CHRA and is seeking input on
the issues and recommendations contained in the Moon Report (CHRC/news
releases). (It is on the Justice Committee's list to look at although
no date has been mentioned as to when this will begin.) The Catholic Women's League of Canada
urges the federal government to use established Criminal Code proceedings
on matters of hate and to repeal s. 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act."
Encourage members to be watching the websites and writing letters urging
the federal government to use the established Criminal Code proceedings on matters of hate and to repeal
section 13 of the Canadian Human
Rights Act.
Ontario Bill 118, an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act now bans
drivers from using hand held devices with display screens while operating a
vehicle on the road. The ban took effect September 1st,
2009! www.ontla.on.ca
Fee for Carriage
Proposal: The Fee for
Carriage is TV stations such as Can West, Global across Canada will be
requesting approval from the CRTC Canadian Radio and
Television Commission for an extra
"fee" anywhere from 5 to 10 dollars per month to " carry" certain programming including
programs coming in from the
USA. This is the 3rd
application by the TV stations. Check any letters that accompany your Cable bills! The Minister overseeing the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunication Commission) is the Hon. James Moore from B.C. His e-mail
address is: Moore@parl.gc.ca His web site is: www.robmooremp.com
Please monitor the CRTC by watching legal notices in
papers, watch for: "An application
has been made by" it is called Our Money at Work.
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Directive #1 27 August 2009
Chair: Anne Madden
Welcome to all my Fellow Legislation Chairpersons!!!
I am thrilled to be elected to Provincial Council and even more thrilled to
begin with this exciting committee. I have a lot to learn about legislation
as perhaps you do too. Thank you for allowing your name to stand for this
committee. Together I am certain we will make a difference.
I was born in Watertown, New York (Which is why I have so much to learn
about Canadian politics), attended Catholic Schools for all of my
education, including my nursing that I received from Sister's of Charity
School of Nursing in Buffalo NY. I have been married to Jim for 30 years.
We have been blessed with eleven children six girls and five boys, aged 10
years to 29 years. We also have three beautiful granddaughters.
I currently work full-time at Kingston General Hospital as the Regional
Improvement Coordinator in Oncology for the Cancer Centre of Southeastern
Ontario and the Southeastern Local Health Integration Network. I also work
part-time as a registered nurse in the Urgent Care Centre at Hotel Dieu
Hospital in Kingston. Our family owns and operates a hobby farm north of
Kingston and J & A Tree Service, a dangerous tree removal business.
I have been an active member of my parish CWL council, Sacred Heart of
Jesus, Bedford, for 28 years. I am also involved in school council both
locally and at the board level. I have always felt that I needed to be
involved and informed in order to initiate any changes and congratulate
those doing a great job!
I welcome any and all communication from you. Good communication travels in
both directions. Please share your thoughts and ideas freely. Every idea is
worth sharing!!!
I begin this term humbly and carefully, with God's help we will be able to
change the face of Canada for the better!!!!
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Report to Convention July 2009
Chairperson Louise Gamelin
The goals that I established for myself two years ago were to become
familiar with how our government works, to seriously look at how we can
make changes to our society by addressing issues of importance and to
disseminate and circulate information as it became available.
Although how our government manages to get anything done, I do have a
better understanding of how our government works. I am proud to have
had the opportunity to help have our voices heard on issues that matter.
Over the last two years, members across the province committed to saying
the "Prayer for Elected Officials" at their monthly meetings, conventions
and gatherings. It is my hope that we continue to pray for those we
have elected to office as a sign of our support and encouragement.
Members were active in aggressive letter writing campaigns:
- in support of Bill C-484
- to protect the recitation of The Lord's Prayer in the Provincial
Legislature
- Bill C-2 Tackling Violent Crime
- Bill 11 - Protecting Children and Youth from Second Hand Smoke in
Automobiles
- Bill 7 - An Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act to raise
minimum wage
While Bill C-484 died in Government due to the Federal Election, there has
been progress in stiffer penalties for violent crime, Ontario's banning of
smoking in automobiles with young children and those earning minimum wage
received an increase.
Bloc-Quebecoise MP, Francine Lalonde has introduced, for the third time, a
Private Member's Bill C-384 to legalize Euthanasia and Assisted
Suicide. This must be our
focus over the coming months. Rather than create a so-called right to
die, we need to protect the right to live. Life limiting conditions
do not reduce the dignity and value of any human life. We must
eliminate the pain, not the patients with the best pain management and palliative
care possible. The compassionate response is to provide social,
emotional and spiritual support. I believe that this will be our
biggest challenge and we must lobby our elected members of Federal
government and the Prime Minister as never before. We cannot give up
this fight. As Women of Peace and Hope, we must be the voice for
those who cannot speak for themselves and be the voice of reason in this
madness.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. This day is an
opportunity to draw attention to the devastating effect that suicidal
behaviour has on individuals, families and communities and we can use these
events as an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of those who
have died by suicide and offer support to those who grieve. We need a
national suicide prevention strategy and we need to educate the public and
political leaders on this issue. Please support any event in your
community or better yet, host your own event.
Most of my goals have been met during my term. The past year has been
particularly challenging with unattainable work commitments and I wish that
I had been able to do so much more under this committee. Let us
continue to be peacemakers within our families, our communities and our
country. We need to be the glimmer of hope in a society that seems to
be losing its Christian values and ethics. We must continue to fight
for what it right and fair, for what we believe to be true and what binds
us as Christians, A complete record of the wonderful work that you have
achieved can be found of page of the
annual report book.
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