[KWPeace-groups] Meeting Notes for Monday 26 March 2018

[Esther Kern]

Thank you Bob!
So much going on and I regret that I cannot participate on a regular basis.
Peace,
Esther

On Tue, Mar 27, 2018 at 6:28 PM, Bob Jonkman <bobjonkman at kwpeace.ca> wrote:

> Hi: For those of you who weren't able to make it to the potluck meeting
> on Monday, here are the notes I took.  For those of you who *were*
> there, please let me know of any additions, deletions, changes, or other
> errors.  I'll have them posted on the KWPeace site later tonight if
> there are no corrections  (it'll look much prettier!); right now I have
> to get to the WR Nonviolence meeting...
>
> = Spring 2018 KWPeace Organizational Meeting and Potluck =
>  Date
>     26 March 2018 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
> Location
>     Peace and Justice Room, Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church, 57
> Stirling Avenue North, Kitchener Map
> Participants
>     Laura Hamilton: Divest Waterloo, Food Not Bombs, Faith and the
> Common Good
>     Cathy Scott: Fair Vote Waterloo
>     Sharon Sommerville: KW Council of Canadians, Alliance Against Poverty
>     Dwyer Sullivan: Educators 4 Justice, Camp Micah, Conscience Canada
>     Sue Klassen: Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church, Peace and Justice
> Working Group, Grand Valley Institute outreach, Alternatives to Violence
>     Victor Klassen:
>     Gehan Sabry: Cross Cultures Magazine
>     Lynn Schulze: Crossing Borders Program
>     Alejandra: Crossing Borders Program
>     Bob Jonkman: Green Party, WR Nonviolence, KWPeace
>
> Regrets
>     Mo Markham: KW Vegan Society, KW Animal Save, Kitchener Waterloo
> Climate Save, Mother Earth Save
>
>
>
> Meeting Notes
>
>     We should get Community Justice Initiatives (CJI) to come to KWPeace
> meetings
>
> Groups Reports
> Fair Vote Waterloo
>
>     Electoral Reform is on hiatus, it is not active at the government level
>     FairvoteWRC is still doing education
>     No petition, but has a form to pledge to vote only for a party with
> a commitment to Proportional Representation
>
>
> KW Council of Canadians
>
>     Primary campaign is water
>     Also health care as a local initiave
>         Bill 160, the overhaul of health care delivery
>             It's presented as an omnibus bill
>             Includes removal of ban on private hospitals
>             Increased use of private clinics for diagnostics
>             Concerns over patient privacy and info sharing
>             The cost of private care is greater
>             KWCoC has met with all local MPPs
>             This needs to be a campaign issue in the Provincial Election
> (7 June 2018)
>                 Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife is on board, will present
> petitions in legislature
>             "Privatization by stealth"
>             Privatization requires profit -- fair wages and employment
> equity? (private workers vs. unionized workers)
>             MPPs presented excuses of "aging infrastructure" and "aging
> population"
>
>
> Alliance Against Poverty
>
>     Political Action Campaign to implement Free Transit for all
>         First steps: Get Free Transit for low income people
>
>
> Educators For Justice
>
>     Speaker Candice spoke on native justice at Conrad Grebel University
> on Friday
>
>
> Conscience Canada
>
>     Promotes the divestment of 8.9% tax used to fund Canadian military
> to be used for other purposes
>     Saturday, 7 April 2018 at 3:30pm is Conscience Canada AGM; Tamara
> Lorincz will be speaking on Canadian military spending and the effects
> on climate change.
>
>
> English Catholic Teachers
>
>     Social Justice for Human Rights
>
>
> Crossing Borders
>
>     A group of refugees and students, coming together to break down
> barriers
>     Have done 100 presentations to schools, organizations!
>     Workshops with 16 kids, presented to City Hall, schools, &c.
>     Partnering with Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support (MCRS)
>     Working on a partnership with CJI
>     Have received grants (maybe can provide some experience for the
> Social Develop Centre's Community Hub initiative)
>     Jeremy Horne has been their fundraiser
>     10 years of Crossing Borders
>         Started by kids, from program during Human Rights Week
>
>
> Cross Cultures
>
>     Plaque for Mutual Respect
>         After seven months of bureaucracy
>         Unveiled at the UN Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination
> on 21 March 2018
>         Indigenous people want to mount this on a natural substrate
>         To be place in Victoria Park near the entrance at the Clock Tower
>         Amanda and Scott provided more information for the plaque
>     Gehan is attending AGMs for ethnic associations
>         Is now the president of the African Canadian Association for
> Waterloo and Area (ACAWRA)
>             Reminder that Egypt is in Africa...
>
>
> St. John's Co-op Kitchen
>
>     There is a grant for a coach
>         Sean ---, a Union Co-op to pool funds, limited to $10,000
>         Commitment to fair labour practices and a living wage
>         The kitchen is a social incubator
>         ...but also a back-end for other programs, eg. marketing your
> product
>         get more funding (?)
>     Community Dinners, eg. Syrian Ladies
>         Expected 100, cooked for 150, but 225 showed up
>         Extra costs cut into the honorarium to the cooks
>         Will invite ACAWRA
>     Start cooking classes to raise funds
>         get stories to tell at dinners
>             eg. from Crossing Borders
>             Jacky Terry, board member at ACAWRA may have stories
>
>
> WR Nonviolence
>
>     No response from City Hall about booking Roos Island in Victoria
> Park for Saturday, 14 July 2018
>     Bob thinks the drop-dead date for confirming the booking is end of
> April
>
>
> from Mo Markham
>
>     We have posted a petition on our page, and I think on the KW peace
> page as well, to ask that the crown attorney request that Benjamin
> Stein, the so-called farmer who left several thousand pigs to die
> without food water heat Etc not have animals in his care again in his
> lifetime. This is mostly a publicity stunt, to try to get some media
> attention to this case, the largest case of animal cruelty in Canadian
> history.
>         KW Animal Save AND London Pig Save will be attending the
> sentencing in Simcoe on April 26th, and sometime before then we will
> present the petition to the crown attorney.
>     Our latest Save group, Mother Earth Save, will be holding a free
> mothers' brunch on Saturday May 26th at st. John the Evangelist downtown
> to help young mothers understand what's happening to the planet, and how
> they can get involved to make change. There will be childcare provided
>     And on Saturday June 23rd, the KW Vegan Society will hold a
> fundraiser for KW Animal Save and Kitchener Waterloo Climate Save. This
> will be a catered picnic and bonfire. I have posted this on the KW peace
> site, and it is also on the KW animal save page.
>
>
> Other Notes
>
>     Alejandra is a refugee from Colombia
>         Got permanent residency through Humanitarian and Compassionate
> grounds
>         The Refugee Board and Immigration Board don't communicate; she
> was still receiving notices after getting permanent residency
>         How to get employment as a refugee? Kitchener Waterloo
> Multicultural Centre and City of Kitchener provided a Healthy Lifestyles
> Ambassador placement as a Lifeguard
>             This program is no longer funded
>
>
>     22 April 2018 is Earth Day
>         There is a Climate Walk in Toronto
>
>
>     Access to politicians
>         Local politicians treat delegations from activist groups as
> though they were "storming the Bastille"
>
>
>     Festival season!
>         Space at Kitchener City Hall
>             None available before summer
>             Difficult to get hold of _____ (organizer/venue reservation)
>             But space is still available
>
>
>     Joint All-Candidates Meetings
>         Topic: Social Justice for Health, Anti-Poverty, Electoral
> Reform, Environment
>         To be put on by:
>             Social Development Centre Waterloo Region
>             Divest Waterloo
>             Alliance Against Poverty
>             Fair Vote Waterloo
>             TransitionKW
>             Disability and Human Rights Group
>             KW Council of Canadians
>             Basic Income Waterloo Region
>         By having multiple groups involved, candidates can no longer use
> the excuse of not participating because this is a "single issue".
>         The Record and Rogers are no longer hosting a public All
> Candidates Meeting
>             and the Chamber of Commerce doesn't allow questions (and
> does not address social issues, anyway)
>
>     John Milloy
>         Hosted a Faith and Politics (presentation? seminar? workshop?)
>         Follow up at Centre for Public Ethics
>             Get people active, teach them how to organize
>         Monday, 9 April, 5:30pm to 7:30pm
>
>
>     Indigenous Storytellers
>         10,000 year old stories
>         Listening as well as telling
>         On the Doctrine of Discovery
>         There will be four performances
>
> --
> Kitchener-Waterloo Peace and Social Justice Groups
> bobjonkman at kwpeace.ca           https://kwpeace.ca
>
>
>
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