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Welcome to the latest issue of D&D, keeping you up to date on Ontario Council activities.
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January 21st, 2012
Standing Committees

 

Joint Morning Session

 

The morning's topic dealt with the impact of Climate Change on mental health. The presenter was Ashlee Cunsolo Willox, PhD candidate in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph, and a social science researcher with special interest in the impact of climate change on aboriginal people. Her research has been in Rigolet, a small Inuit community in northern Labrador.

 

She began with background on the evolution of climate change, emphasizing the increasing speed of recent changes: in the past 30 years the rate of warming has doubled that of the pervious 130 years, and the 10 warmest years on record have been since 2001. The change is most marked in the polar regions, as melting snow accelerates the absorption of heat, causing more melting. She followed this with recent history of the Inuit, outlining the effect of the one-two punch that has impacted them:

  • Government policies in the past 50 years which "for its own good" took a nomadic, land-based, shamanistic culture, subsisting on hunting and fishing, with a strong identification with the land and animals, and mandated for it settled communities, residential schools and a wage-based economy where there were no wages.
  • Changes in lifestyle caused by climate change. Warmer weather and decreased snow and ice coupled with more severe storms have adversely affected plants and wildlife, making hunting more difficult and unpredictable, and resulting in less time being spent on the land. This has resulted in dietary changes - the lack of wild food has driven people to store-bought food, which is extremely expensive, leading to unbalanced diets - and a more sedentary lifestyle. Previously unknown health issues - obesity, diabetes, gastro-intestinal problems, are rife. Social and emotional issues include loss of language, cultural assimilation and increasing marginalization. Masculine identity, formerly defined by hunting prowess and native skills, has been undermined.

 

The social disruption caused by these changes has had severe mental health impact on the community, resulting in depression, anxiety, anger, increased family stress, increased alcohol and drug use, increased attempted and successful suicide, disruption of the Inuit sense of place, a disruption described as being similar to that caused by the residential schools: "It's not home any more."

 

Ms. Willox's project is to document the Inuit experience through collecting stories, production of a video archive, and instructing individuals in the use of social media to raise awareness of their situation. She faults the federal government for ignoring the plight of the Inuit, at the same time as it values their presence on the land to cement a Canadian presence in the north.

 

Education Committee   

Letter writing is an important part of our advocacy efforts. The afternoon was spent putting a letter together as a group on Bill 13 An Act to amend the Education Act with respect to bullying and other matters. The carefully thought out ideas and wording came fast and furious as an excellent letter was crafted. This letter is addressed to Laurel Broten, Minister of Education because it will be sent out under the President of Ontario Council's signature as per our policy. Your club can use it as a template to write to your own MPPs.


We first examined our relevant policy Violence at School IFUW, 1998 and segregated the sections that applied and would be referred to in the letter. Then the pertinent parts of Bill 13 were discussed as they related to our policy. (EDCOM1.2012) It was decided to congratulate the government on the Bill using three main points as examples and then tell them what we wanted to see happen after the bill was passed. We added the boiler plate that Ontario Council uses. This boiler plate can be adapted to reflect the individual club. We finished by thanking them for the opportunity to comment.


We then started to look at the material on the post secondary tuition grant that is starting in September of 2012. Unfortunately, we ran out of time but here are our policies (Policy on tuition.edcom), briefing notes courtesy of Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario and "Under Pressure - The impact of rising tuition fees on Ontario Families" by D. MacDonald and E. Shaker, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Use these to create a club letter to your MPPs.


Many good points about letter writing came up in the session. Read carefully. Do your research. Plan your letter. Don't be afraid to ask members in that field about what is going on and current idioms. There are usually hot buzz words or phrases. Check to see that your style of address is correct. Vary your wording. Keep it short so the points are strong. Get others to read the letter or form a small group to write it.


You can find more complete information on letter writing how-to's at www.cfuwontcouncil.ca/Resources/WRITING LETTERS AND EMAILS, 2010-2012.PDF

Legislation Committee

 

The morning speaker, Ashlee Cunsolo Willox, led a discussion on grief and mourning with respect to climate change.

 

Mourning was described as response to the loss of a person or thing that "changes who you are." It can be public or private, shared with one's intimates or experienced in mass (e.g. Kennedy's death, 9/11), and transcends borders and cultures.

 

We usually mourn people (or pets!) but we can mourn non-personal things, such as activities displaced by technology (letter writing?), loss of a way of life, e.g. the fishing culture of outport Newfoundland, or the loss of a feeling of security after 9/11. We can engage in anticipatory mourning, as in the terminal illness of a loved one.  

 

 Ms. Willox described how aboriginal people, especially men, mourn the loss of the land, culture, animals, way of life, identities taken from them by climate change. (The Canadian government was again faulted for concentrating its development activities on foreign countries and ignoring problems among aboriginals at home).   There was a lively, wide-ranging and non-specific discussion on climate change, mourning and aboriginal culture, concluded by Ms. Willox describing some examples of public grief for climate change, such as memorializing the names of all extinct plants and animals.

 

Status of Women &
Human Rights Committee

 

 Christine Cooper, executive director of FAME (Family Association for Mental Health Everywhere), talked to us about "the elephant in the room", mental illness. It is the number one health problem in Canada. It affects everyone, either directly (1 in 5) or through association with someone who is suffering from a mental illness. Several large corporations and well-known Canadians are raising awareness of the problem. Christine cited the Bell campaign with Clara Hughes. BMO also has a campaign. Yet mental illness still has a stigma attached to it and is not spoken about openly.

 

She spoke of the systemic issues around mental illness. Four out of ten people in prison suffer from mental illness. The police tend to use tasers more on mentally ill people. They often don't know how to de-escalate a domestic situation involving a mentally ill person, too often resulting in death. Many of the homeless suffer from mental illnesses. It can take an individual a long time to be diagnosed properly and to receive drugs that work effectively for that individual. Many provinces do not cover newer more effective drugs in their drug plans or may require a person to try less effective drugs first. It may take eight years to get to a point where a patient is being effectively treated. There is a shortage of psychiatrists and many plans will not cover therapists. The recent federal legislation providing compassionate leave for family members to take care of a very ill person does not include mental illnesses.

 

Seventy percent of people who are mentally ill live with family member(s). If family are involved in care there is less chance of police involvement or hospitalization and more adherence to treatment. FAME provides support to families and caregivers where any mental illness is an issue. They are almost entirely funded by the Ministry of Health, the only organization in Ontario funded by MOH, whose primary programming is focused entirely on family support. They deliver services across the GTA, in North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon) and Halton Region (Georgetown & Milton).

 

As well as providing confidential one-on-one support by telephone or in person, they have resource material, educational speaker series, family socials, newsletters and support programs. One very innovative program is fameKids for children 7-12 who have a family member with a mental illness. It educates and equips children with coping skills through artwork, discussion and games in a safe, kid-friendly environment. For more information see the FAME website www.fameforfamilies.com.

 

FAME has an annual fundraising event called SIMPLY DIVAS which sounds like a lot of fun. It will be Sunday April 29, 2012 in The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W, Toronto from 1:00 to 5:00. Students from the Etobicoke School of the Arts channel their divas (e.g. Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner, Edith Piaf) in wonderful performances, combined with food and drinks. A perfect girly afternoon out! Tickets are $50. Go to the website www.simplydivas.ca  for information or to order tickets.

Upcoming Meetings

 

 

NEXT STANDING COMMITTEES  MEETING


March 17th, 2012


Yorkminster Park Baptist Church
1585 Yonge Street


Topic: 

Pay Equity in Ontario


Speaker: 

Emanuela Heyninck,

Commissioner of Ontario's Pay Equity Commission

 


Check In 9:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Meeting Begins at 10:00 a.m.
Catering requires pre-registration 


 

 

ONTARIO COUNCIL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

May 11th and 12th, 2012

Hampton Inn by Hilton

Toronto Airport Corporate Centre

5515 Eglinton Avenue West

Toronto

 

 

Green Energy: Is a Future without Fossil Fuels Viable?

 

for programme and registration see

www.cfuwontcouncil.ca or

www.cfuwetobicoke.ca