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Disposition of Resolutions - Passed at the FWIO Annual Meeting. November, [095 . By Gillian Carlo Once again, it is time to do the almost impos- sible - condense the long letters I have received from the various ministries into a para- graph or 50. Letters of reply are still coming to me. Every letter that | send goes to many differ- ent places: the Prime Minister. leaders of the federal opposition and appropriate federal min» istries; the Premier of Ontario, leaders of the opposition and appropriate provincial ministries; the Federated Women‘s institutes of Canada (FWIO) office; and, to other people that I feel should be kept informed of FWlO resolutions. Thoughtful letters come back to me in reply and i feel that our resolutions are taken seriously. Copies of these replies will be sent to the appropriate Area Conveners before the Area Conventions Should you wish to see a copy of any letter, please send me a business-size, self addressed, stamped envelope, I am coming to the end of my term of office. I would like to say this position is really interesting, at times quite demanding and frustrating, but it is well worth doing. I have learned a great deal. It is essential that you have the use of a word processor or a computer and you will have to do lots of photocopying. I will be back at the Novem- ber Board and my successor witl be chosen. However. my job will not be completed until I have written all the follow-up letters from that meeting. From the Eastern Area: El asking for the, revrsiori of the Voung Ottend- ers Act llI three areas in his reply the Hon, Alan Ftock, Federal Min~ ister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada, writes, “Legislation making important changes to the Young Offenders Act was pro- claimed into force on December 1, 1995,‘ Highlights of the legislation included: increas- ing the maximum sentences for teenagers convicted of first or second degree murder in youth court to ten years and seven years respec- tively: dealing with 16 and 17 year olds charged with serious personal injury offenses in adult court unless they can show thejudge that public protection and rehabilitation can be achieved through youth court; and, improving the sharing of information between professionals, such as school officials and police. A parliamentary commission is reviewing a broad range of issues and questions surround- ing youth crimes (etc). “This committee is traveling to various cities across Canada to seek views of concerned citizens." From the Kingston Area: El asking that the FWIO take actlon to publicize the research findings on air pollution in our homes This resolution has been discussed by mem- bers of the Safe and Healthy Communities Committee, and the Kingston Area has worked with The Lung Association to send out a large mailing in their area warning of the pollution in our homes. 6 Home 8r Country, Fall '96 From the Guelph Area: D aoltirrg that lhesallirrgol iri'zrrlrrig lists her‘narie illegal ivitlrotrt tlie t‘ui'rwrii of Hit} person on the list A letter from the Hon. Norm Starting, Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations, states, “Currently in Ontario there is no Iegislah’on or plans of introducing legislation prohibiting the distribution or selling of mailing lists." A similar reply was received from the Hon. Charles Harnick. the Attorney General of Ontario. The issue of obscene materials entering your homes can be dealtwith by contacting Project "P," ajornt force unit between Metro Toronto Police and the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch; call Detective Mathews at (41 (5)612-9626. D fishing rrri rr Ltgrii ilil pmttti rqrgipttt; tin T\i‘ Barrie MacDonald, with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), wrote, "It a viewer consid- are that certain material aired on TV or Radio offends against Canada's obscenity laws, that person may report the matter to the Provincial Attorney General and the local police, who might then commence criminal proceedings." Included in the reply from Mr. MacDonald was a fact sheet from the CFlTC. “How to File a Broadcasting Complaint." To receive a copy of this sheet write to Sec. Gen. CFlTC. Ottawa ON K1A 0N2, or Fax: (519)994caia. El asking that legrsttrtrtin Ln: amended in order that tudges may impose stitfer sentences This resolution was presumed by the Hon. Allan Flock, Federal Minister of Justice, to refer to the Young Offender's Act and was dealt with in his reply about the changes to this Act. D asking tni legislation iletining reasonable ‘tJIsctpllire arid ahrrse’ In his reply, the Hon. John Snobelen, Minister of Education, states that “under the Education Act, decisions regarding discipline in schools are the responsibility of the school principal and the classroom teacher..." He goes onto say that the responsibility for determining the legal definition of abuse does not rest with the Ministry of Edu- cation and Training. but ratherwith the ministries of the Attorney General and the Solicitor Gen- eral.“ I did in tact send a copy to the office of the Attorney General. From the Grey-Bruce Area: C asking that the Minister of Health maintain adequate funds to improve the present state of health care In his reply, the Hon. Jim Vtfilson, Minister of Health, states, “This government intends to im- prove standards ot health care by putting more of our health care dollars into direct care and preventative care. We intend to take advantage of every opportunity to reinvest savings, found through increased efficiencies. back into front- Iine services." He then listed new services initiated recently. El asktng that the hormone rBST be banned rm use on cattle This resolution will be dealt with at the end or this report. L] asking that standards be establishi,1 ,0, M quality of Zippers The Hon. John Manly, Federal Minister of tn» dustry, stated that “no federal agency IS responsible for the enforcement of Zippers," In his reply, Stephen Beatty. the Executive Director of the Canadian Apparel Federation, wrote, “More than half of the clothing sold in Canada is imported. We would have concerns about asking Canadian manufacturers to meet a standard which their foreign competitors are not required to meet." He suggested that consumers bring their complaints directly to the companies who supply inferior products. All clothing is required to be labeled with a five digit CA number; call 1800-6614157 for more information about the manufacturing company. From the Hamilton Area: Ll asking that a graduated drivers llClE‘l l‘ttt l ; tern he adopted for seniors Hon. AI Palladinil Minister of Transportation, writes, "The ministry has conducted several long term studies on senior drivers to find the best method of detecting the effects of aging on driv- ing." Graduated licenses have been considered, Under the new highway safety program an- nounced on October 24, 1995, there is a new altemative treatment plan for the renewal in senior's licenses, It will use a questionnair vision test, and group counseling sessions to assess the skills of drivers 80 and over. After reviewing the questionnaire score and drivtng record. the counselors will decide whether to renew the license, or recommend a road test or additional driver training. From the London Area: Ct asking that the names of young otter lLiE‘i' t released after conviction Dealt with under the Eastern Area resolution. Ll asking the Canadian Broadcast Slander t Council (6580) to monitor more rtoset; it: use of offensive language on Radio and i r. stations The letter of reply from the CBSC. signed by Paddy Leahy, Administrative Assistant, states, “We are not a watchdog organization, in that we do not monitor broadcasting. We were estab lished to receive complaints from the public that relate to our members. Unless several criteria are as follows: the complaint must relate to a 0350 member; the date, time and station on which the program in question was aired must be mentioned in the letter; and finally, the com- plaint must relate to a code that is administered by the Council." This code can be obtained DY writing to 0330, PO Box 3265, Station D. Ottawa ON KtPGHB, From the Southwestern Area: asking for more independent research on in. hormone rBST To be dealt with at the end of this report. continued on page 7