ARCC Annual General Meeting, September 15, 2009
- Agenda
- Minutes
- Regional Reports: New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta
- Coordinator’s Report
- Membership Report
- Financial Report and 2009 Proposed Budget (goes to another page)
Note: Minutes and reports from the 2008 AGM can be found here.
Agenda
- Welcome and Introduction
- Orientation and instructions for online participants
- Appoint Chair
- Adopt agenda
- Approve minutes from 2008 AGM
- Provincial Reports
- Coordinator’s Report
- Membership Report / strategy re lapsed members
- Financial Report / Remuneration of Coordinator
- New business (if any)
- Election of Board of Directors (if any)
- Adjourn meeting
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009,
Roundhouse Arts & Recreation Centre
Room C, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, B.C.
Present: Joyce Arthur, Dean Sinnett, Lorne Balshine, Cheryl Davies
Online: Carolyn Egan, Alison Brown, Judy Burwell, Lianne McTavish
The second Annual General Meeting of ARCC was also a web-cam video conference.
The President’s job is to chair the AGM, but Carolyn was online and could not chair, so a motion was made to appoint Joyce to chair the meeting. Joyce asked for a vote which took place both online and at the meeting. Motion was carried (unanimously).
Joyce called the meeting to order at 5:15 P.M.
Joyce asked for discussion on the 2009 Agenda which was displayed on the web and in the room. A motion to approve the 2009 AGM Agenda was then carried (unanimously).
Motion to approve the Minutes of the 2008 AGM. Joyce read highlights of the Minutes and then asked for questions. Motion was carried (unanimously).
- Report from New Brunswick prepared by Judy Burwell was read by Joyce.
- Report from Quebec prepared by Patrick Powers was read by Joyce.
- Report from Ontario prepared by Carolyn Egan was read by Dean.
- Report from Alberta prepared by Lianne McTavish was read by Dean.
Joyce then read her Coordinator’s Report listing the many activities that took place during the last 15 months which ARCC was involved in. At the end, Joyce noted that ARCC is doing quite well politically, but is weaker in areas of member growth and fundraising.
Motion to accept the provincial reports and the Coordinator’s report as read was carried (unanimously). All reports to be posted online.
Membership Report prepared by Leslie Hoyles, Membership Officer, was read by Joyce. As at September 1, 2009, there were 98 members in good standing with 91 lapsed memberships. However, we can expect roughly half of those to renew when the next newsletter goes out, and a few have already renewed. Joyce plans to do a mailout to all members whose memberships have lapsed going back to ARCC’s beginning, asking them to consider re-joining. Motion to accept the Membership Report as read was carried. (unanimously).
Dean Sinnett, Treasurer, read highlights of his Financial Report. At August 31, 2009, assets totaled $50,918, a deficit of $7,785 from the asset total of $58,703 on September 1, 2008. Dean suggested that we try and reduce expenses by $3,500 which would enable ARRC to end the following year with assets of $49,000.
Motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as submitted was carried (unanimously).
Suggestions to reduce newsletter expenses. Joyce said if we only send newsletter to members (cutting out media and politicians) we could reduce expenses in half. Alison suggested finding a less expensive printer. Dean suggested developing a list of targets to receive the newsletter. Alison suggested that we could ask for donations from Unions to cover the printing cost.
Joyce said that unions mail the newsletter for free. We need the newsletter as 20 members do not use the internet, plus the newsletter is a “key” tool for a non-profit organization. We can take it to events and conferences. Judy asked if the newsletter is cost effective and suggested cutting down on the number of articles and refocusing it on ARCC activities, revamping the newsletter. Lianne said she could distribute the newsletter at “Voices for Choice” at the University of Alberta. Joyce said we can consider saving money by printing in black and white if we need extra copies.
Joyce reported that after the 2008 AGM, the Board agreed to pay her $1,000 per month for one year, but asked whether that was still affordable for ARCC, as income is not keeping up with our expense level. Several people agreed we could and this was important, e.g., we need a supported infrastructure to function well, and we need to fundraise more. Lorne moved to continue to pay Joyce $1,000 per month for the next year. Motion was carried (unanimously).
Joyce to organize a focused Board Meeting to raise funds. A Strategic Planning Meeting. Cheryl is willing to participate or help with suggestions.
New Business: Lorne reported that he is continuing to collect and archive articles on the subject of abortion from Canadian newspapers, the New York Times newspaper, magazines and articles posted on the internet including ARCC and NARAL postings.
Lorne asked if ARCC has considered working together with NARAL Pro-Choice America. Joyce said that she has met with NARAL (as Pro-Choice Action Network) but we have no formal ties with American groups other than NAF. She said we could join NARAL and receive their newsletter. Cheryl asked if ARCC exchanges information with the Center for Reproductive Rights. Joyce said she does keep informed of American news and has connections with American providers through Nafbytes and that we keep up on legal activities in the US. Carolyn said we are supportive but concentrate on our own Canadian issues.
Election of Board of Directors: There was no election of directors as the following Directors were elected on June 16, 2008 for two years. Joyce read out the names. No new nominations.
- Carolyn Egan, Toronto (President)
- Judy Burwell, Fredericton (Vice President)
- Dean Sinnett, Vancouver (Treasurer)
- Alison Brown, Toronto
- Catherine Megill, Montreal
- Patrick Powers, Montreal
- Corey Purdy-Smith, Ottawa
- Louise Hanvey, Ottawa
- Lianne McTavish, Edmonton
Tamara Gorin, Vancouver has resigned. A few people were asked and are still considering joining the Board, and the Board can appoint them later if desired. We currently have 9 Board members and our bylaws have no maximum limit on the number (minimum number is 3). Lorne asked if ARCC balances the board geographically. Joyce responded in the affirmative.
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:30 pm was carried (unanimously).
Respectfully submitted, Lorne Balshine, acting secretary
Coordinator’s Note about AGM dates: According to ARCC bylaws, AGMs must be held each year, but no more than 15 months from our last AGM. In order to schedule our AGM to coincide with our fiscal year end on Dec. 31, the next AGM will be held in the late fall of 2010 (no later than Dec 15), so that the subsequent AGM can be held in January 2012, with all AGMs held every January thereafter.
Report from New Brunswick
by Judy Burwell, FrederictonThe past year has, regrettably, seen little movement in Dr. Morgentaler’s efforts to force the Province to pay for abortions performed at his clinic in Fredericton.
In August, 2008, the Court of Queen’s Bench decision granted Dr. Morgentaler standing to move forward with his lawsuit against the province. As expected, the province further delayed any proceedings by appealing the decision. They lost but made noises about taking it to the Supreme Court of Canada. After dragging its feet as long as possible, we were encouraged to learn this summer that the province will not appeal to the Supreme Court. This clears the way for a trial. However, a trial will be costly and in Dr. Morgentaler’s words, will only serve to further delay justice for the women of N.B. Dr. Morgentaler’s lawyer is exploring other options with the province but as of this date, there is no word as to how things will proceed.
This summer the second “Art Auction for Choice” was held and $2,500.00 was raised for the Morgentaler Defense Fund. The art auction serves two purposes…to raise money and to hold a public event that is proudly pro-choice. Our thanks to the organizers who worked quickly to bring this event together before the chief organizer (an ARCC member who wishes to remain anonymous) moved to Halifax.
On the political front, ARCC moved quickly, nationally and provincially, to call for former Minister of Health Michael Murphy’s resignation after he attended an anti-choice rally last spring. Speaking in his official capacity, Murphy announced publically that he is “not entirely comfortable” administering the province’s discriminatory law with respect to abortion services. The section of the Medical Services payment Act he refers to states that only hospital abortions that have the approval of two doctors and deemed to be medially necessary will be covered by Medicare. We were pleased to see that a number of citizens also wrote letters to the editor condemning Murphy’s views. Murphy did not, of course, have to resign but he does ironically have a new post as the Minister of Justice.
ARCC is looking forward to working with Pro Bono Students of Canada at the University of New Brunswick. The project is to develop a brochure clearly explaining women’s right to abortion, how it is abused in N.B., and actions they can take to express their concerns. We hope to also include PEI (where there are no abortion services) in this project.
Report from Quebec
By Patrick Powers, Montreal
A year ago, on September 28th of 2008, pro-choice activists in Québec staged a rally and protest march of 5,000 people to protest Ken Epp’s “Unborn Victims of Crime Act”, as well as the ongoing threats to clinic access across Canada. Now, a year later, we are still recoiling from the latest threat against access by the Quebec government itself, in the form of Bill 34, and the Health Minister’s insistence this past August that new standards declared in this bill, which were inappropriate for most abortion procedures, would be nonetheless applied across the board. Though the pro-choice community, the Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances, ARCC-CDAC, and other NGOs were gearing up for a mobilisation against the Bill, M. Yves Bolduc, the Minister of Health recanted.
Yes, as soon as spokespersons for the clinics, doctors, and women’s groups began denouncing this bill publicly, the Minister announced that free-standing abortion clinics (and other clinics) would be exempt from the legislation. Though we breathed a sigh of relief, it remains clear that our political representatives here still don’t get it. The traditionally strong pro-choice elements of Quebec society remain vigilant. The extensive analysis by the FQPN of this latest threat to women’s choices underscores the government’s “flagrant disregard” for women’s rights to access, as well as the ministry’s failure to listen to numerous pleas from local groups. It appeared that the newspaper reports this summer had greater impact than our appeals.
Fortunately, CDAC-ARCC remains in close contact with the FQPN and other women’s groups, all of whom are understandably vigilant.
Report from Ontario
By Carolyn Egan, Toronto
There were demonstrations successfully held in both Toronto and Ottawa concerning Bill C484. A lot of media was done as well on behalf of Ontario Coalition of Abortion Clinics (OCAC) and ARCC.
ARCC information was distributed at York University in conjunction with pro-choice student groups during disputes with the anti-choice. We also took part in pickets with ARCC information with University of Toronto student groups in opposition to the GAP- the Genocide Awareness Project – as well as educational sessions. At many high school classes, ARCC newsletters and literature were given out.
OCAC submitted the nomination for Dr. Morgentaler to receive the Order of Canada which he was awarded October 2008. ARCC supported this with positive publicity and other initiatives.
There was an organized pro-choice presence at Women’s Choice Clinic during the 40 Days for Life and we provided escorting for patients at the Cabbagetown Clinic through the summer.
Report from Alberta
By Lianne McTavish, Edmonton
In September of 2008 I and other staff and students at the University of Alberta reported as deceptive an anti-abortion advertisement claiming that “95% of women who had abortions said they were wrong.” Advertising Standards Canada forced Edmonton Pro-Life to provide evidence for this statistic, which it did. This evidence was equally false and new complaints were lodged. These posters are no longer on display in Edmonton.
I was interviewed about the false advertising for the Edmonton Journal (June 2008), and CBC Radio-Canada (francais), for both radio and television (April 2009). While the newspaper report was fairly neutral, the French transmissions were decidedly pro-choice.
Reactions to the inaccurate posters encouraged University of Alberta students Stephanie Fletcher and Taryn Hancock to found Voices for Choices, a new pro-choice group on campus. This group has written letters to the editor, mounted a pro-choice poster campaign across campus, and organized informational booths in the Student Union Building, successfully countering the inaccurate posters and “Life Week” of the small but visible anti-choice student group. As a member of ARCC, I have offered ARCC support for events this group might suggest, and have donated NB Rebelles buttons to the group. I will be speaking about ARCC at an upcoming Voices for Choices meeting, in addition to my usual visits to Women’s Studies and History classes.
A new batch of anti-abortion posters appeared in the University LRT station at the beginning of September 2009, just in time for the return of students. One shows a fetal image, with a text underneath stating that it is a 20 week fetus and that the Edmonton Abortion Clinic provides abortions up to 20 weeks. Those opposed to legal abortion assume that the message conveyed by this poster is obviously anti-abortion, but I disagree. I think it could be interpreted as an advertisement for the clinic, informing women that they can indeed get abortions right in town.
Another poster says that 39.9% of abortions are done between 7 and 12 weeks, showing a supposedly 12-week fetus. Again, this fairly accurate information could be interpreted in various ways. It certainly undermines the earlier anti-choice poster campaign, which implied that women could get abortions into the third trimester, and that they did so on a regular basis. These potentially ambiguous posters are somewhat annoying but far preferable to those in the previous campaigns.
On a positive note, Pro-Choice Alberta had to cancel its annual conference (meant to be held in Calgary May 1-2, 2009) because of low enrollments.
Coordinator’s Report
By Joyce Arthur, Vancouver
This report will cover some events and initiatives that ARCC was involved in, other than the ones already discussed.
Dr. George Tiller was brutally murdered on Sunday morning, May 31, while acting as an usher at his church. We’re all familiar with the details of the case and the aftermath, so I won’t go into them. In terms of ARCC’s response, members and Board members of ARCC were involved across the country organizing and participating in vigils or rallies, which were held in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Fredericton, and Vancouver. ARCC issued an immediate press release on May 31st mourning and condemning the murder. We were also very active responding to the media, posting on blogs and listservs, and sharing information about this tragic event across many communities. Many valuable discussions occurred within the pro-choice community on issues such as the need to speak out more to defend women and abortion rights and access, including later abortions, and people did a lot of internal reflection on the meaning and value of their work in abortion provision. If any silver lining came out of George’s murder, it was our strong recommitment and dedication to women’s right to abortion, better relations with law enforcement and better response from them, a deeper public understanding on the seriousness of anti-abortion violence and terrorism in North America, and greater understanding as to why women need abortions, since many of Dr. Tiller’s patients spoke publicly about their catastrophic pregnancies and the wonderful care he provided to them.
Norma Scarborough – One of the great matriarchs of Canada’s pro-choice movement passed away on April 2 at the age of 82. Norma Scarborough of Toronto began her abortion rights activism in 1974, for the Doctors for the Repeal of the Abortion Law. She became nationally prominent as a member of CARAL’s founding executive, and served as CARAL’s president from 1980 to 1984. She was tireless, well-informed, good-humoured, level-headed, and a respectful consensus-builder. ARCC made her an honourary lifetime member shortly after we were founded, and we also created the Norma Scarborough Society to recognize those who sustain ARCC with annual gifts of $1,000 or more. I know that she strongly supported the work of ARCC and was very happy when we started up. Norma will be sorely missed.
Henry’s Order of Canada, and media coverage – On July 1st, media coverage broke that Dr. Henry Morgentaler was going to receive the Order of Canada. A firestorm of media followed, with the anti-choice movement enraged about the award. But even after all their pickets, demonstrations, petitions, letters, and phone calls, Governor General Michaelle Jean thankfully stuck to her guns, and the Order of Canada was given to Henry on Oct 10 at a ceremony in Quebec City. This honour was a long time coming and extremely well deserved. ARCC contributed to the positive media about Henry’s award, and we also initiated a strong and successful campaign asking people to send letters of support to the GG, to counter the flood of anti-choice mail she was getting. Ironically, in the month before the July 1 announcement, ARCC was involved in helping to spearhead another Order of Canada nomination for Henry, which proved unnecessary because OCAC’s previous nomination had been amended, resubmitted, and accepted by the OC committee.
Bubble Zone Law: On September 4, 2008, the BC Court of Appeal upheld the bubble zone law in British Columbia. BC is the only province to have a provincial civil law, called the Access to Abortion Services Act, that prohibits protests outside clinics and the homes and offices of providers. Two protesters convicted under the Act almost a decade ago, argued that the bubble zone law violated their Charter right to freedom of expression. However, the Court said that although the law does indeed limit free speech, a woman’s right to enter the facility unimpeded is more important. Women seeking abortions are a vulnerable group, and they are entitled to seek necessary medical care in an environment of privacy and dignity, which justifies the limited infringement of protesters’ freedom of speech. The protesters applied for an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, but the Supreme Court recently denied the appeal without comment, which means the bubble zone law now stands as fully constitutional. For this reason, ARCC is exploring the need for, and feasibility of, enacting bubble zone laws in other provinces that may need them, based on BC’s successful law.
Pro-Bono Students Canada project – To that end, ARCC has recently applied to get a pro-bono law student from UBC to do some research. A national group called Pro-bono Students Canada has chapters at many universities across Canada. We expect to hire a UBC student shortly to contact selected clinics across Canada to survey them on the level of anti-choice protests they experience, the response of law enforcement, whether they have a court injunction or other legal remedy to help them and how well that’s working for them, and their opinions about the need and effectiveness of a bubble zone law for their province. The student will prepare a report for us with findings and recommendations, and the project should be completed by spring 2010.
Pro-Choice Student Network project – ARCC is also busy working with university students on another front. We are working on expanding our Pro-Choice Student Network project to the next phase. Last year, we recruited a student from Simon Fraser University to create a great handbook on how to set up a pro-choice group on campus. We have now found a UBC Women’s Studies student for the next phase of the project, which is to actually help more campuses do this. The student will do some networking and organizing to help establish groups on 2 or 3 campuses. Further, the Canadian Federation of Students has created a pro-choice toolkit for students, which includes educational info, Q&A’s about common questions and misconceptions on abortion, buttons and posters, rally chants, a list of pro-choice films, and lists of community health centres for women and pro-choice groups. ARCC is partnering with CFS on this project by posting their kit materials on our website. Within the next few weeks, we will be creating a new resource page on our website for students, and this will also feature our handbook on how to set up a pro-choice group.
40 Days for Life – Carolyn briefly mentioned the 40 Days for Life protest in Toronto. Just to expand on that a bit more, this event occurred during the fall of 2008, Sept to Nov, and there were also anti-abortion vigils in Ottawa and Halifax, as well as Toronto. ARCC was active in particular for Ottawa, helping to coordinate a pro-choice response to protect the clinic. Also, the 40 Days for Life group also got a parade permit for a protest in front of the clinic on Mother’s Day 2009. Along with activists in Ottawa, we responded by organizing a letter-writing campaign to the city and police to request that the permit be revoked. Although that did not happen, the result of our actions was that the clinic established better relations with law enforcement and better response, and we also helped the clinic feel less isolated simply by reaching out and offering assistance. We also connected them to local student activists in Ottawa such as Julie Lalonde, who has been instrumental in pro-choice organizing in Ottawa. This fall, 40 Days for Life plans to hold vigils at 8 clinics in 7 Canadian cities, including Halifax, Fredericton, Montreal, Ottawa, Kitchener, Toronto, and Winnipeg. Two clinics in Toronto will be targeted. At least one pro-choice counter protest is already planned at Women’s Care Clinic in Toronto, and probably others will be organized too. ARCC members will be there to help coordinate and participate in protecting the clinics.
University of Calgary – In February, a media storm erupted when the University of Calgary charged six anti-abortion students with trespassing. The charges stemmed from a November display on campus of graphic photos of alleged aborted fetuses, juxtaposed with photos of genocide victims.ARCC issued a press release supporting the university’s actions, because the students had deliberately risked arrest by ignoring safety restrictions on where and how their display could be set up. The issue was not about the students’ freedom of expression rights being denied. It was about protecting public safety. Further, ARCC was active in promoting the rights of student unions at campuses to deny funding and official club status to anti-choice groups for safety reasons, but also because student unions generally have policies supporting human rights, which include the fundamental right of women to access abortion. ARCC also wrote an open letter to Alan Borovoy, the General Counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, refuting his position supporting funding and club status for anti-choice groups on campus. We did some media around this issue, and helped some student groups directly by sharing information and strategies.
Bill C-484 – The “Unborn Victims of Crime Act” finally died when the election was called last September. But Harper’s opening salvo in the pre-election campaign was to distance his government from the bill. The 10-month long, ARCC-led campaign against the bill drummed up wide-ranging opposition, forcing the government to recognize the problems with it and back down. The Conservative Party did pass a resolution at their fall convention to re-introduce Bill C-484 (or a bill like it), but we still have not seen anything. Meanwhile, ARCC has decided to keep our online petition going, since it may still be usable if/when the bill is re-introduced. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/oppose-bill-c-484.html It currently has 15,873 signatures.
Don’t Play with Women’s Rights campaign. In September 2008, along with other pro-choice groups and women’s rights groups across Canada, ARCC helped plan and coordinate events across the country related to the fall 2008 election. The campaign was called “Don’t Play With Women’s Rights”. It was originally meant to protest Bill C-484, but after the election was called and the bill died, we revamped our plans to be about the election and the Conservative government’s bad record on women’s rights and reproductive rights. A variety of successful events were held in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver.
Post-election – ARCC updated its list of anti-choice MPs after the election, and this is on our website. We continue to keep it updated, for example, after a by-election or when we receive info about the abortion stance of an MP. Currently, 39% of all MPs have an anti-choice stance (68% of Conservatives and 25% of Liberals), but 21% have an unknown stance.
Media work – We regularly respond to media requests for interviews, as well as issue press releases and we publish articles, op-eds, and letters to the editor. Since our last AGM in June, we have issued 8 press releases on various issues, and a variety of articles on our webpage, our newsletter, and in newspapers. To give just one example, we had an op-ed published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 4: “The abortion debate is over and done” which responded to anti-choice MP Rod Bruinooge’s call to re-open the abortion debate, after he became the new Chair of the Parliamentary Pro-life Caucus. After his initial bluster about re-opening the debate, little has been heard from Mr. Bruinooge. We also do public speaking. Joyce is speaking at the Women’s History Month in Halifax, probably in November. Also at the Victoria Secular Humanist Association in late October. Our national media spokespeople are Joyce Arthur, Lianne McTavish, Suzanne Newman, Carolyn Egan, Patrick Powers, Alison Brown, Peggy Cooke, and Christopher Kaposy. Our spokespersons have been active responding to media requests, writing letters to the editor, and speaking at events, vigils, and demonstrations.
Other – ARCC continues to participate in occasional teleconference calls with other leading pro-choice groups in Canada, including NAF, CFSH, and CFC. We regularly receive requests for help or information from the public, students, researchers, and our members, which we respond to as best we can. To give one example, just a couple days ago, we received an email from a woman in BC who was very upset to discover a memorial gravestone for aborted fetuses at her local cemetery. We are working with her to organize a complaint to the cemetery and the city that approved the gravestone. We have also participated in research surveys or offered help to researchers for their projects related to reproductive rights. We continue to publish our newsletter, The Activist/L’Activiste, and the next issue will be out in October. The newsletter is edited and produced by a dedicated crew of volunteers in New Brunswick, headed by Alison Brown and Judy Burwell. ARCC also continues to successfully operate and maintain its website, and also our 3 listservs for members. We recruited a new Treasurer in February, Dean Sinnett, who we also appointed to our Board, as the Treasurer must be a board member. Dean also checks our mailbox and handles the mail. I want to thank everyone on our Board of Directors for all their hard work over the last year. It feels like we’ve been quite busy and accomplished a lot. I think ARCC is doing reasonably well politically in terms of our activities, outreach, and publicity, considering our small size. Our main weaknesses lie in the areas of fundraising and membership growth, which we’ll get to shortly. Thank you very much.
Membership Report
Submitted by Lesley Hoyles, Membership Coordinator
As of September 1, 2009, there are 98 members in good standing (i.e. membership fees are paid up-to-date). Of these, 27 are monthly donors.
Between June 15, 2008 and September 1, 2009, 91 memberships have lapsed.
In addition, 11 supporters have made donations to ARCC since the last AGM in June, 2008.
