The National Executive Board met in Ottawa June 21-23, 2005.
Resolution on Bill C-38 – Equal Marriage
The National Executive Board called on all CUPE divisions, councils, locals, and members to urgently contact their Members of Parliament to immediately pass Bill C-38 before Parliament stands down for summer recess and has issued an immediate press release to this effect.
The federal government lobby was to ensure that the Conservatives’ tactics did not delay this important legislation which will end years of discrimination against gay and lesbian couples. Please check the cupe.ca website for more information.
Americanization of Canada – Deep Integration
Maude Barlow, President of the Council of Canadians, was invited to give a presentation to NEB members on deep integration with the U.S. She talked about the quiet but very real threat to Canada seceding many of its regulations to meet the United States criteria on important social issues such as health and safety, environment, immigration, border security, refugee and defence policy.
She is currently working under tight deadlines to release a book entitled “Too Close For Comfort” which depicts the big business lobby in Canada successfully campaigning for a North American common market and the harmonizing of every aspect of our two regulatory regimes.
2005 CUPE National Convention
Various issues regarding National Convention planning were reviewed by the Board, and it is with incredible excitement that members crafted and endorsed a resolution calling for the expansion of the NEB to include five (5) women vice-president positions.
In addition, another resolution calls for the establishment of a Task Force to:
- Gather a statistical profile of women’s representation at all levels of our Union;
- A review of CUPE’s education program and support for women;
- Consultation on women’s equality issues and needs;
- Receive advice on possible changes to CUPE structures to recognize the diversity of women.
The resolution in its entirety can be found on our cupe.ca website, along with other resolutions endorsed by the NEB on important issues such as health care, child care, living wages, benefits, and others.
Our Union – Getting Stronger and Stronger
The National Office Building Project calls for the construction of a new building. It was agreed that retrofitting the current National Office building would not be a good investment and would still fall short of the growing and specific needs of our Union. Board members endorsed the proposed plan to seek a new site for CUPE.
NEB members also received presentations from the CUPE National Trustees on their 2004 National Trustees Report; approved 2004 Audited Financial Statements, from auditors Deloitte Touche; and an expanded presentation from Ecklers Consultants on a proposed new CUPE Investment Policy. Many thanks to all of them for their dedication and for providing an opportunity for a full and direct debate.
CUPE members will want to review a summary of the scope of our Union’s International Work. The report tabled with NEB members attempts to capture the many areas of activities and is available on CUPE’s website.
Welcome
Welcome to Brother Danny Légère, who attended his first official NEB meeting as Regional Vice-President for New Brunswick, and congratulations to Brother Randy Millage who has recently been appointed as Ontario Assistant Regional Director.