Women’s Equality Prince Edward Island

1.  Status of Women Blog: Women’s Equality PEI

The PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women has set up an interactive online presence at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com

Please visit our new blog and participate in discussions of issues that come up. The blog is an experiment, and if response is positive, we will continue to maintain it. Community Notices are now posted to the blog every Friday as well as being sent out on the mailing list.

2.  Healing Path to Celebration – A Benefit for Kate Poole

Kate Poole is a cherished member of our community who many know as healer, teacher, drummer, wise woman, singing and songwriting woman: an artist of unending creativity. Kate was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Kate’s response was, “Good News! I’ve got CAN – CURE. Please take a moment to give thanks for my healing.”  She is a woman of strength and grace.
 
In the spirit of Kate’s response to her diagnosis, we invite you to join us in a Healing Path to Celebration, a Benefit for Kate, on Saturday, December 8 at the whY, Prince & Euston, Charlottetown.
 
There are several components of this benefit, come for everything, or stop in for one or more of the following. Be sure to purchase one of Kate’s CD’s, never before released recordings of her music and songwriting. $20 each.
 
The Benefit begins with the Healing Path Fair from 3-5pm. Nurture yourself with one of many select therapies, bodywork, energy work and meditation. $1 a minute with a suggested minimum $5 each session.
 
5-6pm  Bring your drum to the Drum Circle and send loving energy to Kate. $5
 
7pm  enjoy Poetry and Song from our artistic community, hosted by Jon Rehder.
 
9pm  Dance to Rhythm Rules, the “can’t sit still, got to get up and groove” band of Jon Rehder, Reg Ballagh, Chris Gauthier and Remi Arsenault. $12 total for evening activities.
 
A Silent Auction offers local fine art and craft.
 
If unable to attend, drop off a donation to Brett’s Cappuccino Cafe at the Charlottetown Farmers Market and Timothy’s World Coffee, University Ave.
 
For more information, email Kele Redmond redmondka@yahoo.ca or call Jon Rehder at 621 2346
 
On behalf of Kate, and the organizing committee, our most heartfelt appreciation for your generosity.

3. You are Invited

To an interfaith Service of Worship in recognition of World AIDS Day on Saturday, Dec 1 at 4:00 P.M.

St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Grafton St., Charlottetown

All of us are aware of the AIDS crisis in the world. This gives us an opportunity to offer our prayers for people living with the disease as well as their families and caregivers. No political speeches, just people gathered in prayer. People from all faiths are welcome and will have an opportunity to share prayers in their own way.

Light Refreshments following the service. A joint project of AIDS PEI and St. Paul’s Church.  For more information contact m-cfradsham@pei.sympatico.ca

4. Montreal Massacre Memorials Islandwide
 
On December 6, 1989, fourteen women were murdered at l’École Polythechnique in Montreal. They were murdered because they were women. December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Memorial Services will be held across the Island to remember all women who have been victims of violence. All services take place at 12 noon, December 6, 2007.
 
     CHARLOTTETOWN: Memorial Hall, Confederation Centre. For information call 368-4510.
  
     O’LEARY: O’Leary United Church. For information call 859-3916 or 859-8849.
 
     SUMMERSIDE: Summerside Baptist Church. For information call 436-9856.
 
     UPEI CAMPUS: For more information call 628-4332.
 
  
     First mourn, then work for change.
 
 
     Second Annual Memorial Service in O’Leary
 
West Prince Family Violence Prevention Cooperative along with the Silent Witness Program invite you to be a part of the 2nd annual Memorial Service being held on December 6, 2007 at the O’Leary United Church from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.  We will be honoring, during a candle lighting ceremony, the 14 young women who were murdered at the Polytechnique l’Ecole in Montreal in 1989 and we will be presenting the Silent Witness Exhibit, which are  life sized silhouettes each bearing the name, age & personal background information of 9 women who have been murdered here on P.E.I.  This exhibit is to create awareness of family violence issues and to promote action.  Please join us for this time of remembrance.

5.  National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO) Event
 
This is to inform that Rob Rainer, Executive Director of the National Anti-Poverty Organization will be on PEI on December 6, 2007, and will give a presentation at the AVC Lecture Theatre A (UPEI Campus, Charlottetown) from 7-9. Mr. Rainer will give a briefing on particular issues, such as the Guaranteed Adequate Income (GAI),
the Living Wage Campaign, and other topics, and will hold Q&A and meet and greet. NAPO hopes you can make it, and asks that you please spread the word.
 
The event is being organized by Shannon Pollard (sdixonpollard@hotmail.com), the PEI rep for NAPO.

6.  PEI Business Women’s Association Lunch and Learn:   The Art of Networking….Get Your Sparkle On

Thursday, December 6, 2007 – Summerside

 Presenter:  Sherry Pelkey, The Marrek Group

What is networking? Why network? Where to network? How is it done? Do you know about the 2’s & 3’s? If not, this is a great seminar to help you gain the confidence you need to be successful. Develop your introduction and learn the secret of what networking is really about!  This is the time of year when many of us are attending numerous holiday networking events. Get your sparkle on and take this opportunity to refresh your networking skills.

Time:                12:00 – 1:30 pm                       

Cost:                 $15 + GST for members

$20 + GST for non-members

Location:          Loyalist Lakeview Resort, Summerside

To register, contact Elizabeth Noonan by e-mail at elizabeth@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 436-0386.  Registration deadline: Wednesday, December 5 at 12 noon.   Cancellation Policy:  If you register for a session and are unable to attend, please let us know 48 hours in advance.  People who do not cancel in advance will be invoiced.

7.  Invitation to discussion on the Health of Canadian Youth

The PEI HRI is pleased to be hosting an event called “Café Scientifique”,
funded by CIHR. The discussion will focus on finding ways to improve the
health of Canadian youth by evaluating nutrition policy in elementary
schools and discovering new ways to disrupt smoking patterns in pregnant
adolescents.

CIHR-funded speakers from UPEI include Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Department of
Family and Nutritional Sciences and Dr. Colleen MacQuarrie, Department of
Psychology.

The goal is to engage the public and heighten awareness of the significant
role that science and research play in improving the health of Canadians. We
anticipate that the topic will encourage interactive dialogue, allowing the
researchers to deliver key messages as well as providing an opportunity to
gain insight from the public.

This event will take place on Tuesday, December 4, 3:00-5:00 P.M. at the
Culinary Institute of Canada Room 246. Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP Jennifer Jelley at the PEI Health Research Institute to
register:  (902) 894-2812   peihri@upei.ca

8.  2007 Plum Pudding Campaign

The 4th annual plum pudding campaign is underway. Pat and Silas Robinson are gearing up for another successful fundraising campaign. This year the proceeds of all of the puddings will go to the PEI Humane Society (by decree of Silas).

The PEI Humane Society is a non-profit organization. The Society serves the province of PEI, providing care to thousands of injured, stray, homeless and abandoned animals. The work of the PEI Humane Society is made possible by the generosity of supporters and volunteers. They are a registered charitable organization, and listed with Revenue Canada under the following registration number: 11910-3133-RR001. A volunteer Board of Directors, comprised of community leaders who are interested in the welfare and humane treatment of animals, governs the P.E.I. Humane Society. The PEI Humane Society is the only humane society or SPCA working on Prince Edward Island for Island animals.

Please help us support the PEI Humane Society! In other years, we have raised over $3,000 for local charities – let’s have our best year yet!

Plum puddings sell for $8 or two puddings for $15. They are vegetarian friendly, low fat, low sugar.

Beautifully wrapped with a recipe for the sauce attached. They make fantastic gifts or host presents.

To place an order or to get further information, please call (902) 566-4388. You can leave a message or email us at plumpudding@eastlink.ca We need a name, contact number and number of puddings desired.

9. Your Purchase Makes a Global Difference!

Ten Thousand Villages is coming to the Island! Six PEI communities are hosting sales of beautiful, fairly- traded gifts benefitting artisans from 35 Third World countries. Ten Thousand Villages is a project of Mennonite Central Committee, the outreach arm of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America. Below is a list of the PEI sales for remaining December dates:
UPEI: Tuesday, December 4, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 5, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and on Thursday, December 6, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM in the W. A. Murphy Student Center. The gifts you buy at the Ten Thousand Villages Sales will give the blessings of steady work, fair wages, and a better life for struggling families around the world. For more information call John Burka at (902) 367-9343. Your purchase makes a global difference!

10. International Day for Disabled Persons – December 3, 2007

Plans are now underway for International Day for Disabled Persons 2007. The Prince Edward Island Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues invites you to participate in the “Opening Minds, Opening Doors, Seeing the Abilities” campaign by hosting an event at your organization or workplace. Ideas for events include open houses, workshops, information sessions or events by and for persons with disabilities.

Please contact the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues with your event details. A calendar of events will be published for public information during the week of November 26, 2007. Please register your event by November 15th by calling 368-5967 or send an e-mail to cmferguson@gov.pe.ca. International Day for Disabled Persons 2007 posters will also be available upon request.

11. “Managing Conflict in Your Business” Workshop

If conflict is handled effectively, a business and its people can experience positive growth, harmonious relationships, increased productivity, greater financial stability and many other healthy outcomes.
Sign up to learn about:

* Identifying factors that can lead to conflict
* Gaining skills in dispute avoidance
* Understanding that communication is the most powerful tool to manage conflict

* Realizing the costs that such conflict can bring to the working environment

Target audience – all business owners and managers welcome

Date:               Friday, December 7     8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m
Location:          Inn on the Hill
Trainers:         Kirstin Lund & Christine Clements
Register:         Contact Carolyn Prime, IT Sector Council
                        Tel: (902) 566-3988 E-mail: info@itsc.ca
                        or ProfitLearn PEI E-mail:  marweeks@upei.ca
                        All PEI business-owners welcome to participate
Cost:                $68.00 (+GST) per participant,           Payment at registration: VISA,  Mastercard or cheque payable to the IT Sector Council.
Coffee and snacks provided, but lunch is on your own
Minimum of 10 participants required for workshop to be held. For more info, contact marweeks@upei.ca

12. Preventing Climate Change Chaos

ECOPEI invites all activists committed to preventing climate change chaos to a film-showing and discussion at UPEI Main Bldg., 1st floor, 7-9pm on Monday, Dec. 10th. To get involved and for more details, please contact Tony Reddin at 675-4093 <marionc@isn.net> or Shannon Hartigan 569-7990 <shannon@isn.net>, or go to www.climatechaos.ca and www.ecopei.ca .

Discussion will be inspired by a 48-page Special Issue on the Alberta Tar Sands recently published by ‘The Dominion’- Canada’s Grassroots Newspaper, now available at Econet, UPEI and the C/C library; see also http://dominionpaper.ca/tarsands and info below. [articles include Kim Petersen's report on the community of Fort Chipewyan and the effects on water downstream from the Tar Sands; Lindsay Bird's account of working in a camp near Fort McMurray; a series of comics by Katie Beaton, and much, much more!]

You may have heard about the Tar Sands.

If you’re in the Maritimes, you probably know someone who works there. If you live in Alberta, you probably hear about it being a major source of economic growth. If you’re connected to environmental groups, you probably know that continued development in the Tar Sands will make it impossible for Canada to meet its treaty obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.You may have seen some footage of big trucks on TV.

The Tar Sands are on pace to become the largest industrial project in human history, built on public land and subsidized by provincial and federal governments. And yet, very few people have a substantial understanding of the world’s first “Gigaproject.” In addition to being unfathomably large, extraction of Tar Sands is also setting global precedents in terms of how we deal with: The decline in oil supply; Indigenous rights and title to land; Climate change and emissions; Labour rights and migrant workers’ rights; Use of public land; and Corporate power and social movements.

To increase public understanding of these issues, The Dominion has assembled an army of writers, journalists, researchers, people directly affected by the Tar Sands extraction, oil workers and others to explain the far-reaching effects of Tar Sands development in Alberta and what it means for the future in Canada and globally. For more, go to the website, http://dominionpaper.ca/tarsands

13. Festive Open House

Voluntary Resource Centre, 81 Prince Street

Friday, Dec. 14th from 12-2pm.

Drop by for refreshments, view our newly renovated space, note the accessible Boardroom, check out the services/office space available and relax with positively progressive people!

Open to all – inquire to vrcadmin@isn.net
14. Supporting mothers and infants in violent relationships

Good afternoon,
    
I am a researcher at UPEI (working with Dr. Kim Critchley, Dean of Nursing) on a project called ‘The Mothering Study: Supporting mothers and infants in violent relationships’. If you, or anyone you know (moms or service providers) may be interested in this, please feel free to pass along the information. Also, if you have any list servs or email lists that may aid in getting the word out, I would greatly appreciate it.
    
I can be reached by phone or email   if you would like to discuss anything further.
Thank you in advance,
    
Julie Bull, B. A (h), MAHSR (c) 902-368-1570   ipvresearch@hotmail.com

15.  PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada Announcements

1) PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada Annual Open House, Friday, December 14th, 2007 from 1-3pm.  The board and staff of the PEI ANC invite you to enjoy an afternoon social to share the joy of the season.  Please join us for some food, music, and a special visit from Santa.  For more info call:  628-6009

2) Volunteer as a ‘Holiday Host’ With Newcomers to Canada

Welcome a new family to Canada by volunteering for project ‘Holiday Host’, through the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada.  In this program you will experience a cultural exchange by inviting a family into your home for a meal over the holidays.  We can connect you with a family spending their first Christmas in Canada. For more information, call Erica at 628-6009, email erica@peianc.com, or visit www.peianc.com

3) ‘Focus on Burma’  Event will include:  1) a photo display taken by youth inside the refugee camps of the Karen people in Thailand and inside Burma (Myanmar), 2) a brief presentation on the past and current situation for refugees from Burma, 3) a welcome for some Karen families who have recently made PEI their home, 4) entertainment and a traditional Karen snack, and 5) simple and immediate actions that can support the people under persecution in Burma

·         Wednesday, December 12, 7:00-8:30pm

·         Free admission, everyone welcome

·         PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada Office, in the Confederation Court Mall  (There will be signs and people to guide you at the University Ave. entrance of the Mall)

Erica Carragher, Host Program – Community Outreach Team, PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada, 25 University Ave., Holman Building Suite 400, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 8C4   ph.:  (902) 628-6009  fax.:  (902) 894-4928  email:  erica@peianc.com website:  www.peianc.com

16.  The Return of BARAKA
 
The 2nd Annual BARAKA Day celebration will be held at Le Carrefour de l’Ile St-Jean on Saturday, March 1st.
 
BARAKA Day is an occasion to celebrate the long-time association between Prince Edward Island and Africa, extending from the days of slavery on the Island, two centuries ago, to the present-day influx of students and immigrants of African origin. The co-sponsoring organizations are the Black Islanders Co-operative and Farmers Helping Farmers, in association with CUSO, the PEI Newcomers Association, and the City of Charlottetown.
 
BARAKA 2008 will include a day-time Fair with displays, demonstrations, ethnic food,  crafts, free performances and various other free events for the whole family. The evening will feature a special Farmers Helping Farmers fund-raising Concert, highlighting music with an African flavour. Many amazing musicians will be performing, including: The Baraka Band, JaNuba,  The Count and the Cuban Cocktail, Fugato and No Fuss Movers.
 
Admission to the Fair portion of BARAKA Day is FREE. Tickets for the evening Concert are $20.00 and can be purchased from members of Farmers Helping Farmers (see www.farmershelpingfarmers.ca for contact information, or email n.shaw@pei.sympatico.ca).
 
A full program of activities, speakers, and performers will be published early in the New Year.
 
In the meantime, be sure to mark your calendars for March 1st!   

_____________________
For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.

1. Join Us for the Purple Ribbon Campaign Launch: Violence Against Women IS an Equality Issue!

All are welcome to join the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women on MONDAY to launch the 2007 Purple Ribbon Campaign Against Violence. The launch will take place with a media conference featuring Premier Robert Ghiz, Valerie Docherty (Minister Responsible for the Status of Women), and Kirstin Lund (Chairperson of the Advisory Council). The campaign this year looks at the root of violence against women — women’s inequality.

Monday, November 26, 2007

10:30 a.m.

Studio Theatre, Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown

Bilingual Purple Ribbon Campaign materials are available at PEIACSW Website — http://www.gov.pe.ca/acsw and Blog — http://peiacsw.wordpress.com

For further information about the Purple Ribbon Campaign, contact Sandy Kowalik, Purple Ribbon Co-ordinator (902) 368-4510 (office) 

2. Status of Women Blog: Women’s Equality PEI

The PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women has set up an interactive online presence at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com

Please visit our new blog and participate in discussions of issues that come up. The blog is an experiment, and if response is positive, we will continue to maintain it. Community Notices are now posted to the blog every Friday as well as being sent out on the mailing list.

3. 2007 Plum Pudding Campaign

The 4th annual plum pudding campaign is underway. Pat and Silas Robinson are gearing up for another successful fundraising campaign. This year the proceeds of all of the puddings will go to the PEI Humane Society (by decree of Silas).

The PEI Humane Society is a non-profit organization. The Society serves the province of PEI, providing care to thousands of injured, stray, homeless and abandoned animals. The work of the PEI Humane Society is made possible by the generosity of supporters and volunteers. They are a registered charitable organization, and listed with Revenue Canada under the following registration number: 11910-3133-RR001. A volunteer Board of Directors, comprised of community leaders who are interested in the welfare and humane treatment of animals, governs the P.E.I. Humane Society. The PEI Humane Society is the only humane society or SPCA working on Prince Edward Island for Island animals.

Please help us support the PEI Humane Society! In other years, we have raised over $3,000 for local charities – let’s have our best year yet!

Plum puddings sell for $8 or two puddings for $15. They are vegetarian friendly, low fat, low sugar.

Beautifully wrapped with a recipe for the sauce attached. They make fantastic gifts or host presents.

To place an order or to get further information, please call (902) 566-4388. You can leave a message or email us at plumpudding@eastlink.ca We need a name, contact number and number of puddings desired.

4. Children’s Fun Day in Summerside

Date: Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Time: 12 pm – 3 pm
Location: Summerside Wellness Centre
Activities: Skating, Swimming, Bowling, Learning Centres
Cost: FREE

5. Your Purchase Makes a Global Difference!

Ten Thousand Villages is coming to the Island! Six PEI communities are hosting sales of beautiful, fairly- traded gifts benefiting artisans from 35 Third World countries. Ten Thousand Villages is a project of Mennonite Central Committee, the outreach arm of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America. Below is a list of the PEI sales for remaining Nov. and Dec. dates:· Crapaud: Friday, November 23, from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM and on Saturday, November 24, from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM at the Englewood School on the Trans-Canada Highway at Crapaud· UPEI: Tuesday, December 4, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 5, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and on Thursday, December 6, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM in the W. A. Murphy Student Center.The gifts you buy at the Ten Thousand Villages Sales will give the blessings of steady work, fair wages, and a better life for struggling families around the world. For more information call John Burka at (902) 367-9343. Your purchase makes a global difference!

6. PEI Business Women’s Association Lunch and Learn:

Women and Mortgages

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 – Charlottetown
Presenter: Rosemary Ghiz, Verico, Mortgage Consultant

Learn how to get the respect you deserve and a mortgage loan that is designed with your business in mind! This seminar is intended to lessen that intimidation factor by arming you with some invaluable information. What steps do you need to take? Who do you need to talk to?

Join Rosemary Ghiz as she shares her 20+ years in the mortgage industry with the PEI Business Women’s Association. You won’t want to miss it…. she doesn’t take the biggest purchase of your life lightly. She treats your mortgage financing as if it were her own.

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Cost: $15 + GST for PEIBWA members
$20 + GST for non-members
Location: Kent Room, Rodd Charlottetown Hotel, Kent Street, Charlotttetown

To register, contact Susan Jefferson by e-mail at office@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 892-6040. Registration deadline: Friday, November 23, 2007 at 4 pm

Cancellation Policy: If you register for a session and are unable to attend, please let us know 48 hours in advance. People who do not cancel in advance will be invoiced.

7. SAGE ANNNUAL GENERAL MEETING

SAGE invites you to their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, November 27, St. Paul’s Hall, 101 Prince St.. Finger foods and social begin at 5:00pm, meeting at 5:30pm.

A presentation outlining an empowerment, education and prevention strategy with special attention to progress to date will be shared. Volunteer opportunities to support ending child sexual abuse will be discussed and new board executive will be announced.

Anyone with an interested in supporting the work of SAGE, please feel most welcome to attend.

SAGE is a non-profit organization committed to ending child sexual abuse in Prince Edward island.

For information visit www.sagepei.org or call 676 3037 or 566 4961

8. International Day for Disabled Persons – December 3, 2007

Plans are now underway for International Day for Disabled Persons 2007. The Prince Edward Island Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues invites you to participate in the “Opening Minds, Opening Doors, Seeing the Abilities” campaign by hosting an event at your organization or workplace. Ideas for events include open houses, workshops, information sessions or events by and for persons with disabilities.

Please contact the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues with your event details. A calendar of events will be published for public information during the week of November 26, 2007. Please register your event by November 15th by calling 368-5967 or send an e-mail to cmferguson@gov.pe.ca. International Day for Disabled Persons 2007 posters will also be available upon request.

9. Preventing Climate Change Chaos

ECOPEI invites all activists committed to preventing climate change chaos to a film-showing and discussion at UPEI Main Bldg., 1st floor, 7-9pm on Monday, Dec. 10th. To get involved and for more details, please contact Tony Reddin at 675-4093 <marionc@isn.net> or Shannon Hartigan 569-7990 <shannon@isn.net>, or go to www.climatechaos.ca and www.ecopei.ca .

Discussion will be inspired by a 48-page Special Issue on the Alberta Tar Sands recently published by ‘The Dominion’- Canada’s Grassroots Newspaper, now available at Econet, UPEI and the C/C library; see also http://dominionpaper.ca/tarsands and info below. [articles include Kim Petersen's report on the community of Fort Chipewyan and the effects on water downstream from the Tar Sands; Lindsay Bird's account of working in a camp near Fort McMurray; a series of comics by Katie Beaton, and much, much more!]

You may have heard about the Tar Sands.

If you’re in the Maritimes, you probably know someone who works there. If you live in Alberta, you probably hear about it being a major source of economic growth. If you’re connected to environmental groups, you probably know that continued development in the Tar Sands will make it impossible for Canada to meet its treaty obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.You may have seen some footage of big trucks on TV.

The Tar Sands are on pace to become the largest industrial project in human history, built on public land and subsidized by provincial and federal governments. And yet, very few people have a substantial understanding of the world’s first “Gigaproject.” In addition to being unfathomably large, extraction of Tar Sands is also setting global precedents in terms of how we deal with: The decline in oil supply; Indigenous rights and title to land; Climate change and emissions; Labour rights and migrant workers’ rights; Use of public land; and Corporate power and social movements.

To increase public understanding of these issues, The Dominion has assembled an army of writers, journalists, researchers, people directly affected by the Tar Sands extraction, oil workers and others to explain the far-reaching effects of Tar Sands development in Alberta and what it means for the future in Canada and globally. For more, go to the website, http://dominionpaper.ca/tarsands

10. Festive Open House

Voluntary Resource Centre, 81 Prince Street

Friday, Dec. 14th from 12-2pm.

Drop by for refreshments, view our newly renovated space, note the accessible Boardroom, check out the services/office space available and relax with positively progressive people!

Open to all – inquire to vrcadmin@isn.net

11. Supporting mothers and infants in violent relationships

Good afternoon,

I am a researcher at UPEI (working with Dr. Kim Critchley, Dean of Nursing) on a project called ‘The Mothering Study: Supporting mothers and infants in violent relationships’. If you, or anyone you know (moms or service providers) may be interested in this, please feel free to pass along the information. Also, if you have any list servs or email lists that may aid in getting the word out, I would greatly appreciate it.

I can be reached by phone or email if you would like to discuss anything further.
Thank you in advance,

Julie Bull, B. A (h), MAHSR (c) 902-368-1570 ipvresearch@hotmail.com

12. Pesticide Hearings

As you may be aware, the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment has been given the mandate to study the implementation of a province-wide ban on cosmetic pesticides. They are requesting submissions to the committee.

Anyone wishing to do a individual presentation is highly encouraged to do so, either to give a personal story or to represent an organization. Written submissions are also being accepted. If all you can do is either phone or email to say that you support a province-wide ban, then that voice is also very important. The deadline to register to do an oral presentation is this Friday, November 23rd. A schedule will be set up once the registrations have been received. Presentations could begin as early as the first week in December. The other thing you can do is to pass this along to all your contacts. We want to show province-wide support for the idea. It would be helpful if you could let me know what you plan to do by emailing <marionc@isn.net>

Many thanks, Marion

Here is the contact information:
phone: 902-368-5972
email: assembly@gov.pe.ca
fax:902-368-5175
mail: Standing Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Environment
Office of the Clerk
Province House
PO Box 2000
Charlottetown, PEI
C1A 7N8

13. PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada Announcements

1) PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada Annual Open House, Friday, December 14th, 2007 from 1-3pm. The board and staff of the PEI ANC invite you to enjoy an afternoon social to share the joy of the season. Please join us for some food, music, and a special visit from Santa. For more info call: 628-6009

2) Volunteer as a ‘Holiday Host’ With Newcomers to Canada

Welcome a new family to Canada by volunteering for project ‘Holiday Host’, through the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada. In this program you will experience a cultural exchange by inviting a family into your home for a meal over the holidays. We can connect you with a family spending their first Christmas in Canada. For more information, call Erica at 628-6009, email erica@peianc.com, or visit www.peianc.com

3)‘Focus on Burma’ Event will include: 1) a photo display taken by youth inside the refugee camps of the Karen people in Thailand and inside Burma (Myanmar), 2) a brief presentation on the past and current situation for refugees from Burma, 3) a welcome for some Karen families who have recently made PEI their home, 4) entertainment and a traditional Karen snack, and 5) simple and immediate actions that can support the people under persecution in Burma

· Wednesday, December 12, 7:00-8:30pm

· Free admission, everyone welcome

· PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada Office, in the Confederation Court Mall (There will be signs and people to guide you at the University Ave. entrance of the Mall)

Erica Carragher, Host Program – Community Outreach Team, PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada, 25 University Ave., Holman Building Suite 400, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 8C4 ph.: (902) 628-6009 fax.: (902) 894-4928 email: erica@peianc.com website: www.peianc.com

_____________________
For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.

1. Status of Women Blog: Women’s Equality PEI

The PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women has set up an interactive online presence at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com

Please visit our new blog and participate in discussions of issues that come up. The blog is an experiment, and if response is positive, we will continue to maintain it. Community Notices are now posted to the blog every Friday as well as being sent out on the mailing list.

2. Benefit Dance

for Donalda MacDonald (recently diagnosed with lung/liver cancer) November 17th, 2007, 8 pm-midnight, Howard Johnson, TransCanada Highway (the old Dutch Inn)
Live Band with Davis Ward
There will also be a :
1. silent auction (donations accepted)
2. 50/50 Draw
3. Chance to win $1,000 Bill.

Donations accepted. This benefit fund will assist Donalda with medical, travel expenses and support the necessary lifestyle changes. For more information contact committee members Stacy Delany 888-2191; Lori MacKay 892-8951

On a positive note, Sister Donalda MacDonald was the winner of the Grace Hartman Award at the CUPE National Convention for her work on women’s and equality issues, part of the citation quoted from the letter of support received from The Women’s Network –and as you would guess Sister Donalda spoke very courageously and eloquently re equality issues afterwards.

3. My Heart Is Moved CD Launch

On November 18 at 2:00pm, the doors open to launch a unique recording of songs that come from, and connect us to, the urgent wisdom of the Earth Charter. Everyone is invited to celebrate the release of My Heart is Moved with songwriter Carolyn McDade and the Atlantic Gaia Singers at St. Paul’s Church, corner of Prince and Grafton, in downtown Charlottetown. Admission is free.

The Earth Charter is an international declaration endorsed by thousands of organizations the world over. It presents the changes necessary for us to be in right relationship with each other, and the Earth. This CD recording, My Heart Is Moved, is part of the answer of how we do that. For many years women throughout North America have gathered with composer and visionary Carolyn McDade, to sing and create intentional communities. In June 2007, 85 women, including many from Atlantic Canada, travelled to Boston to record vocal tracks for this CD. They brought with themthe amazing preparation and commitment of their local communities. They also brought months of contemplation about the Earth Charter and the inspiration of singing its message. The Charter as text is meaningful; as song it is transformational. This launch and CD release is our way to honour all who work toward creating reverent and sustainable lives; those who, as poet Adrienne Rich says, “…with no extraordinary power reconstitute the world”.

For additional information: Michelle Jay 892-2085 and Maureen Larkin 569-5038Websites: www.carolynmcdademusic.com/heart.html www.earthcharter.org

4. 2007 Plum Pudding Campaign

The 4th annual plum pudding campaign is underway. Pat and Silas Robinson are gearing up for another successful fundraising campaign. This year the proceeds of all of the puddings will go to the PEI Humane Society (by decree of Silas).

The PEI Humane Society is a non-profit organization. The Society serves the province of PEI, providing care to thousands of injured, stray, homeless and abandoned animals. The work of the PEI Humane Society is made possible by the generosity of supporters and volunteers. They are a registered charitable organization, and listed with Revenue Canada under the following registration number: 11910-3133-RR001. A volunteer Board of Directors, comprised of community leaders who are interested in the welfare and humane treatment of animals, governs the P.E.I. Humane Society. The PEI Humane Society is the only humane society or SPCA working on Prince Edward Island for Island animals.

Please help us support the PEI Humane Society! In other years, we have raised over $3,000 for local charities – let’s have our best year yet!

Plum puddings sell for $8 or two puddings for $15. They are vegetarian friendly, low fat, low sugar.

Beautifully wrapped with a recipe for the sauce attached. They make fantastic gifts or host presents.

To place an order or to get further information, please call (902) 566-4388. You can leave a message or email us at plumpudding@eastlink.ca We need a name, contact number and number of puddings desired.

5. Solar Shelter Workshop

The PEI Energy Project will be hosting a solar workshop November 16, 17, and 18 offered by Don Roscoe through Solar Nova Scotia. This workshop will be a practical how to course on designing and building solar shelter, including greenhouses, solaria, additions and especially solar homes. The course is intended for the general public and for those in design and construction.

Course Outline: Friday, November 16:7:00pm – 9:30pm

1. Solar Basics – Solar for electricity, active and passive solar for heat and hot water

Saturday, November 17: 8:30am-5:00pm

2. Climate Control – for comfort and health, energy and the environment

3. Site Designing – working with nature

Sunday, November 18: 8:30am-5:00pm

4. Shelter Designing – bringing you, your needs and your site together

5. Shelter Construction – ground frost insulation, heat storage slabs, glazing types and systems and solar mechanicals

6. Making it Happen – costing, controlling costs, contracting, doing it yourself, case studies and other approaches

The Friday portion of the course is open to the public free of cost. To continue participation on Saturday and Sunday the course cost is $90 per person, $150 per couple. For early registration (before November 9) the cost is $80 per person and $140 per couple. The workshop is being held at the Holland College Charlottetown Centre, CLFI Building, Kent Street Entrance.

For more information or to register contact Kate at 566-4696, project@ecopei.ca, or stop by her office at 126 Richmond Street.

6. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

The Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce and ProfitLearn PEI are pleased to present“Performance Management”
This workshop is interactive, informative and fun – it could make a big difference for you, as you strive to make your business a great place to work!

This is a workshop about:
-increasing your confidence as a manager in clarifying expectations
-providing feedback and conducting a performance review
-building a framework for improving the performance of your staff
-accomplishing more in the workplace through great communication

Target audience: anyone with responsibility for the work of other staff
Date: Tuesday November 20
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Location: Holiday Inn Express
Facilitator: Elizabeth Grimmett
To Register: Contact Winnie at the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber
e-mail: chamber@charlottetownchamber.com
Tel: 628-2000
Cost: $45.00 (+GST) per participant
Payment at registration: VISA, MasterCard, Cheque payable to GCCC

7. National Child Day and Events – Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Charlottetown - The Early Childhood Development Association will be hosting a Children’s Walking Parade on Tuesday, November 20 in Charottetown to celebrate National Child Day. The parade is set to start at 10 am sharp in front of the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel on Kent Street. The parade route will go along Kent Street to Unviersity Avenue and down to Province House and over to Memorial Hall, Confederation Centre. Please, no ride on or pull along floats/toys. If your licensed child care centre requires arrangements for Transportation, please call Sonya at the ECDA 368-1866 or 894-2077. Transportation is being provided by Trius Tours at $1.00/person. Volunteers needed for the parade, if interested please call Sonya at the ECDA 368-1866 or 894-2077.

Summerside - Children’s Walking Parade
The Early Childhood Development Association will be hosting a Children’s Walking Parade in Summerside. The parade will begin at 10:00 am at the Loyalist Lakeview Resort parking lot. The route: up Granville Street, turn left on to Fizroy, left on to Summers Street, turn left onto Water Street and then turn right on Granville Street and back to the Loyalist Lakeview Resort. Barbeque to follow the Parade. For more information, please call Angie at 436-2824.

8. Children’s Fun Day in Summerside

Date: Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Time: 12 pm – 3 pm
Location: Summerside Wellness Centre
Activities: Skating, Swimming, Bowling, Learning Centres
Cost: FREE

9. Your Purchase Makes a Global Difference!

Ten Thousand Villages is coming to the Island! Six PEI communities are hosting sales of beautiful, fairly- traded gifts benefiting artisans from 35 Third World countries. Ten Thousand Villages is a project of Mennonite Central Committee, the outreach arm of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America. Below is a list of the PEI sales for remaining Nov. and Dec. dates:· Crapaud: Friday, November 23, from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM and on Saturday, November 24, from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM at the Englewood School on the Trans-Canada Highway at Crapaud· UPEI: Tuesday, December 4, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 5, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and on Thursday, December 6, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM in the W. A. Murphy Student Center.The gifts you buy at the Ten Thousand Villages Sales will give the blessings of steady work, fair wages, and a better life for struggling families around the world. For more information call John Burka at (902) 367-9343. Your purchase makes a global difference!

10. Workshop

BECOMING THE PERSON YOU ARE MEANT TO BE: you will find this workshop is both positive and affirming. It is an experience of self-discovery and development that explores in depth the question: Who AM I? We look at the self-image and its impact on life; the influence of the environment; the being – that deep core of the human person; your freedom, intellect and will from the aspect of living your life well; your body, and the role and place of the deep conscience in decision-making. Also covered are the attitudes required for progress and what fosters balance in a growth process while helping you to become the person you are meant to be.

Dates: (Please register for only one time frame.)
1). Tuesdays and Thursdays: October Sept. 10 – November 19, Time: (9:30 am-12:00 pm) 2). Two Weekends, Nov. 16 -18 and Nov. 30 – Dec. 2 Time: Fri. eve. 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm, Sat. & Sun. 9:00 am – 4:30p pm Cost: Please email or call to receive the PRH Scale of Fees

Place: Mount St. Mary’s
Facilitator: Sr. Myrna Aylward, Licensed PRH Counselor and Educator
Information and to register: Sr. Myrna: 892-6585 or myrna@transforming-self.com

11. Out of the Box Reading Workshop

Teach your child to read!
Date: Saturday, November 17th, 2007
Time: 9:00 to 12:00
Location: Murphy Community Centre, Charlottetown
Cost: FREE!
To register: Call Martha @ 838-2694 or e-mail mmaclean@pei.aibn.com

You will learn:

• The importance of teaching your child to read early-especially if he or she has Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities
• How to teach your child to read single words, couplets, phrases, sentences and books
• How to create flashcards to use with your child
• How other parents are teaching their children to read

This event is sponsored by “HOST GROUP”.

About the Speakers

Denise MacDonald and Karen Evershed’s dream is that all children learn to read. Through workshops, guest speaking engagements, personal outreach, and Out of the Box Reading, this exceptional program has touched hundreds of lives in just two short years. This engaging workshop provides parents and educators with the tools they need to give children the greatest gift ever – the gift of learning. For more information: www.outoftheboxreading.com

12. PEI Business Women’s Association Lunch and Learn: Women and Mortgages

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 – Charlottetown
Presenter: Rosemary Ghiz, Verico, Mortgage Consultant

Learn how to get the respect you deserve and a mortgage loan that is designed with your business in mind! This seminar is intended to lessen that intimidation factor by arming you with some invaluable information. What steps do you need to take? Who do you need to talk to?

Join Rosemary Ghiz as she shares her 20+ years in the mortgage industry with the PEI Business Women’s Association. You won’t want to miss it…. she doesn’t take the biggest purchase of your life lightly. She treats your mortgage financing as if it were her own.

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Cost: $15 + GST for PEIBWA members
$20 + GST for non-members
Location: Kent Room, Rodd Charlottetown Hotel, Kent Street, Charlotttetown

To register, contact Susan Jefferson by e-mail at office@peibwa.org or by phone at (902) 892-6040. Registration deadline: Friday, November 23, 2007 at 4 pm

Cancellation Policy: If you register for a session and are unable to attend, please let us know 48 hours in advance. People who do not cancel in advance will be invoiced.

13. SAGE ANNNUAL GENERAL MEETING

SAGE invites you to their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, November 27, St. Paul’s Hall, 101 Prince St.. Finger foods and social begin at 5:00pm, meeting at 5:30pm.

A presentation outlining an empowerment, education and prevention strategy with special attention to progress to date will be shared. Volunteer opportunities to support ending child sexual abuse will be discussed and new board executive will be announced.

Anyone with an interested in supporting the work of SAGE, please feel most welcome to attend.

SAGE is a non-profit organization committed to ending child sexual abuse in Prince Edward island.

For information visit www.sagepei.org or call 676 3037 or 566 4961

14. Child Care Programs in Canada

Dear Members, Partners and Colleagues: I am writing to you today about a clear and present threat to our collective vision for a comprehensive, community-based child care system. A multinational corporate child care chain is in Canada today. It appears that an agent of 123 Busy Beavers Learning Centres, a partner of 123 Global, has been actively seeking to purchase existing child care programs in Alberta, BC and Ontario. All Canadians should be alarmed about this development, and immediately raise their concerns across communities and with provincial and federal governments. If allowed to take hold in Canada, we believe that the effects of multinational corporate child care will be broadly felt across our country.

One-size-fits-all child care warehouses are not the solution to the ongoing child care crisis in this country. Lessons from elsewhere – particularly Australia – make clear that we should call on governments to protect our children from being used as publicly-traded commodities. The potential buyout of our community child care services by a foreign corporation is very likely to result in increased parent fees and/or decreased attention to the elements of quality child care. Provincial/territorial child care operating funding and parent subsidies will be directed to increase shareholder profits, a misuse of out tax dollars. Far from being a solution to Canadians’ child care needs, foreign ownership will take us far away from our vision of a system that is high-quality, affordable, accessible, and community based.

More public funding for child care is essential, and countries with effective child care systems show us that public funding must be tied to accountability for service, ensuring that it goes toward greater quality, affordability and accessibility. Bill C303, if enacted, would both put a stop to the threat of multinational corporate child care in Canada, and also establish criteria and conditions that would ensure that a quality, affordable, universal and accountable child care system could then be created. On Wednesday, October 31st Code Blue for Child Care held a press conference with opposition critics to raise awareness about the importance of community based child care and to urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act quickly against the threat of foreign takeover of Canada’s child care programs by passing Bill C303, the Early Learning and Child Care Act. “We are at a critical juncture in this country,” said Shellie Bird, coalition spokesperson for the event, “there is an urgent need to protect Canadian child care from foreign corporate takeover.”

To find out more about the threat of multinational corporate child care in Canada see the Code Blue for Child Care website.
For more info: Jody Dallaire, Board Chair, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC)

714 – 151 rue Slater St, Ottawa, ON K1P 5H3, Phone/Tél. 613.594.3196 Fax/Téléc. 613.594.9375
info@ccaac.ca www.ccaac.ca

15. International Day for Disabled Persons – December 3, 2007

Plans are now underway for International Day for Disabled Persons 2007. The Prince Edward Island Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues invites you to participate in the “Opening Minds, Opening Doors, Seeing the Abilities” campaign by hosting an event at your organization or workplace. Ideas for events include open houses, workshops, information sessions or events by and for persons with disabilities.

Please contact the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues with your event details. A calendar of events will be published for public information during the week of November 26, 2007. Please register your event by November 15th by calling 368-5967 or send an e-mail to cmferguson@gov.pe.ca. International Day for Disabled Persons 2007 posters will also be available upon request.

16. DEC. 10- PREVENTING CLIMATE CHANGE CHAOS

ECOPEI invites all activists committed to preventing climate change chaos to a film-showing and discussion at UPEI Main Bldg., 1st floor, 7-9pm on Mon., Dec. 10th. To get involved and for more details, please contact Tony Reddin at 675-4093 <marionc@isn.net> or Shannon Hartigan 569-7990 <shannon@isn.net>, or go to www.climatechaos.ca and www.ecopei.ca .

Discussion will be inspired by a 48-page Special Issue on the Alberta Tar Sands recently published by ‘The Dominion’- Canada’s Grassroots Newspaper, now available at Econet, UPEI and the C/C library; see also http://dominionpaper.ca/tarsands and info below. [articles include Kim Petersen's report on the community of Fort Chipewyan and the effects on water downstream from the Tar Sands; Lindsay Bird's account of working in a camp near Fort McMurray; a series of comics by Katie Beaton, and much, much more!]

You may have heard about the Tar Sands.

If you’re in the Maritimes, you probably know someone who works there. If you live in Alberta, you probably hear about it being a major source of economic growth. If you’re connected to environmental groups, you probably know that continued development in the Tar Sands will make it impossible for Canada to meet its treaty obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.You may have seen some footage of big trucks on TV.

The Tar Sands are on pace to become the largest industrial project in human history, built on public land and subsidized by provincial and federal governments. And yet, very few people have a substantial understanding of the world’s first “Gigaproject.” In addition to being unfathomably large, extraction of Tar Sands is also setting global precedents in terms of how we deal with: The decline in oil supply; Indigenous rights and title to land; Climate change and emissions; Labour rights and migrant workers’ rights; Use of public land; and Corporate power and social movements.

To increase public understanding of these issues, The Dominion has assembled an army of writers, journalists, researchers, people directly affected by the Tar Sands extraction, oil workers and others to explain the far-reaching effects of Tar Sands development in Alberta and what it means for the future in Canada and globally. For more, go to the website, http://dominionpaper.ca/tarsands

_____________________
For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.

1. Status of Women Blog: Women’s Equality PEI

The PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women has set up an interactive online presence at http://peiacsw.wordpress.com

Please visit our new blog and participate in discussions of issues that come up. The blog is an experiment, and if response is positive, we will continue to maintain it. From today onward, Community Notices will be posted to the blog every Friday as well as being sent out on the mailing list. They will no longer be posted on the ACSW’s regular website, as long as the blog is active.

2. Safety Planning for Women in Crisis

Hi all – with funding from the Women’s Program, Status of Women Canada, Justice Options for Women Steering Committee is working together with The Adventure Group to develop and pilot a formal process of collaborative safety planning for women in crisis due to violence in an intimate relationship. To share information about this exciting new, born-in-PEI interest-based process, we are hosting a workshop on November 13 from 8:45 – 12:00. Please feel free to share this invitation with others you think many have an interest in our work.Kirstin Lund Project Co-ordinator Safety Circles: Collaboarative Safety Planning Processes for Women in Crisis

3. The Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network Presents!

A Lunch and Learn event with national network director, Rupert Downing. Community Economic Development – Inclusion & Empowerment”Dalton Hall Ground Floor Dining Room Friday 16 November, 12 noon till 1 PMPlease bring your sandwich – we will provide sweets and beveragesAll Welcome – Free Admission – Please pass the word to your networks!

4. My Heart Is Moved CD Launch

On November 18 at 2:00pm, the doors open to launch a unique recording of songs that come from, and connect us to, the urgent wisdom of the Earth Charter. Everyone is invited to celebrate the release of My Heart is Moved with songwriter Carolyn McDade and the Atlantic Gaia Singers at St. Paul’s Church, corner of Prince and Grafton, in downtown Charlottetown. Admission is free. The Earth Charter is an international declaration endorsed by thousands of organizations the world over. It presents the changes necessary for us to be in right relationship with each other, and the Earth. This CD recording, My Heart Is Moved, is part of the answer of how we do that.For many years women throughout North America have gathered with composer and visionary Carolyn McDade, to sing and create intentional communities. In June 2007, 85 women, including many from Atlantic Canada, travelled to Boston to record vocal tracks for this CD. They brought with themthe amazing preparation and commitment of their local communities. They also brought months of contemplation about the Earth Charter and the inspiration of singing its message. The Charter as text is meaningful; as song it is transformational.This launch and CD release is our way to honour all who work toward creating reverent and sustainable lives; those who, as poet Adrienne Rich says, “…with no extraordinary power reconstitute the world”.

For additional information: Michelle Jay 892-2085 and Maureen Larkin 569-5038Websites: www.carolynmcdademusic.com/heart.html www.earthcharter.org

5. 2007 Plum Pudding Campaign

The 4th annual plum pudding campaign is underway. Pat and Silas (see photo) Robinson are gearing up for another successful fundraising campaign. This year the proceeds of all of the puddings will go to the PEI Humane Society (by decree of Silas). The PEI Humane Society is a non-profit organization. The Society serves the province of PEI, providing care to thousands of injured, stray, homeless and abandoned animals. The work of the PEI Humane Society is made possible by the generosity of supporters and volunteers. They are a registered charitable organization, and listed with Revenue Canada under the following registration number: 11910-3133-RR001. A volunteer Board of Directors, comprised of community leaders who are interested in the welfare and humane treatment of animals, governs the P.E.I. Humane Society. The PEI Humane Society is the only humane society or SPCA working on Prince Edward Island for Island animals.Please help us support the PEI Humane Society! In other years, we have raised over $3,000 for local charities – let’s have our best year yet!Plum puddings sell for $8 or two puddings for $15. They are vegetarian friendly, low fat, low sugar.Beautifully wrapped with a recipe for the sauce attached. They make fantastic gifts or host presents. To place an order or to get further information, please call (902) 566-4388. You can leave a message or email us at plumpudding@eastlink.ca We need a name, contact number and number of puddings desired.

6. Book LaunchBounce and Beans and Burn

by Shannon Murray, Illustrations by Doretta Groenendyk

Launch at the Confederation Centre Public Library Children’s Loft

Saturday, November 10, 2007, 11a.m.-12:30 p.m. Follow Sam on an ordinary day full of extraordinary adventure!

All welcome! For more information about the books: The Acorn Press http://acornpresscanada.com

7. Solar Shelter Workshop

The PEI Energy Project will be hosting a solar workshop November 16, 17, and 18 offered by Don Roscoe through Solar Nova Scotia. This workshop will be a practical how to course on designing and building solar shelter, including greenhouses, solaria, additions and especially solar homes. The course is intended for the general public and for those in design and construction.

Course Outline:Friday, November 16: 7:00pm – 9:30pm

1. Solar Basics – Solar for electricity, active

and passive solar for heat and hot water

Saturday, November 17:

8:30am-5:00pm

2. Climate Control – for comfort and health, energy and the

environment

3. Site Designing – working with nature

Sunday, November 18:

8:30am-5:00pm

4. Shelter Designing – bringing you, your needs and your site together

5. Shelter Construction – ground frost insulation, heat storage

slabs, glazing types and systems and solar mechanicals

6. Making it Happen – costing, controlling costs, contracting,

doing it yourself, case studies and other approaches

The Friday portion of the course is open to the public free of cost. To continue participation on Saturday and Sunday the course cost is $90 per person, $150 per couple. For early registration (before November 9) the cost is $80 per person and $140 per couple. The workshop is being held at the Holland College Charlottetown Centre, CLFI Building, Kent Street Entrance.

For more information or to register contact Kate at 566-4696, project@ecopei.ca, or stop by her office at 126 Richmond Street.

8. Your Purchase Makes a Global Difference!

Ten Thousand Villages is coming to the Island! Six PEI communities are hosting sales of beautiful, fairly- traded gifts benefiting artisans from 35 Third World countries. Ten Thousand Villages is a project of Mennonite Central Committee, the outreach arm of the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in North America. Below is a list of the PEI sales for Nov. and Dec.:· Cornwall: Friday, November 2, from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Saturday, November 3, from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM at the Cornwall United Church.· Summerside: Friday, November 9, from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM and on Saturday, November 10, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Summerside Presbyterian Church, 130 Victoria Road, across from 3 Oaks High School.· Crapaud: Friday, November 23, from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM and on Saturday, November 24, from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM at the Englewood School on the Trans-Canada Highway at Crapaud· UPEI: Tuesday, December 4, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, December 5, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and on Thursday, December 6, from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM in the W. A. Murphy Student Center.The gifts you buy at the Ten Thousand Villages Sales will give the blessings of steady work, fair wages, and a better life for struggling families around the world. For more information call John Burka at (902) 367-9343. Your purchase makes a global difference!

9. Dance For The World

CUSO invites Islanders to DANCE FOR THE WORLD – a fundraising event for CUSO Volunteers overseas. Friday, November 9th, 7pm at the Murphy Community Centre, 200 Richmond Street in Charlottetown. Admission is $10.00 The evening begins with ethnic foods from around the world, a Silent Auction and sale of Fair Trade Crafts.Performances will highlight the event with dancers from Kenya, China, Colombia, Middle East and from the Island with Judy MacLean Dancers. Reggae and Meringue Dance Lessons will follow with dance instructors. Dance to World Music by DJ Forbidden will close the evening with an opportunity for everyone to dance up a storm. Tickets are available at Timothy’s, Book Emporium, Voluntary Resource Council and at the door.Check the website at www.dancefortheworld.ca for more details. Call CUSO at 892-2610 for more information.

10. Workshop

BECOMING THE PERSON YOU ARE MEANT TO BE you will find this workshop is both positive and affirming. It is an experience of self-discovery and development that explores in depth the question: Who AM I? We look at the self-image and its impact on life; the influence of the environment; the being – that deep core of the human person; your freedom, intellect and will from the aspect of living your life well; your body, and the role and place of the deep conscience in decision-making.Also covered are the attitudes required for progress and what fosters balance in a growth process while helping you to become the person you are meant to be.Dates: (Please register for only one time frame.)1). Tuesdays and Thursdays: October Sept. 10 – November 19,Time: (9:30 am-12:00 pm)2). Two Weekends, Nov. 16 -18 and Nov. 30 – Dec. 2Time: Fri. eve. 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm, Sat. & Sun. 9:00 am – 4:30p pmCost: Please email or call to receive the PRH Scale of Fees

Place: Mount St. Mary’s

Facilitator: Sr. Myrna Aylward, Licensed PRH Counselor and Educator

Information and to register: Sr. Myrna: 892-6585 or myrna@transforming-self.com

Pre-registration and a $50.00 deposit to reserve your place is required by: October. 22

11. Wanted: Women over the age of 60 who have diabetes, who are single or widowed and who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement

For the past few months, the Seniors United Network has been working with other seniors’ groups throughout the Atlantic Provinces (through the Atlantic Seniors Health Promotion Network) on a project entitled Attitude Makes a Difference. Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, it’s geared toward finding out what seniors think about diabetes, what helps them to manage their diabetes and what they need in order to live healthy, satisfying lives. The primary focus of this project is on women over the age of 60 who have diabetes, who are single or widowed and who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement. This is because the costs (financial, social, emotional, and physical) of preventing or living with diabetes may be especially difficult to manage for these seniors.The main tool being used in this research is a series of focus groups. In P.E.I., the Cooper Institute is co-ordinating these focus groups for us and they are scheduled as follows:Montague – Tuesday, November 6th, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.Active Communities, 540 Main StreetWellington – Thursday, November 8th, 9:30 a.m. to 12:00La Coopérative Le Chez-nous, 64 Sunset Dr (This focus group will be in french.)North Rustico – Tuesday, November 13th, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.North Rustico Lion’s ClubO’Leary – Thursday, November 15th, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.O’Leary Community CentreRefreshments will be provided and travel costs covered if needed. There will be an honorarium of $25 paid to those who attend.

So why are we telling you this?

Well, three of the four focus groups are looking for additional participants (the Wellington session is already pretty well set). If you know of someone who might fit the description of a potential participant in one of these focus groups, could you take a few minutes to contact that individual and determine if they might be interested in participating? To register for a focus group or receive further information, interested individuals can contact Ann or Marie at Cooper Institute at 894-4573 or 1-877-894-4573 (toll-free) or cooper@isn.net. Thanks for any assistance you can provide on this.

12. Free Public Lecture: Seniors’ Housing – Are We At Risk?

Members of the public are invited to a free public lecture hosted by the Atlantic Seniors Housing Research Alliance (ASHRA) to preview the results of a detailed survey completed by 1,702 Atlantic Canadian seniors about their current housing situation, their community supports and their plans and expectations for the future. Presented by Dr. Donald Shiner, Principal Investigator and Associate Professor at Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU), the survey results paint a picture of Atlantic Canadian seniors are challenged to age in place. The survey provides a glimpse into how the region’s seniors lead their day-to-day lives and the issues society will face in the future in meeting their needs.

When: Tuesday, November 13, 20077:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Where: Lecture Theatre A, Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) UPEI campus, Charlottetown

13. Out of the Box Reading Workshop

Teach your child to read! Date: Saturday, November 17th, 2007Time: 9:00 to 12:00Location: Murphy Community Centre, Charlottetown

Cost: FREE!

To register: Call Martha @ 838-2694 or e-mail mmaclean@pei.aibn.com

You will learn:

• The importance of teaching your child to read early-especially if he or she has Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities
• How to teach your child to read single words, couplets, phrases, sentences and books
• How to create flashcards to use with your child
• How other parents are teaching their children to read

This event is sponsored by “HOST GROUP”.

About the Speakers

Denise MacDonald and Karen Evershed’s dream is that all children learn to read. Through workshops, guest speaking engagements, personal outreach, and Out of the Box Reading, this exceptional program has touched hundreds of lives in just two short years. This engaging workshop provides parents and educators with the tools they need to give children the greatest gift ever – the gift of learning.For more information: www.outoftheboxreading.com 14. Benefit Dance

for Donalda MacDonald (recently diagnosed with lung/liver cancer) November 17th, 2007, 8 pm-midnightHoward Johnson, TransCanada Highway (the old Dutch Inn)Live Band with Davis WardThere will also be a :1. silent auction (donations accepted)2. 50/50 Draw3. Chance to win $1,000 BillDonations accepted. This benefit fund will assist Donalda with medical, travel expenses and

support the necessary lifestyle changes. For more information contact committee members

Stacy Delany 888-2191; Lori MacKay 892-8951

On a positive note, Sister Donalda MacDonald was the winner of the Grace Hartman Award at the CUPE National Convention for her work on women’s and equality issues, part of the citation quoted from the letter of support received from The Women’s Network –and as you would guess Sister Donalda spoke very courageously and eloquently re equality issues afterwards.

15. Child Care Programs in Canada

Dear Members, Partners and Colleagues: I am writing to you today about a clear and present threat to our collective vision for a comprehensive, community-based child care system. A multinational corporate child care chain is in Canada today. It appears that an agent of 123 Busy Beavers Learning Centres, a partner of 123 Global, has been actively seeking to purchase existing child care programs in Alberta, BC and Ontario. All Canadians should be alarmed about this development, and immediately raise their concerns across communities and with provincial and federal governments. If allowed to take hold in Canada, we believe that the effects of multinational corporate child care will be broadly felt across our country.One-size-fits-all child care warehouses are not the solution to the ongoing child care crisis in this country. Lessons from elsewhere – particularly Australia – make clear that we should call on governments to protect our children from being used as publicly-traded commodities. The potential buyout of our community child care services by a foreign corporation is very likely to result in increased parent fees and/or decreased attention to the elements of quality child care. Provincial/territorial child care operating funding and parent subsidies will be directed to increase shareholder profits, a misuse of out tax dollars. Far from being a solution to Canadians’ child care needs, foreign ownership will take us far away from our vision of a system that is high-quality, affordable, accessible, and community based.More public funding for child care is essential, and countries with effective child care systems show us that public funding must be tied to accountability for service, ensuring that it goes toward greater quality, affordability and accessibility. Bill C303, if enacted, would both put a stop to the threat of multinational corporate child care in Canada, and also establish criteria and conditions that would ensure that a quality, affordable, universal and accountable child care system could then be created. On Wednesday, October 31st Code Blue for Child Care held a press conference with opposition critics to raise awareness about the importance of community based child care and to urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act quickly against the threat of foreign takeover of Canada’s child care programs by passing Bill C303, the Early Learning and Child Care Act. “We are at a critical juncture in this country,” said Shellie Bird, coalition spokesperson for the event, “there is an urgent need to protect Canadian child care from foreign corporate takeover.”

To find out more about the threat of multinational corporate child care in Canada see the Code Blue for Child Care website.

For more info: Jody Dallaire, Board Chair, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC)

714 – 151 rue Slater St, Ottawa, ON K1P 5H3, Phone/Tél. 613.594.3196 Fax/Téléc. 613.594.9375

info@ccaac.ca www.ccaac.ca

16. International Day for Disabled Persons – December 3, 2007

Plans are now underway for International Day for Disabled Persons 2007.The Prince Edward Island Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues invites you to participate in the “Opening Minds, Opening Doors, Seeing the Abilities” campaign by hosting an event at your organization or workplace. Ideas for events include open houses, workshops, information sessions or events by and for persons with disabilities.Please contact the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Disability Issues with your event details. A calendar of events will be published for public information during the week of November 26, 2007.Please register your event by November 15th by calling 368-5967 or send an e-mail to cmferguson@gov.pe.ca. International Day for Disabled Persons 2007 posters will also be available upon request.

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For further information or questions specifically relating to these notices, please contact the individual or organization hosting the community event.