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|  | Liaison Newsletter > LIAISON-Canada Electronic Newsletter #4
UNA-Canada Branch Reports
Spring of this year saw the Edmonton branch involved in the organization of the April 1996 "Celebration of Youth", an event which took place in Stony Plain, Alberta. With an array of informational displays and activities planned for the day, the branch has set an encouraging precedent for future community and youth involvement. In late June, the Edmonton branch also hosted a successful panel discussion on "Human Rights - Can We Survive Without Them?", held at Grant MacEwan Community College. Panelists at the event included Dr. Baha Abu-Laban, Chairman of the University of Alberta Sociology Department, Ron Lameman, Intergovernmental Relations Advisor for the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, Charlach Mackintosh, Chief Commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, and Ian McClelland, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Southwest. Work is now well underway on a Global Governance Conference which is being planned for May 1997. Douglas Roche, O.C., former chair of the Canadian Committee for UN/50, is involved in its initial planning stages. He will be assisted by Tina Young, a summer student recently hired by the branch, who was involved in planning and promotion of the Human Rights panel. She will now be facilitating the planning on the Global Governance Conference, as well as providing assistance to the executive committee and developing fundraising projects for the branch. The Edmonton branch is also currently developing a presence on the Internet. While still in its early stages, the branch’s Web site is located at: http://www.freenet.edmonton.ab.ca/unac/. Hamilton The Hamilton branch was a supporting organization for the Hamilton region Environmentalists of the Year Awards Dinner on June 4. The recipient of the award was Dr. George Sorger and his Student Stream Stewards Programme. The programme empowers both the students and the community to take responsibility for their local environment. Dr. Sorger is a biology professor at McMaster University who has demonstrated his commitment to the community and the environment. He has also spent his holidays in rural El Salvador assisting villagers in identifying and solving severe water quality problems. The speaker at the dinner was Dr. John Todd, a Hamilton-born scientist who has received international recognition for his ecological contributions to global sustainability. Dr. Todd has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the United Nations, and was the 1991 winner of the Discover Award for Technological Innovation. Kootenay Region (KRUNA) KRUNA has managed to sustain much of the momentum from the UN’s 50th Anniversary, and has developed an equally ambitious programme of events for 1996. Earlier this year, the branch met with Dana Urban, a Canadian member of the UN War Crimes Tribunal which is investigating crimes against humanity in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia. On behalf of the UNA-Canada Standing Committee on Peace and Security, KRUNA President J. J. Verigin wrote a preliminary paper on a proposal to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium and enriched uranium in Canadian reactors. The branch also arranged an Earth Day Commemoration in April, and donated $500 to the Canadian Relief Fund for Victims of Chernobyl in Belarus. In addition, the branch lent its support to a multitude of meetings, participating in the Mother’s Day "Walk for Peace", a "Meditation for World Healing" conference, as well as the "World Day of Prayer" and a multi-faith symposium in Trail. In an attempt to promote the work of the United Nations, tapes on the UN were given to Selkirk College and some branch members attended a week of activities attended by provincial, regional and municipal governments. The branch also looked into co-hosting seminars on community-building to tie in with the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, in June. National Capital Region Three public events were the focus of much of the National Capital Region branch’s activity in early 1996. The highlight came on April 25, when Major-General Romeo Dallaire, former commander of the UN Mission in Rwanda, provided the keynote address at a public forum on the ethics of UN intervention. Dallaire’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion, which included presentations by Chris Cushing of CARE Canada, Dr. James Orbinsky of Doctors Without Borders, Penny Sanger of Canadian Friends of Burma, and Col. (Ret.) Mike Appleton, who played a key role in the preparation of the Canadian study on UN rapid reaction. The event formed part of the branch’s UN/50 UN Reform project. Earlier, the branch teamed up with the Carleton University International Affairs Club to organize a round-table discussion on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The event took place at Carleton on March 12. In May, the branch organized a "fireside chat" focussing on the issue of famine aid. Guest speakers were the Hon. David MacDonald, former Canadian Ambassador to Ethiopia during the 1980s famine, and Reverend Wally Hong, who has been working recently to organize famine relief for North Korea. Quebec City The Quebec City branch has developed a two-year programme of events linking together issues emerging from the Habitat II Conference, the World Summit on Social Development, and the upcoming World Food Summit. Entitled "Ma Ville à Nous Tous" ("My City for Everybody"), the aim of the project is to sensitize residents of the Quebec City region to the need to eradicate poverty, guarantee food security and protect the environment. At its core, the programme will explore ways of making better use of the urban dynamics within a city, and will also look at how cities can play a more prominent role in the international arena. Within this framework, the branch hopes to hold a series of inter-related and complementary activities over the next two years. Planned for October 1996 are a series of rallies that will take place in Quebec City under the themes of "Getting to know my city and its problems", "Healthy Cities and Villages" and "The City of Quebec". A series of talks are also planned for 1997-98, focussing on the urban dimensions of water, food security, poverty, employment, and women. The project will also involve students in the project through a poster contest and a comprehensive schools outreach programme scheduled for early 1999. Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean The Annual General Meeting of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean branch proved to be a useful tool for discussing project proposals for the coming year. With the successful completion of a solidarity week in February, the branch organised similar events for April. The branch also hopes to set up its own Web site on the Internet which would focus on the Biosphere and more technical aspects of the Environment. Plans are also underway to revive the branch newsletter, which could also be distributed electronically. Other projects ideas include organizing a referendum on Human Rights, drafting a petition demanding that states pay their arrears to the United Nations, and establishing a local multi-culturalism week. St. John’s In May, Dr. Ian McMaster of the St. John’s branch finished a two-year board term as one of three UNA-Canada Directors-at-Large. Representing the branch at the Association’s Annual General Meeting in Montreal in May, he made a proposal on behalf of the St. John’s branch to host the 1998 AGM, which will take place during the Year of the Ocean. Branch members are greatly looking forward to planning this event and making it a success. This summer, the St. John’s branch has taken advantage of the Student Work and Service Programme, an initiative that offers students $50 a week to work at a charitable or non-profit organization of their choice. The branch plans to hire Political Science student Zaki Saleemi under this programme to produce information modules on UN peace-keeping activities and human rights in preparation for the branch’s 1996 Model UN Assembly. Cheryl Mullet has also been hired under a student employment project, and will work with the branch throughout the summer. Winnipeg The Winnipeg branch held its AGM on April 12-13, starting off with a panel discussion on the Friday evening involving three participants from last September’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. A strategy workshop took place the following day, focussing on branch plans and activities for the upcoming year. Programmatically, the branch has divided the year into four separate themes. Environment and Development issues will be the focus of activities in September-October, coinciding with the Forest Summit taking place in Winnipeg in September; November-December (and March 21) will focus on Human Rights; January-February will see an International Development focus, with April-May being reserved for Peace and Security issues. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, was in Winnipeg on June 20 and 21. She spoke to the many environmental groups in the city at an event hosted by the Winnipeg branch and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
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