FemNorthNet Webinar, Thursday October 21, 2010

Theme: Deepening our Shared Understanding- Restructuring

MEETING NOTES

Attending:

Colin Bonnycastle, University of Manitoba

Bonnie Brayton, DAWN

Barbara Clow, Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Vera Chouinard, McMaster University
Teresa Healy, Canadian Labour Congress

Barbara Neis, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Caroline Paquette, CRIAW
Susan Prentice, University of Manitoba
Deborah Stienstra, University of Manitoba
Jane Stinson, CRIAW
Judy White, University of Regina

Regrets:

Caroline Andrew, University of Ottawa
Gail Baikie, Dalhousie University

Petrina Beals, Mokami Status of Women Council

Noreen Careen, Labrador West Status of Women Council

Carmela Hutchison, DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN)

Charlene Lafreniere, University College of the North, Thompson

Dawn Sands, Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation

Liz Sousa, Thompson MB

Absent:

Georgina Jolibois, Village of La Loche

Jane Robinson, Bay St. George Status of Women Council
Keira Ladner, University of Manitoba
Lois Edge, Athabasca University

Beverly Jacobs, University of Calgary
Charlene Grant, Thompson, MB

Marlene Larocque, CRIAW

Susan Wadien, UNPAC

Notes: Maureen Kellerman, Project Manager

1) Presentation on Restructuring

Teresa Healy, senior researcher at the Canadian Labour Congress, gave a presentation and facilitated a discussion on the topic of restructuring as a follow-up on our discussion on economic restructuring during our meeting in Thompson, MB last June. The purpose of the presentation was to develop a shared vocabulary and concepts for the FemNorthNet project and to develop a framework that would help us to speak to community groups.

Teresa began by distinguishing between “structuring” and “re-structuring”,offering this definition of “structure”: a combination of material conditions, institutions and ideas. These may come together in a stable way over time; when they become unstable, a period of change results. Teresa used the example of an idealized nuclear family in the post-World War II years, describing how material conditions, institutions and ideas supported this family structure over a period of time and how changes to laws, the economy, and social relations combined shift this conception of family.

Teresa defined “economic restructuring” as profound and prolonged economic change brought about by the shifting interests of corporations, noting that economic restructuring results in broader changes in communities. She described some of the major economic changes that have occurred. During the discussion, participants noted that it is important to identify a time frame when we are talking about re-structuring so that we can identify what has changed. Participants also noted that the example of a nuclear family would not resonate with everyone, including Aboriginal families and the institutionalized disabled. Using an intersectional approach to understanding re-structuring helps to unpack some of these differences.

Action: Teresa will make revisions to her powerpoint presentation and will distribute it to the Fem North Network.

2)Review of Basis for Unity and Solidarity Document

This document was originally distributed at the June 2010 meeting in Thompson but time pressures delayed its discussion and review. Jane reviewed the key points in the document: the project objectives, guiding principles, ethics, responsibilities of co-investigators and partner organizations, procedures for conflict resolution, administrative procedures, sharing of results, governance structure, and acknowledgments and authorship.

The document provides minimal guidance on conflict resolution. Participants agreed that a process needs to be created and communicated to the network for discussion and agreement. CUPE and DAWN may be able to provide useful resources. Some participants also noted that the section on authorship needs additional guidelines. CRIAW’s authorship guidelines could be adapted for use by FemNorthNet since they spell out many different options. Some webinar participants noted that research participants may not all wish to remain anonymous; some may prefer to speak on the record.

Actions: Jane will convene a working group to develop a conflict resolution process and address authorship issues. Participants who are interested should contact Jane.

Bonnie will forward DAWN’s Ethics document to Jane.

3) Community Updates

Jane passed on Gail’s message that there was no further update from Happy Valley – Goose Bay. Jane noted that the community consultations in La Loche, scheduled for Oct. 18th were postponed as the school was closed that day. On behalf of the Thompson team, Colin thanked the management team for responding to Thompson’s request for funds to complete an inventory of research in the current fiscal year. The team leads are starting to work on ethics review but there has not been a recent meeting with community members.

4) Community Liaison Position

Jane noted that a position description has been developed for the Community Liaison position on the management team; it will be circulated to the Network for comment. The hiring team will include two management team members and the three community co-leaders. Year 1 surplus travel funds will be used to fund the position for the duration of the project, so the person does not necessarily have to be a student.

5) Other Topics

Networking: Bonnie Brayton recently attended a conference in Saskatoon on violence against women with disabilities. The attendees included a woman from the crisis centre in La Loche.

FNN Communications: The suggestion was made that FNN could set up a list serve for the network, or perhaps each team could set up a list serve. Based on experiences with list serves, the management team is focusing on developing a members-only web site where information can be exchanged and online collaboration can take place.

6) Next Webinar

The next webinar is scheduled for Tues. Nov. 2 in the afternoon. The theme will be working collaboratively, including how theme teams and community teams can work together. The webinar will also introduce project monitoring and tracking, including the development of the Milestone Report, due next March.

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