New year, new Council, and new news!

This is my first Council Connect as 2nd Vice-President, and I have to start with a big thank you to Sedina Fiati for handing over the reins and leaving some big shoes to fill! Like Sedina, my inbox is always open…if you ever want to chat Equity, get in touch!

February finds us in transition...your new Council is beginning to get its footing, we say goodbye to Equity staff members Dustyn Wales and Kristian Clarke. We have a job posting out for an Associate Executive Director, and we have a strong negotiation team working on the CTA. After hearing questions from several members around who’s on a negotiation team and what becomes of our suggestions, I reached out to our Executive Director. Arden’s in-depth explanation about team selection can be found here. She also followed up with a terrific rundown on Facebook of what happens with negotiation suggestions.

Want to know what your Association is up to? February also means our National AGM is coming, and it’s never too early to plan to be there. Come out and meet your Councillors and fellow members. Find out what we’ve been working on over the past year and what we have planned for 2019.

Executive Director Arden R. Ryshpan and Council President Scott Bellis will be delivering their reports and answering your questions. The audited financial statements will also be presented. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about Equity’s finances. The regular business portion of the meeting will be live streamed.

Date: Monday, February 25

Time: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. (ET)

Location: YWCA - Nancy's Room at 87 Elm St, Toronto, ON M5G 0A8 ( map )

Please note that YWCA is a scent-free environment and is fully accessible. ASL translation will be available at the meeting.

NAGM Special presentation

After regular business, there will be an interactive session where members will be able to learn intervention skills to de-escalate potentially harmful situations in the workplace. Douglas Stewart (Human Resource and Equity Consultant) and Kristian Clarke (Respectful Workspace Advisor) will moderate. The session will be part presentation and part group work with opportunities for questions and discussion.

Finally, February is Black History Month. Canada has quite the history of black artists and theatre companies; from Vancouver in the west to Halifax in the east, Black theatre groups have existed here since the early 19th century in large and small communities.

Montréal was home to the Negro Theatre Guild 1942 before Black Theatre Workshop incorporated in 1971, Winnipeg Caribbean Theatre Workshop was founded in 1984, and Nova Scotia became home to Voices Black Theatre Ensemble in 1990. Toronto’s companies have included Theatre Fountainhead, Black Theatre Canada, b Current, AfriCan Theatre Ensemble, and Obsidian. Equity is proud to celebrate the rich legacy of our members!

INFO FROM THE COUNCIL TABLE

Former artist with Cirque du Soleil and trained clinical social worker/therapist Matt Eldridge from The Al and Malka Green Artists’ Health Centre lead a discussion on mental health first aid at Council’s November in-person meeting.

View a video of the session here. Please note: Equity has shared these video resources for the convenience of members. Information therein is not intended to be a substitute for information provided in a professional counselling situation. For a list of regional support services visit Equity’s website .

Yours in Equity,