As you may know (or not) MLPD is in a critical financial situation which left Council to make a tough decision. Also as a result of the needs for change identified at the strategic planning session on February 23, the position of Provincial Coordinator was terminated.

After seven years in that position Carol Polson will no longer be writing reports and funding proposals or maintaining contact with related organizations, municipal and provincial governments or with the media and many other duties. And after Emily Ternette had to go on long-term disability she took minutes for the housing and transportation committees.

At the April 9 meeting the Council approved the formation of a Volunteer Management Team to assist them in overseeing the day to day operations of the MLPD office. A Proposal Writing Group will also be formed to develop proposals and prepare reports to funders.

The League office is indeed empty without Carol. Thank you for the years of dedicated service and we wish you wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Just as good drivers regularly check their cars, so organizations check to see if things are in running order. On February 23, 2008 that’s what the MLPD did.

Facilitator Marsha Dozar led 42 members, organizational representatives and interested persons from the disability community through the day long strategic planning session. The morning began with reports from the three planning sub committees: Community and Government Relations (provided to you February 1st); Office Administration (enclosed), and, Membership (enclosed). The Finance and Fundraising sub committee was not formed.

Four colour coded groups then took turns discussing:

1. membership
2. community/ government relations
3. finances and fundraising and
4. organizational structure, functioning, leadership, governance.

During the afternoon participants identified priority issues for the coming year and recommended continuing with the existing mission statement and goals, perhaps with more regular reexamination.

The majority said the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities is still relevant and that after 34 years it should continue. However, different administrative and leadership structure should include a different staffing configuration, new issues, improved communication to the members, and increased connection with similar disability organizations.

The Provincial Council with the Strategic Planning Committee is laying out MLPD's vision and developing a report with action steps, prioritizing issues and the redirection of the organization.

Manitoba Family Services and Housing provided conditional funding to MLPD to assist us with this task and to support operations. One of the conditions attached to this funding is that we hire a consultant to work with the MLPD Council to map out a strategic plan for the future.

We are currently interviewing individuals who have expressed interest in the consultation position. Between spring and the fall of 2008, the consultant will work with the Provincial Council to develop the strategic plan (including strategies to promote ongoing sustainability of the League) and prepare the final planning document. He or she will then submit the document to the Council for review, at which time it will be forwarded to the Department.

It is hoped that the planning process will result in a more vital and sustainable MLPD.

Ethics. It’s a word that produces fidgeting and a desperate desire for escape from issues like death and dying. Nevertheless, such matters have to be confronted, especially by those likely to be inappropriately labeled as dying or not worth the bother and expense of medical treatment.

Accordingly, the MLPD Ethics Committee was revitalized in February 2008 to develop strategies for dealing with such issues as the Golobchuk case and the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons’ (MLPS) Statement on withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment.

In March, committee members attended a St. Boniface General Hospital “Ethics for Lunch” where Pat Murphy, from the hospital’s Ethics Services, told them and about 50 medical professionals that a statement by the MLPS is binding whereas guidelines are not. Consequently, doctors who refuse to follow the Statement can be disciplined. The Statement expects doctors to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment, sometimes even when their own minimum standards can be met and sometimes without informing the patient and/or proxy/ representative.

A doctor said the Statement is really about something it doesn’t even mention - allocating scarce resources. Another “Ethics for Lunch” in April guided by George Webster, also from the hospital’s Ethics Services, initiated a discussion of the resource issue under the title “Who Is Worthy of Care?”

Webster said issues like this should not be discussed at the bedside. “It is regrettable and inappropriate to suggest that treating Mr. Golobchuk is somehow a waste of ICU (Intensive Care Unit) resources,” he said.

It was obvious from the discussion that much more time and thought is required for that topic alone but it is definitely one about which the MLPD should remain vigilant.

The Committee is drafting a letter to the MCPS outlining several concerns about the Statement. Also VP-NET is organizing a conference on June 9 on “End-of-Life Ethics and Decision Making: Current Policy Debates about Withholding and Withdrawing Treatment.” For more information or to register contact Lindsey Troschuk at 204-474-7347 or troschuk@cc.umanitoba.ca.

After establishing goals, priorities and issues for 2008-9, Housing Committee members heard February 8 that Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg has committed eight of its 11 home building projects in 2008 to visitable design.

The Committee also identified a need for more and better housing for those with low to moderate incomes with an eye to the aging “Boomer” population bringing increased demands.

The Committee and the Winnipeg Social Planning Council Poverty Committee are planning a member exchange.

MLPD has completed an online federal government consultation asking for the reinstatement of funding for affordable housing.

The Committee also heard about a number of initiatives such as the Manitoba Tipi Mitawa Program enabling off reserve First Nations families to purchase homes with assistance for down payments and mortgages. Other initiatives are geared for students, seniors and low income people. Rooming houses and services for tenants with mental health issues are also a concern for the Committee.

Issues. Finances and how many and who can be served by Handi-Transit remain pressing issues. Both Handi-Transit and the disability community want to eliminate the trip priority system.