Rotary Meeting May 5, 2025 Knight of Columbus Hall
Co-President Drina started the meeting by welcoming the guest for the evening:
Guest presenters from Horizons of Friendship Megan Botha and Bessie Hodder

The next YE outbound student, Lily Hall and her parents Sarah Millar and Aaron Hall.
Lily will be going to Finland. She is currently attending Grade 10 at CCI. Her hobbies
include sports and languages. Potential new members joined us as guest, Angela Grogan and Margaret Kerr

A delicious dinner of cabbage rolls and mash potatoes was served by Shelley from Lisa’s Catering and enjoyed by all after Co-President Drina delivered the club toast and land
acknowledgment.
Rotarian Kevin said grace and also reported that he and Lori went to visit Sylvia and Paul Binkley on the weekend.

Main presentation by Megan and Bessie from Horizons of Friendship:
Horizons of Friendship (Horizons) is a Canadian international development organization, committed to promoting social justice and sustainable development in Central America and Mexico. Current project include Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico and Panama. Working directly with community-based partner organizations, we provide financial and
technical support that empowers local people to lead projects that address needs in their communities
Our Canadian program provides support to vital migrant workers in our community.

 

CONTRIBUTING TO AND SUPPORTING THE WELL-BEING OF MIGRANT WORKERS
IN NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
Location: Northumberland County Ontario
Duration: March 2025 – March 2026
12 Farms, 150+ Migrant Agricultural Workers

On-farm jobs in agriculture have one of the highest vacancy rates of any industry in Canada, at
5.4%.
•In 2021, Canada welcomed 61,735temporary foreign workers in the agriculture sector, up 11.9%
from 2020 (Statistics Canada, 2024)

 

MAWs have closed work permits, which can allow employers to fire workers without recourse to an appeals process, normally triggering their repatriation MAWs are required to pay into Canadian employment insurance premiums, income taxes, and generally receive legal access to provincial health care, however, under the SAWP,
workers have limited access to these social services The Canadian agricultural industry has the highest rates of musculoskeletal injuries, toxic
chemical injuries, occupational injuries, and fatalities than other workforces.
In the mid 1960s S.A.W.P was created by the federal government to satisfy the seasonal labour demands of Canadian agriculture operations This program currently accounts for almost half of Canada’s paid agricultural employment The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFW) created by the government of Canada allows
companies to recruit temporary foreign agricultural workers through 4 main streams, including the SAWP.

This program currently accounts for almost half of Canada’s paid agricultural employment.

 

The migrant worker program aims to remove barriers and support workers and employers
by:
Providing critical access to health care clinics and free legal support
Provide information on workers’ rights, occupational health and safety
Translation and Transportation services
Free mental health support .
Some basics facts:
 Migrant workers earn minimum wage, which is currently $17.20 per hour
 Housing standards are very low
 Employment Standards Act does not apply to migrant workers
Horizons is always looking for donations, especially work cloths for the migrant workers, at their
store on Covert St in Cobourg.

 

Rotarian Bruce thanked Megan and Bessie for their presentation.

Rotarian Bob Gibson presented a plaque received as a thank you from Challenger Baseball.
The Earth Day clean up, organized by Rotarian Adam, was very successful.

Rotarian Jana provided an update on the Surf &Turf event taking place on June 7th . Volunteers are needed for the event as well as volunteers to promote the event to other clubs and sell tickets.

 

The District Assembly is taking place on Saturday, May 10th and members who would like to car pool should meet in the parking lot on Toronto Rd at 6:45am.

Existing board members should confirm to Presidents Drina and Steve whether they will stay on for the next Rotary year.

 

Happy Bucks were collected by Sergeant at Arms Ken.

Happy Birthday to Rotarian Ron.

 

The next club meeting will take place on Monday May 26th .

There were 2 guests introduced: Barb Coleman and Angela Grogen.

Jan Boycott said the grace for our gathering.

 

Angela Grogan made several announcements :  the Caribbean Dinner at the Masonic Lodge will be held May 25 :  Spring into Spring tickets are $95. and are available now.

There will be Caribbean participation with music in the July 1 parade.  And September 27, there will be a Steel Band festival in the Memorial Park

 

Thanks was expressed by the Gilmer family for the memorial flowers on the passing of their mother.

 

Carol Lawless from the Peterborough Regional Hospital also sent thanks regarding her presentation in March.

Ron Tuttle confirmed the inbound student who will arrive in August.  Julie Koutkova is 17 and from Czechia. She will be hosted by Rhonda and Dave Cunningham as well as the Tallos before moving on to the Cobourg  Club.

 

Bruce Coleman reported that the Float Your Fanny was a success, offering hot chocolate & treats to the public attending

 

Adam Pearson asked for volunteers this Sunday April 27 to repeat the annual community clean up from 1 to 4 pm.  Meet at the Town Hall

He asked that volunteers email him with their confirmation.

 

May 10 is the District Conference.  Costs will be covered by the Club and it is hoped there will be a good attendance at this important event.

Please confirm with Bob Wallace.

 

June 7 is the Surf and Turf.  Jana listed the ’to do’ list and encouraged everyone to distribute posters and sell tickets.  We need to sell 200 tickets.

$100 for lobster and steak.  $90 for single choice of one: steak or lobster.  As before, there will be both dine-in and takeout available.

There are still administrative requirements to put in place, such as building permit, fire and building inspection.  Every club member is encouraged to get involved to make it a success.  This year it will be held in the Memorial Park.  We need items for the live auction:  suggestions to be passed on to Jana or Olga.  Members can volunteer for specific jobs online as last year.  There will be cash bar and music.

Ken O'Neill introduced Aldona Tallo who gave her Life Story about being a child of a Lithuanian family who came to Canada between the wars.  We were reminded of the challenges and reality in the much wished for new land.  But as with many immigrants, hard work and perseverence became security and prosperity.  Aldona was the first who had the opportunity for a university degree, graduating in Pharmacy. 

 

Drina followed with stories about her time with TD where she held varied posts through her career.  She concluded by naming how important the Rotary is, and how much meaning it gives to her life.

 

Paul Tait thanked the incredible duo for sharing their important landmarks with us.