Crapo

Having received the support of 6 Components, the support of the majority of the members of the National Capital regional council and the unanimous support the Alliance executive committee, the "Conseil régional d'action politique de l'Outaouais (CRAPO) held their founding meeting on January 10th, 2005.

At this meeting, the CRAPO by-laws were adopted and elections were held for the various positions on the council executive.  The newly elected executive quickly put their enthusiasm into action and undertook a series of political action and community based projects.  Here are a few of their accomplishments:

• Financial support for Edith Gendron, a PSAC member who was fired from Heritage Canada.  Her case is related to freedom of expression and is important for all PSAC members;
  
  
• Support for "Rassemblement Outaouais contre la guerre" in their fight against the Americans defense shield plans;
  
  
• Support for the students strike in Québec;
  
  
• Support for more social housing in the Outaouais.  A letter was faxed to the Prime Minister of Québec;
  
  
• Participation in the organization of a public forum in preparation for the upcoming municipal election in Gatineau;
  
  
• Official sponsor of "l'outaouais en fête", who are responsible for organizing activities to celebrate Québec's national holiday;
  
  
• A sponsor for the establishment of a sculpture commemorating workers in Buckingham;
  
  
• Sponsor of labour day activities in the outaouais; and
  
  
• Host of a meet and greet with Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Québecois.

A lot has been accomplished so far, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

The CRAPO by-laws state that every local, component and equity committee can be represented at the CRAPO but their representative must reside in the province of Québec.  However, all PSAC members are welcome to attend the CRAPO general meetings as observers.

The CRAPO also chose their logo during their April 5th meeting.  The logo will be presented at the upcoming regional convention and we also invite members to visit the information table we will have at the convention.  We would also like to congratulate the following members of the CRAPO executive for their dedication:

• Vice-presidents, Francine Stuart of local 70059 and Suzanne Charbonneau from local 70043;
  
  
• Secretary, Claude Gagnon from local 70008;
  
  
• Treasurer, Jacques Marangere from local 70030; and
  
  
• Donald Roy from local 70372 who acted as an advisor to the council.

We would also like to thank Ed Cashman, Pierre Parker and Madeleine Bachand for their help and support as well as the other resources we received from the PSAC.

Thanks to the commitment of all of these people, the PSAC now has a voice in the political and community affairs of the Outaouais. There is still lots of room on our council and much work to be done so join now.

In Solidarity,
Daniel Charron

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