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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

REAL Women is saddened by the death of one of the most dedicated and enthusiastic members of our national team, Mary Anna Kaiser. "Well done thou good and faithful servant …" so aptly applies to Mary Anna. She was an inspiration to us all, a true Christian who lived what she believed. She was an untiring worker who, even when ill, continued doing REAL Women's work. We were fortunate to have her. She will be missed, but not forgotten.

Our 19th annual conference will be held in North Bay, Ontario, this April 19 - 20th. The local Chapter of REAL Women has organized an excellent program for the event. Funds raised from a garage sale last spring by the Northern Ontario Chapter are being used to subsidize the conference, resulting in a much lower registration fee. We hope the hard work of the Chapter will provide new members the opportunity to attend. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Throughout conference preparations, we have remained busy. In January we were advised that our organization is on the list of witnesses to appear before both the House of Commons Special Committee on the non-medical use of drugs and the Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs. We are now waiting to hear the date and time of our appearances.

REAL Women has continued to insist that the Criminal Code provisions against public nudity and indecent exhibitions be upheld at Gay Parades. The most recent correspondence received from the Toronto Police Services Board to the complaint we laid, alleged that their plain clothes' officers did not observe any public nudity. Obviously, many officers suffer from politically correct blindness when it comes to the Gay Pride Parade! This denial persisted even though we had enclosed actual photographs. We have now written to the Ontario Police Services Board requesting an appeal of our complaint.

A verdict was reached in the Spanking Case. Our intervention was successful. The court, in its decision, set out guidelines as to what is regarded "reasonable circumstances" in spanking a child. That is, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the right of parents and teachers to use reasonable force to correct a child's behaviour, within certain guidelines.

Before the Honourable Anne McLellan left her position as Minister of Justice, we wrote to her concerning correspondence one of our members had received in regard to the exercising of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy for Robert Latimer. Ms. McLellan's description of the procedure seemed confusing and we asked for a clarification. Copies of both the letters you send to government officials and their replies help us to better monitor government affairs, and we very much appreciate your sending these letters on to us.

You all deserve a bouquet of thanks. As a result of your generosity to our Legal Defense Fund, we have been able to honour our commitments. However, the appeal of the Spanking Case to the Supreme Court of Canada looms on the horizon, as does the Court of Appeal's Same-sex Marriage Cases, so we must struggle on.

Our presence is still needed. We win. They appeal. They get their court costs paid by the Canadian taxpayer through the Court Challenges Program. We must pay our own costs. This is the sad reality that all pro-life, pro-family groups face in Canada today. There is no time to whine or cry. With your support, we plan to move forward.

I informed the National Board at our annual meeting last year that this would be my last term as President. However, I still intend to remain an active member of the Board of Directors. The day following our annual conference, a new President will be chosen from among the Board members.

It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as your President these past four years. I will miss the daily interchange between executive Board members, as well as your letters offering prayers and support.

It has been a challenging and wonderful experience serving as President of REAL Women. I know that you will be just as supportive of our new President as you have been of me. Thank you all so much, including the Board of Directors, for your kindness, help and cooperation during the last four years.

God Bless you all.

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