Slow and steady

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This article was published 31/07/2021 (1806 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every time Lorette resident Andrea Adams safely crosses the busy main road with her young daughter to get to the community splash pad or soccer field, she knows exactly who to thank.

That would be the 42 members of the Notre Dame Le Lorette Catholic Women’s league, who lobbied for seven years for traffic-calming measures along Provincial Road 207, also known as Dawson Road.

“It’s become a lot safer and secure,” Adams says of recently installed flashing crosswalks along the busy thoroughfare that bisects this community 30 kilometres east of Winnipeg.

“We feel better crossing the road with young kids.”

Last fall the province installed crosswalks equipped with flashing lights at three spots on Dawson Road: one at Lorette Collegiate, one at Lorette Community Complex and the other near Notre Dame de Lorette Roman Catholic Parish.

The Lorette Catholic Women’s League will be recognized for three decades of service to their community and beyond with the Premier’s Volunteer Service Award, to be presented at a virtual ceremony on Sept. 23.

“We are very proud we were able to get crosswalks in the town of Lorette,” says member Rolande Chernichan, former president of the Manitoba CWL chapter.

“Our objective was to (install) something that would slow down the traffic.”

Traffic may be slowed down in Lorette these days, but the group has not let up on their work of advocating for social justice well beyond their community of 3,200. Over the years, discussions at their monthly meetings, which pause for the summer, include topics as diverse as income tax credits for adult fitness, banning electronic cigarettes, and refundable deposits for recyclable beverage containers.

Open to women of faith 16 years and older, the Lorette league has met virtually during the pandemic, attracting up to 20 members, but spotty internet service in the area limited access for some, said Lacey Bernardin, president of the Lorette league.

“We’re definitely looking forward to meeting in person so all of our members can attend,” she says of the monthly meetings, which inspire women in their faith and develop their leadership skills.

Resolutions proposed at the parish level make their way up to CWL organizational structure until they land at the appropriate spot for action. The Lorette group has a strong record of researching resolutions that are debated at national conventions, which have been held virtually for the last two years.

“We have a reputation for well-written, well-thought-out and timely resolutions,” says member Susan Bernier, who chaired the 2018 national convention, the last time it was held in Manitoba.

The Catholic Women’s League has a long history of advocating for social issues and serving vulnerable populations in Canada, with roots in a chapter in Edmonton formed in 1912 to support and protect immigrant women and girls. A national organization of this lay association of women was formed in 1920 with the motto “For God and Canada.”

The Lorette group is much newer, founded in 1989 when the formerly French parish became bilingual, explains Chernichan.

“The reason the league is in Lorette is that the past national president was a parishioner in our parish,” she says.

As well as lobbying for crosswalks, the Lorette league has led fundraising efforts to support injured community members, organized spring and fall cleanups along an eight-kilometre stretch of PR 207 and collected toiletries, clothes and food for other charities.

They’re humbled by this award, but also slightly amused that they’re getting recognized by an award named after the top provincial politician, since their organization has a mandate to meet regularly with elected officials, including premiers and prime ministers.

Their last — and only — meeting with Premier Brian Pallister was in 2018, just a day before the national convention began, says Chernichan, who said their allotted 45 minutes stretched to two hours.

“He had a huge learning curve of what the Catholic Women’s League was all about,” she says of that meeting with Pallister.

But the people of Lorette already understand the power of the league, says Adams, and she’s pleased others in the province will also get that opportunity as award winners are publicly recognized.

“We’re hoping it gets people seeing who they are and what they do,” says Adams, who nominated the Lorette league along with her father, local municipal councillor Armand Poirier.

brenda.suderman@freepress.mb.ca

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