President 's Report 2003

Ken G. Mandzuik, President

My first year as MARL's president has gone by quicker than I thought possible. It has been a busy year and I am looking forward to another busy year as MARL celebrates its 25^th anniversary. In a small organization like MARL, it is sometimes frustrating that we are limited in the work that we can do; at the same time, it is astonishing at the work we are able to do, and do well.

It has been a year of change at the board of directors level. We have laid the groundwork in this last year to make for a more active board and more active committees. The Charter Rights and Legislative Review Committee continues to meet, and our Education, Planning and Development, and Communications committees are up and running. Our goal is to have the Board become even more active in advancing MARL's objectives, and we are planning to expand the work of our committees and actively recruit members who are interested in making a greater contribution to MARL. I am also pleased to report that the addition of Gus Boetzkes to our board has been invaluable. Gus is taking the lead in developing a means for MARL to monitor its outcomes, which will allow us to see what kind of effect MARL's work is having, and in what areas we can improve.

None of the work that MARL does could be done without the financial support of our funders. The United Way continues to show its support for the human rights and civil liberties of all Manitobans with its generous funding of our program. It is not overstating anything to say without its generosity, there would be no MARL--for that we are grateful. We also are fortunate to receive funding from the Ethno-Cultural Community Support Program, and we thank them for their continued support. Our continued involvement in the Asper Foundation Holocaust & Human Rights Studies Program is made possible by the tremendous financial support of the Winnipeg Foundation. This program is the biggest and most expensive endeavour MARL is currently involved in, and it is only happening because of the Winnipeg Foundation's unwavering financial support.

It takes more than just financial support to make MARL operate, and I would like to thank all the volunteers on the board and on our committees that devote valuable time to this organization. MARL is often involved in unpopular or thankless activities that do not provide the immediate emotional satisfaction that volunteers might feel in other organisations, making the time sacrifice all the more valuable and appreciated. Of course, we must also applaud the continuing hard work of our Executive Director, Valerie Price, and our Holocaust Studies Program Coordinator, Dorota Praski. Valerie is an outstanding representative for MARL and her work ethic and dedication to MARL are without parallel: she makes my job much easier and I thank her for her dedication. Dorota is surely the best cat-herder I have ever seen, and was able to make sense of what could have been chaos in organising a program and trip involving 106 grade nine students and 20 chaperones. I am pleased to report that I have had several people outside of MARL let me know how fortunate we are to have Valerie and Dorota with us. On behalf of the board, I am happy to thank them both for their tireless efforts; MARL has every reason to be proud of Valerie and Dorota.

The year ahead promises to be a busy one for MARL. Plans are underway for a formal recognition of our 25^th anniversary which will take place this fall. We will also be releasing a report still being finalized on our employment equity review, and following up on its recommendations. We currently have a summer student, Sandor Sajnovics, looking at federal and provincial anti-terror legislation and the effects the legislation has had on Canadians. The Charter Rights and Legislative Review Committee will be examining the scope of police powers in the wake of the anti-terrorist legislation, and will also be looking at the effectiveness of the current law-enforcement review agencies. The general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Alan Borovoy, is planning to take part in a meeting we are planning to have with Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh on the topic of police power and audits. Our popular education workshops will be reviewed and likely expanded, and we will increase our fundraising efforts and try to increase our membership.

Thank you again for your continued support, and I look forward to working with you and MARL for another year.