Into the North

              The Northern Committee, with vision and foresight, decided to approach the Canadian National Commission for UNESCO with the proposal to establish a Gift Coupon Plan to assist in the expansion of the Women's Institute program in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Their plan was deemed worthy of consideration and with the support and co-operation of Mr. Lewis Perinbam, Secretary of the National Commission for UNESCO, and Mr. John Melling, Executive Director, Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada, Gift Coupon Plan No. 367 was set up in 1964. The FWIC had previously contributed to UNESCO Gift Coupon Plans in Ceylon and the West Indies, but this was the first time a Plan had been established in a country such as Canada, with the money raised in the country in which it was to be used. This was considered a tribute to FWIC. The funds raised through this plan, No. 367, were to provide transportation for field workers to visit the Northern W.I. Branches; transportation for W.I. members in the North to attend special outside meetings; and to furnish craft supplies and training equipment for the members. The objective for this plan was set at $20,000 for the three year term, 1964-67. The FWIC accepted this as a Centennial project and the objective was over-subscribed at the end of the stated period, 1967. FWIC is indeed grateful to UNESCO for promoting Gift Cupon Plan No. 367, through which life in isolated communities had been enriched. A new Committee was formed, to be called the Northern Canada Special Projects Committee. Mrs. Haggerty, now FWIC Honorary President, was appointed Chairman. Other members were Mrs. LeBaron, Mrs. Penney, Mrs. Taylor, with the new President, Mrs. J. Philip Matheson, attending all meetings. Agencies connected with this plan appointed representatives to serve in an advisory capacity: Miss Frances I. McKay, Northern Administration Branch, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development; the former Miss Shirley Cull, Canadian National Commission for UNESCO; Mrs. W. H. Clark, Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada; Mrs. Elizabeth Szalowski, United Nations Association in Canada. The field worker was called in to meetings as needed, and the Public Relations Officer for the project, Mrs. George Wilson, attended the fall meetings, when the report of the season's field trip was presented. With this phase of the work completed and reported at the 1967 FWIC Convention, the Committee was re-constituted and is now known as the Northern Canada Women's Institutes (NCWI) Committee, and the fund continued on a voluntary basis as the NCWI Fund. The Hon. President, Mrs. Matheson, is Chairman. Members are Mrs. R. J. Penney, Mrs. Wells Coates, Mrs. George Clarke, FWIC President, and Mrs. H. G. Taylor. Liaison is still maintained with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern- Development through Miss Frances McKay, whose counsel throughout the years has been invaluable. The Indian-Eskimo Association is kept in touch with developments and arrangements for the attendance of the Field Worker and the NCWI Public Relations Officer remain the same. In 1965 Mrs. Hough returned North again when Miss Eadie attended the ACWW Conference in Ireland. She visited the Branches and encouraged the officers with suggestions for program planning. In 1966 Miss Eadie returned North with the particular purpose of organizing the first Convention of the Northern Canada Women's Institutes. (Convention story to follow). In addition, Miss Eadie visited the Branches and other settlements. In 1967 Miss Eadie made an extended visit to the Mackenzie Basin settlements and the Yukon. In the latter place, two new Branches, Carmacks and 14