March Victoria Poly Women's group meeting

Date:	Sunday, March 7, 2010
Time:	2:00pm - 5:00pm
Location:	880 Vernon, club house.

Description

Come and have a drink and chat with other non-monogamous women. There is no pressure to talk in any depth about anything. What is important is that we have each other to support, get to know, and discuss whatever we like.

Email or comment here for more info. on location (there is a Facebook group you can join)!

Creating Poly Community & a Wish for 2010

The topic of poly community has been a hot one recently, both in the media and among my friends and acquaintances here in British Columbia. As a networker and someone who enjoys getting people together (I need very little excuse to do this, btw -- a good dinner will suffice!) facilitating the growth of poly community poses challenges and also rewards for me and my fellow poly organizers. Learning as I go along, I've gotten to thinking about what keeps a community strong yet flexible enough to accommodate change.

I started up the Victoria Poly 101 discussions as a way to both meet people who were interested in responsible, honest, multi-partnered relationships and as a way to help provide information about this relationship choice. What I didn't expect when I started hosting meets was the overwhelming sense of "community" that would grow between the very diverse members of the group which gathered every month to discuss a rather limited topic.

This got me thinking about the role of diversity within communities, and how it can lend strength if it exists in the right proportion to the sharing of a common goal or interest. While VP101 is a diverse group, it's also becoming a strong community -- one that shares the goal of self-exploration and growth as well as learning about what it means to be polyamorous. Learning about ourselves, no matter how diverse we may be, is the other common thread in our community, and this, more than any other shared passion, is what keeps our diverse group going strong. After all, there are (as we are fond of saying in all our discussions) as many ways to be or practice poly as there are people.

I want to thank every person who has come out to a Poly 101 meet in the past year -- each of you has contributed a unique and strong piece to the larger puzzle of our ever-changing community. As we continue to grow and change as individuals and as a group, I think we can feel confident it will always provide a place to explore not only the challenges of different relationship structures, but a haven for the diverse, the loving, and the courageous of our community at large.

Happy 2010!

~Kiki

March VP101 discussion: jealousy, compersion and more...

With this discussion we're getting back to poly basics to talk about feelings of jealousy, compersion, and how to deal with our own feelings and those of others. Self-knowledge and feeling good about ourselves is a big part of good relationships, but how do we get to that point?

Please come to discuss and share, if you like, your own stories about your feelings and experiences of polyamory.

** Note: we will continue to hold Poly 101 discussions at Camas Bookstore until May, 2010, but stay tuned for an alternate discussion venue in March/April **

Victoria Poly 101 monthly discussion

"Jealousy, comperson feeling good about yourself and your relationships"

Time:6:30PM Thursday, March 25th

Location:Camas Bookstore, corner of Kings and Quadra streets

CPAA update: Intervenor status granted!

The Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association (CPAA) is pleased to be able to say that on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, the BC Supreme Court agreed that it would hear the evidence and arguments of the CPAA when the Court considers the reference questions put to it by the BC government about the constitutionality of Canada's "anti-polygamy" law (s. 293, Criminal Code).  This means that the court will hear the CPAA's evidence and arguments about how s. 293 breaches the charter rights of polyamorous Canadians: S 293 says that it is a criminal offence to live in a marriage-like ("conjugal") relationship involving more than 2 people.  

Other groups who were granted the same status as "interested persons" are British Columbia Civil Liberties Association; Beyond Borders: Ensuring Global Justice for Children;  British Columbia Teachers’ Federation; Canadian Association for Free Expression; Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, jointly with David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights; Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association; Catholic Organization for Life and Family, jointly with Knights of Columbus, BC and Yukon Chapter; Christian Legal Fellowship; Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and James Oler in his capacity as Bishop of the FLDS; REAL Women of Canada; Stop Polygamy in Canada; and West Coast Women’s Legal Education & Action Fund.  Mr. Blackmore's application for "party" status will be heard later.   The Government of Canada and of British Columbia are parties to the litigation.

The first round of evidence is due in court in early June, with further evidence due in July and September. 

**  Check out the CPAA's facebook page: www.facebook.com/polyadvocacy