REAL Women of Canada will be hosting its 2010 national conference on Saturday, April 17 in North Bay, Ont., at Clarion Resort Pinewood Park. REAL (“Realistic, Active, Equal, for Life”) Women of Canada is a pro-woman and pro-family organization that was federally incorporated in 1983 and is an NGO with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Its purpose is to promote the traditional family. REAL Women was created by a group of people concerned about the degradation of society in Canada. “We decided that the basic problem was the breakdown of the family,” Gwen Landolt, national vice president and one of the founders of the organization, told The Interim. “The family is the key to promoting a secure and happier life.” REAL Women takes a position based on Judeo-Christian values on various social issues, such as marriage, child care, abortion, pornography, pension and tax reform, and drug prevention. The organization has intervened in several court cases, including at the level of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The annual REAL Women conference was started because the Canada Corporations Act required that all federally incorporated organizations have an annual meeting to elect a new board of directors and to issue an audited financial statement. It provided an opportunity to bring people together for an annual general meeting and, “We decided it would be a good time to bring forward interesting speakers,” too, said Landolt.

The 2010 national conference is a valuable opportunity for members and supporters to meet and hear from interesting speakers on important current issues. “It is a good chance for people to find out about issues important to REAL Women,” said Pauline Guzik, the national conference convenor, “It will give us some advice on…what we can do as individuals to improve the situation of the family in Canada.”

The theme of the conference is “REAL and Relevant.” In accordance with this theme, the speakers will address the relevance and importance of pro-family advocates and REAL Women to today’s society. The speakers include Gwen Landolt (“The Significance of REAL Women of Canada”), former MP Pat O’Brien (“How to effectively communicate with your MP”), Institute of Marriage and Family Canada executive director Dave Quist (“Using Language to Impact our Culture”) and Big Blue Wave blogger Suzanne Fortin (“Blogging to Break the Feminist Monopoly”).

You can register online here.

Pauline Kosalka is a student at the University of Toronto and writer for The Interim.