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Ottawa Council of Women
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Welcome to the website for the Ottawa Council of Women Contact us at ottawacouncilofwomen@gmail.com "Women Working Together For Over A Century" [Click here for the main PCWO website] See our current newsletter for updates on recent activity of OCW Ottawa Council of Women: President’s Report–2012-2013 Council of Women at all levels is essentially a political advocacy and non-partisan, organization, which creates policy through the resolution process then uses that policy to lobby governments at all levels to make changes in society to benefit women and their families, by asking for changes in governance. Ottawa Council of Women has written, via the appropriate level of Council of Women, to Municipal, Provincial and Federal Governments this last year. It is important that we remember that government can be influenced if we persist. For the coming year, OCW needs women who are interested in these matters; willing to work for change. In order to continue this work, begun so ably by a group of activists back in 1893, we need two sorts of women: we need interested Representatives of our Affiliated organizations; and we need Representatives who have enjoyed their one or two years with us, to become Individual members and will go on working with us. I hope Representatives will consider staying to work with us as Individual members. This has been a difficult year with governmental cuts in many programmes dear to those who care about a healthy and democratic society. As part of an omnibus budget, Bill C-38, most of the cuts were not evaluated by the relevant parliamentary committees; details about their implementation were withheld from watchdogs and opposition MPs; and many cuts were to programs, such as StatsCan, without which it will be very difficult to measure the price we’ve paid for austerity. Bill C-38 also included more than $160 million in cuts to environmental spending, significantly impairing our ability to measure or mitigate our impact on Canada’s wilderness and wildlife. Yet it was never put before the Commons environment committee, nor does the bill ever mention climate change. During last year, to name just a couple, we suffered the destruction of National Library and Archives with much of the collection now unavailable to Canadians, some in private hands; and the fiasco of threatened military spending for attack planes. And the Canadian National Debt has now reached $600 billion: that’s eleven zeros! Think of the interest and what, otherwise, we could do with it. Earlier cuts are now showing up in the most recent blow: our National fall from first place in the 1990s to 11th place this year in the United Nation’s Human Development Index, and to 18th place when Gender Equality is included. Canada is now subject to international reprobation. Last year, Nature, one of the world’s leading scientific journals, chided the federal government for their antagonism to openness and declared, “It is time for the Canadian government to set its scientists free.” Since then, other major international publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, have followed suit, calling on our government to take a more enlightened, democratic approach to scientific findings. The federal information commissioner is now considering an investigation into the persistent and worsening problem of the government’s actions in this regard. As well as work on these matters, we had good times too. Tea with the Famous Five on the Hill with the then probable, now new Leader of the Federal Liberal Party, Judy Sgro and various others including those who were declared this year’s Persons. Then there was the celebration of International Women’s Day at Centrepointe. In conjunction with CFUW Clubs of Ottawa, Kanata and Nepean, our OCW team was ably led again by Beverlee McIntosh. Turn out was excellent, with Speakers Sarah Kambites of the UN Association and Senator Landon Pearson. And we broke even on the event. Members of the Board of OCW have put in a lot of work this last year and I am grateful to them all. I especially want to thank Beverlee McIntosh who chaired the Health Committee much of the year and for her great deal of help as I struggled sometimes, being President and Secretary. Jeannette Logan might have had shares in a computer company judging by the huge number of e-mails she exchanged around the country to settle the best wording for resolutions. Margaret Ford kept us on the straight and narrow financial road, not an easy task with new federal government regulations on record keeping and taxation. Helen Saravanamuttoo has been the de facto Chair of the Social Welfare Committee which prepares, studies and presents to the rest of us so many aspects of Democracy, Social Welfare and Human Rights. Monica Cullum writes interesting and challenging articles for the Newsletter and organizes our event at the Famous Five Monument on Parliament Hill. I am grateful to them all. The Ottawa Council of Women encourages new members eager to advocate for change in Municipal, Provincial and Federal areas. Please send questions and comments to me at Neilreyn1405@gmail.com Maria Neil |
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