ADVOCACY REPORT TO THE 2016 CFUW ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Teri Shaw Vice President , Advocacy

WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT and PARTNERS WORKING WITH CLUBS and MEMBERS WHAT WE DO WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT and PARTNERS WORKING WITH CLUBS and MEMBERS Advocacy has been very exciting this year, and much of it due to the election, both pre and post.

THE ELECTION ______________________________________ UP FOR DEBATE Election Bulletins Some highlights: Government Work: The Election: Up for Debate Election Bulletins,

SUPPORT FROM CLUBS ________________________________________________________________________________ CFUW SASKATOON CFUW SOUTHPORT and support from clubs Grandma Asked Me to Vote campaign, CFUW Saskatoon

POST ELECTION _________________________________________________ Fall package on: Adopted Resolutions Briefs on Women’s Equality and on Education Women’s History Month and the Suffragists Post-election: For the clubs: traditional fall package on the adopted resolutions, and Briefs prepared for Women’s Equality, for Education

POST ELECTION __________________________________________________ Climate Change Brief for the Pre-Budget consultations Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women End Violence Against Women, Nov.25-Dec.6 Climate change   Brief for the Pre-budget consultations Work on the National Initiative on violence which included updated information concerning the murdered and missing Indigenous Women and the End Violence Against Women

POST ELECTION ________________________________________________ Meetings among others: Patti Hajdu, Minister Status of Women Status of Women Canada NDP and Conservative Critics and/or their staff   Support to Private Member’s Bills Non-State Torture, with updated materials Maternity assistance program Motion on climate change Bill C-14 Assisted Dying Meetings with Status of Women Canada, Patti Hajdu, Minister Status of Women, as well as both NDP and Conservative Critics   Support to Private Member’s Bills on Non-State Torture, with updated materials, and maternity assistance program and Motion on climate change Bill C-14 Assisted Dying

SUMMER ___________________________ For the first time ever action during the summer: Child Care: Telling Our Stories Sexual Assault on Campus research project Meeting with MPs before the fall on some important topics For the first time, we are having summer campaigns to build for the return of Parliament in September: Child Care and Sexual Assault on Campus, also the suggestion of meeting with MPs before the fall on some important topics.

WORKING WITH CLUBS AND MEMBERS _________________________________ Your support is vital – and we thank you for it. TAKE ACTION Member Resources website For and with the membership: Most of the work with the government is handled in Ottawa by our Advocacy Coordinator, Maddie Webb, and our Executive Director, Robin Jackson.   Advocacy for CFUW involves more that talking to governments. It also involves you, our membership, to encourage with knowledge and to TAKE ACTION.

WORKING WITH CLUBS AND MEMBERS _________________________________ The CFUW Advocacy Toolkit Series of handouts and booklets Found in the Member Resources website To this end, we have had, and are continuing, four major endeavours this year: CFUW Advocacy Toolkit One of the recommendations from the 2013 New Beginnings survey was the “development of training initiatives to assist Clubs in addressing advocacy Issues at the local level”, including “community partnerships and coalitions.” This January we published the online Advocacy Toolkit. It is an ever-evolving set of handouts and booklets.

WORKING WITH CLUBS AND MEMBERS _________________________________ Sexual Assault on Campus Research Project Women in Universities relook at 1992 CFUW study Early Learning and Child Care Study of the holes in service Indigenous Study & Resources Found on Tools & Resources WORKING WITH CLUBS AND MEMBERS _________________________________ The Study Group The other major endeavor was The Study Group initiated by Kathryn Wilkinson, VP Education and myself. The aim was to provide for individual members across Canada something similar to what is available in clubs – an excuse to study a topic and share it with others. Studying is not necessarily our strong suit, action is – three projects have sprung from this: Sexual Assault on Campus – a research project ….. Women in Universities 1992 Early learning and Child Care  

WORKING WITH CLUBS AND MEMBERS _________________________________ NATIONAL INITIATIVES PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Advocacy Support to the National Initiative on Women and Violence and the new one on Early Learning and Child Care. Child Care is continuing to expand over this year thanks to the work of the team of the National Office, Terry Hamilton of the Study Group, Margaret McGovern and the Toronto Caucus and CFUW Guelph. Following on the very successful BC Council project, we have started a Telling Our Stories campaign to build an advocacy base for both National and individual clubs EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE

AGM 2015 _____________________________ Ian Morrison Friends of Canadian Broadcasting Child Care Has become a National Initiative Including a 2016 summer campaign of “Telling Our Stories” Town Hall on Resolutions Proposed Resolutions: Eleanor Scarth Policy Book reboot: Feedback: Proposed committee to review and study the Policy Book AGM 2015 followup Child Care – from Ian Morrison’s talk mentioned Town Hall on Resolutions – Eleanor Scarf will talk more about that when she gives her report. Concerning the Policy Book, based on your feedback, the Standing Committee on Advocacy is recommending to next Board that a committee be established

To close:   Being an organization, with informed knowledgeable members, that extends from coast-to-coast is our strength. We don’t have any special expertise; we’re not single issue; what we have is our network, and it is you. To close:   Being an organization, with informed knowledgeable members, that extends from coast-to-coast is our strength. We don’t have any special expertise; we’re not single issue; what we have is our network, and it is you.

THANK YOU! Every one of you is important to us – you may not do any advocacy, or follow any issues, but you are all knowledgeable and informed in your own world, and I would guess you’re all voters. And you are and have been supportive for our advocacy work, and for that I say, after 6 years of being VP Advocacy, thank you very, very much.   And much thanks to the rest of the advocacy team – Maddie Webb, Doris Mae Oulton, Kathryn Wilkinson, Cheryl Hayles and Robin Jackson.