Report from the 2011 AGM
CFUW Kitchener-Waterloo President strikes city wide organization for women’s groups
Ruth Russell, understands the power of women to create change in their communities. So, she struck on the idea of creating an umbrella organization that will help women’s groups come together to share ideas and resources.
“It was in the back of my mind,” said Russell. “I know several organizations exist in other cities.”
With the support of the Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo, Russell will host a breakfast meeting Feb. 11 at the Waterloo Region Record’s Canada Room, where representatives from women’s groups in Kitchener and Waterloo will be encouraged to talk about their organization’s various projects.
“We might be able to accomplish a lot more, together,” said a hopeful Russell. “A lot of women’s groups have similar goals.”
To read the rest of the original article, click here.
CFUW Thunder Bay Celebrates 99th birthday of member Helen Knights
The Thunder Bay chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women took time Sunday to honour its most senior member. During its general meeting, the group’s president, Liz Poulin, presented Helen Knights, who turns 99 on Thursday, with flowers and a card. To read the rest of the article, click here.
Photo Credit: http://www.chroniclejournal.com/content/news/local/2011/01/17/varied-interests-keep-99-year-old-going
Happy Holidays!
Wrap yourself in the joys of the season with family and friends.
Wishing you health and happiness in 2011!
- Brenda Wallace, CFUW National President
Giving the gift of reading
CFUW St. Catharines has been featured for their “Gift of Reading” project. To read the article, click here.
Photo credit: www.niagarathisweek.com
Dian Cohen Discusses Financial Literacy with CFUW
Says nearly half of population can’t balance cheque book
By Sylvia Bullard Sylvia.recordlink@yahoo.ca
CFUW Quebec Provincial Council Fall Meeting was held at the North Hatley Golf Club on Saturday, October 23, 2010. Dian Cohen, who is a noted political economist, journalist, and broadcaster, was the featured guest speaker. Ms. Cohen has had a long career as an economics commentator on television and radio, first with the CBC and then with CTV. Additionally she is also a recipient of the Order of Canada and other awards for economic communications excellence. She is a recognized commentator on economic change and globalization and their implications for personal financial, business and community strategies. “Financial Literacy in Canada” was the subject of her tremendously, thought – provoking speech on Saturday.
Having recognized for some time that interest in financial literacy has been growing in Canada, members of the Provincial Council who were also in attendance had suggested this subject to be featured for the fall meeting with CFUW. The ability to make informed financial decisions is essential for basic functioning in Canadian society, as in all countries with complex financial systems. These decisions range from simple daily spending and budgeting, to choices of insurance, banking or investment products, to saving for major life events like retirement and education or purchases like a home. These individual and household decisions and behaviours have profound impacts on the financial security, well-being of individuals and families. In the 2009 budget, the Minister of Finance announced his intention to establish a national task force dedicated to the issue of financial literacy. Appointed in June 2009, the Task Force on Financial Literacy provide advice and recommendations to the Minister of Finance on a national strategy to strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians.
Ms. Cohen explained that, surprisingly this Task Force found that even though we as a group of Canadians are more educated than we have ever been, in general 48 percent of us cannot balance a cheque book, fill out an order form, or figure out what the interest rate is — for example when buying a car — and this illiteracy percentage is much higher for older than younger people. “The government has mounted programs to improve our financial literacy. Yet, with all of this education, why is financial literacy still a problem? The fact is, it’s a global problem. Some of us have not mastered the art of making budgets. We live in a consumer society; all of our surroundings encourage us to buy now and work it out later. Many do not think about retirement or the consequences of what we are doing now”, she said.
After having emphasized the thought that we must do something about financial literacy she turned the meeting over to a member of the University Women’s Club of Montreal (UWC), Judith Kashul, who explained that UWC of Montreal felt that people really needed to start talking about this. “However, we wondered how we would we get people to start talking, how could we advocate for this?” she said. A member in their group suggested starting conversations through case study around financial literacy, focusing on women’s groups. Judith explained, “We have to start with small bites by starting out with small groups then fanning them out across the county. We applied for a grant to develop and publish a series of case studies to be used with women’s groups across Canada focusing on women in the 45 plus age group.” She then asked all in the audience to participate in a case study and then evaluate the session, and give their feedback on how it may work in other settings. The particular case study that was featured certainly did serve to make one aware of important financial issues that a woman might face in the event of becoming newly widowed.
At the end of the session, questions were handed out to each participant to help them reflect on the relevance of the activity to their own financial situation. The deep appreciation for the event that was felt by one and all in attendance was very evident as the meeting adjourned.
CFUW members in action! Joy Forbes, CFUW Kanata publishes book on One Room School Houses
Book Release of “Perseverance, Pranks and Pride – Tales of the One-Room Schoolhouse”
After two years of interviewing over 175 people, researching over 100 one-room schoolhouses, spending countless houses of writing and editing, Joy Forbes’ book is finally ready. “Perseverance, Pranks and Pride – Tales of the One-Room Schoolhouse” is being released on September 3, 2010.
The book focuses on the life and times of English- and French-speaking individuals growing up in the Ottawa Valley region who attended or taught in one-room schoolhouses from around the turn of the century until 1992 when the last one closed in Ontario. There are approximately 75 short stories about individual experiences as well as brief histories of many schools.
Il y a quelques histoires en français. It also includes many interesting photographs and images of memorabilia, which until now have not been documented. Contributors of note include Larry Robinson of the Montreal Canadiens, Graham Ritchie of Ritchie’s Feed and Seed, as well as the well-known local author, Mary Cook, who was also gracious enough to compose a very flattering preface.
If you are in the Ottawa area, Joy will be reading and signing copies at the following times and locations:
Sunday, September 12, 1-5pm at the Cheshire Cat Pub (formerly SS. No. 1 Huntley)
2193 Richardson Side Road (at Carp Road)
and
Sunday, September 19, 1-5pm at the Centrepointe Library
101 Centrepointe Dr., Ottawa.
Over 330 members from coast to coast joined together to help celebrate the Ottawa Club’s 100th anniversary and to listen, discuss, and debate the future of Afghanistan at our AGM.
Ottawa was very hot and muggy, but the National Office welcomed visitors. Those of us who aren’t as familiar with Ottawa as others appreciated the proximity of our National Office to Parliament Hill. I had a mental image of Susan Russell, our dear soon to be past Executive Director, rushing over to present before a House Standing Committee- our policy book in action.
We enjoyed many wonderful speakers. The biographer and historian Charlotte Gray was our speaker at the Charitable Trust Breakfast regaling us with stories of the role of indomitable women such as Susanna Moodie in our country’s past. All of the rest of the speakers and workshop leaders on Friday were experts on Afghanistan. Many of the display tables also featured NGOs operating in Afghanistan. The federal government also had a table with information packages. It was very satisfying to have the focus of our AGM on one particular topic and one that is so important for the rights of women and children.
We had two panel discussions on Friday moderated very ably and enthusiastically by Lucy van Oldenbarneveld, the Ottawa evening news co-host for CBC. The first panel consisted of senior representatives from the military, the government, and development agencies who obviously knew each other well and entertained us with their banter. Brigadier General Denis Thompson, a Chief of Staff in the Canadian Forces updated us on the military situation, reminding us that the mission in Afghanistan ends next year; Kerry Buck, Assistant Deputy Minister in Foreign Affairs candidly described her experiences and the complexities of Afghan politics and the importance of supporting a centralized government in Kabul. Dr Hau Sing Tse told us about the challenges and successes in working in community development. We came away with a greater understanding of the situation and the difficulties and concerns of those on the ground, but I will remember Ms Buck’s words to me afterwards: “I am so proud of what Canada is doing.”
The second panel consisted of experts in the fields of Afghan education, health, governance, and economic growth. Leslye Rost van Tonnigan of Care Canada; Dr Sima Samar, Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission; Dr Razmik Panossian, Director of Policy, Programs and Planning at Montreal-based Rights and Democracy; and Justine Turner, Project Officer at War Child Canada. Each member made a presentation and, following the panel, led one of the four themed workshops. The attendees were then able to explore one of the topics in the context of Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan theme continued for the Federation Banquet. Alaina Podmorow, founder of Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, was our before dinner speaker. I heard her speak two or three years ago in Calgary at a Canadian Women for Afghan Women fundraiser. She was very impressive then, and now at thirteen she is a confident, inspiring young woman who has raised over $110,000 for educating girls and training teachers in Afghanistan. Her belief is that “education = peace”. Dr Sima Samar was our keynote speaker. She thanked Canada for the money we have spent and the lives sacrificed for her country, but her message was that the job is not finished, and an unfinished job becomes a problem. She doesn’t believe that the Afghan government will be able to protect the rights and security of the people once the NATO forces leave. She emphasized that there are no quick fix programs, but education creates a healthier population, which is especially important for women. She finished by telling us that we can support the struggle for human rights in Afghanistan with even small amounts of money and by staying engaged. She gave us heart when she told us that our support gives the women of Afghanistan courage. We also had a special guest present at our banquet: Flora MacDonald who has a charity working in Afghanistan and actually goes every year to teach for three weeks.
Andrea Lanthier-Seymour, Director of Communication, Care Canada, our International Women’s Day partner, gave us an update on what Care is doing and what and where we are supporting education initiatives. She presented CFUW a plaque to show Care Canada’s appreciation for our support and participation.
Aside from our very informative panels, speakers and workshops on Afghanistan, we had a lively business meeting: Resolution #1 on Chrysotile Asbestos passed with full support; Resolution #2 on the Funding of Aboriginal Education also passed as was #3 Mobilizing the Will to Intervene. Resolution #4 on Prostitution created the most debate with a successful motion to turn each of the Resolves into separate Resolutions. The first Resolution was then sent back because the proposed changes in wording coming from the floor would have changed the intent of the original resolution. The second and third Resolutions were carried after much- and at times passionate- debate over choices and victims. The #5 Resolution on Electro-Magnetic Field from High Voltage Overhead Lines also created some debate over the science behind the claim. The Resolution was defeated by a simple majority.
We were given the heads up about two initiatives: the first is the review of the Constitution and By-laws; clubs will be consulted this Fall and vote on the proposed amendments in March. The second is a little more exciting: Doris Mae Oulton has been developing plans for our 100th anniversary in 2019. She has identified 10 core strengths for our club and has set goals to honour each of them through events and activities. Please go to our website for more information, and you will be hearing more from Doris Mae.
As the AGM came to a close, we said our goodbyes to Susan Russell after eleven years as our retiring Executive Director. In her farewell speech, she told us that many NGO’s report that the biggest problem is the “democracy deficit”- people not involving themselves in politics are passively supporting the status quo. She advised us to take opportunities to take part in public affairs, to not be shy, but “be shameless” in promoting CFUW, and to share our briefs and work hand-in-hand with other women’s organizations. She said we have to speak for those who have no voice and to go back to our clubs with our policy book because our policy is what empowers us to speak as one. I’m sure we will be seeing her again as she is a member of the Ottawa Club. She has left a strong legacy of advocacy and connections to The Hill. Robin Jackson, our new Executive Director, was present for the AGM as they overlap their positions until the end of August. It was good to have the opportunity to meet her and welcome her to CFUW.
We also said goodbye and thank you to Out-going Patricia DuVal for a job well done as she completed her biennium. We then welcomed Brenda Wallace as our National President. Brenda announced the theme for this coming biennium: The Right to Speak: The Responsibility to Act. She will be leading 22 delegates to Mexico City for the IFUW meeting in early August.
The Ottawa club did an amazing job. Everything went so smoothly. The organizing committee planned such wonderful inspiring speakers, informative panel discussions and useful workshops. There was a great selection of tours, and the venue was great with delicious lunches and Banquet, and so convenient to the historic sites and Bytown Market.
I find that the more AGMs I go to the more I look forward to them. While it is wonderful to get to know so many of our sisters across Canada, to know our leaders, to put names to faces, I am always impressed with the passion that our members and leaders have for our organization and the commitment individuals have for our ideals in their own going advocacy efforts and resolution work.
AGM August 2011 in St John’s Newfoundland sounds wonderful- especially now we all know how to say it! What wonderful opportunities these AGMs are for exploring our country. See you on the Rock!
Best wishes
Janet Bowes
Retired RD – Alberta
Dollars for Students in Quebec
Over $75 000 donated by Quebec university women in 2009 alone to fund scholarships for deserving students.
The five clubs belonging to the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) in Quebec have donated more than $250 000 over the years as part of the organization’s goal to encourage women from many local communities in pursuing educational opportunities, advanced study and research. In fifty years of activity, the Montreal Lakeshore University Women’s Club (MLUWC) has given over $125 000 to West Island women for further education. Next year MLUWC members plan to give $6000 in scholarships and $2000 in bursaries.
CFUW Sherbrooke & District in the Eastern Townships recently gave out over $7500 to university students who are studying law and business, women and gender, education, medicine, elementary education and nursing. Other awards were given to high school and vocational students for leadership, French, history and effort.
A new award was made possible with the profits of sales of Days to Remember: One-room Schoolhouses in the Eastern Townships of Quebec that resulted from an oral history project undertaken by club members. Since CFUW Montreal South Shore was founded in 1957, members have supported women as they pursued further education. This year $6000 was given to five local high schools for young women entering CEGEP; to two women graduates from Champlain St Lambert and Edouard Montpetit entering university; and to two women studying at Concordia University. A donation was also made to the national Charitable Trust for the Polytechnique Commemorative Award.
The club has an on-going project whereby funds are donated to help support a school for girls in Afghanistan. In Feb. 2009, L’Association des femmes diplômées des universités de Québec (AFDU Quebec) presented 23 students in the first, second and third cycles at the Un. of Laval with $24 500. In addition, a donation was made of $3000 for a project related to girls’ education in Rwanda. Montreal Inc was able to distribute over $13,000 including bursaries to 6 deserving students at Concordia and Project Chance. The Betsy Barber Memorial Award is intended to encourage and reward women who are pursuing their graduate studies in the MBA program at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business.
In keeping with its mandate the Montreal Inc.Foundation also supported several organizations with grants totalling $ 9,000 including Project Chance, Auberge Madeleine, Montreal Children’s Library, Chez Doris, Old Brewery Mission, Atwater Library, Native Women’s Shelter and the Fondation du Centre des femmes de Montreal. Money is raised through benefit theatre performances, silent auctions, donations and book sales.
The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) founded in 1910, is a national non-profit, non-partisan, women’s equality-promoting organization of close to 10 000 women graduates in 118 clubs across Canada. The members of these clubs are making a real change both at home and abroad. Educating young men and women enables them to contribute meaningfully to society, both in their chosen career and their family life.
For further info contact www.cfuw.org or the individual Quebec clubs.
In Remembrance: Mary Black, 1915-2009
We regret to announce that Mary Black, a member of CFUW in Saskatchewan for over 50 years died on August 4, 2009. Mary was born on May 31 1915 on a homestead near Foam Lake, SK. She graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 1936 and taught in Benson, SK; Smiley, SK; Dinsmore, SK and in the Saskatoon Public School System at the secondary level, as well as at the University of Saskatchewan. Mathematics was her primary subject. Mary was widowed in 1978 and is survived by two sons and a daughter, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Mary rarely missed a CFUW general meeting, unless she was travelling. She belonged to several of our Interest groups over the years. Last November she hosted a meeting of our Canadian Literature Club at her home just weeks before she had a stroke. She learned to walk and speak clearly again and had been transferred to an intermediate care home from the Park Ridge Rehabilitation Centre. George (who taught with her at Mount Royal Collegiate) and I had visited her in early June and had a wonderful visit with her. Mary was also a member of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church which we have attended for almost fifty years. Mary Black was a wonderful, witty, wise and gracious woman who will be missed by many people.
