My name is Catherine Gardner. I have one daughter and two grandchildren. I was born in Ottawa where I continue to reside.

My background is in Health and Social Services. I graduated with Honours from the Algonquin College Developmental Service Worker Program the Social Service Worker Program and the Personal Support Services Worker Program. I am a graduate of the former Registered Nursing Assistant Program and of the Leadership Ottawa Program.

I am a former Health Care Worker (long-term care facilities and in private homes). I am a former Crisis Intervention Worker (paid and volunteer). I have responded to sudden deaths, fires and sexual assault situations. I ran my own small business for almost 10 years, providing alcohol and smoke-free activities for singles and single parent families.

My community involvement:

I am a former Director of the One Parent Families Association and a former Board member of the Social Planning Council of Ottawa.  I am presently a Board member and volunteer with STRIDE Assistance for the Disabled Inc. which operates the STRIDE Wheelchairs Plus Recycling Depot. I have been a member of the City of Ottawa Accessibility Advisory Committee since 2008 where I am presently sitting as Chair.

I am a freelance photographer and, although nature is my passion, I have used my photos when advocating for change.

I am presently running for the position of City Councillor in College ward.

I am committed to working to improve the quality of life for all residents: please visit my website to find out how you can get involved in my campaign:.

My name is Megan Carroll; I am running to be the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustee, Zone 10.

A bit about me

I am a full-time mother and have been focused on education since my son was born.  I spent my teenage years as a counsellor at summer camps, where I had the opportunity to work with kids from all walks of life. My brother started volunteering with inner city youth, and I saw first-hand how important it is for the community to do whatever we can to provide the best education for all.

Why I’m running

I strongly believe we should expect access to world-class, high-quality public education for all of our children by creating the best atmosphere for each child to thrive, as well as informative programs and services beyond the classroom that teach our children important life skills.  It is also paramount to me as a taxpayer that we keep costs low and balance the school board budget.

My objectives are to:

- Provide high-quality education and before/after-school programs and services that meet the needs of families in zone 10 so our children can grow and develop to reach their full potential;

- Ensure the Ottawa-Carleton District School board schools in zone 10 are safe, clean environments;

- Support teachers’ professional development;

- Expand environmental programs to support our kids’ desire to better protect and preserve the environment;

- Focus on nutritional, healthy options so children can learn to make the right lifestyle choices.

How I decided now is the time

I weighed the decision to run for School Board Trustee of zone 10 carefully before I decided to put my name to the ballot.  I recognize the significance of this role, and the time, commitment and devotion required to do it well.  I wanted to be confident that now was the right time for me and my family to take on such an important job.  After careful consideration, I decided that now is the time to get involved and make a difference.

Ohh yes we can!

As you’ve probably heard by now, EV uOttawa’s All Party Party was a huge success! How could it fail with a name that says “party” not once, but twice?!

Students – both affiliated and apolitical – and reps from the uOttawa Young Liberals (who took the prize for most representation!), Bloc Québécois (who surprised everyone with an impressive delegation!), NDP, and Conservatives, filled our student pub, 1848, enjoyed great music thanks to the great DJ Jackson Ryan, interesting chats, and a good laugh watching party reps go head-to-head at trivia on women in politics.

The captivating Paige Galette, who is of course VP Comms for the SFUO - but more importantly an outstanding role model for all young women and men interested in getting involved in democratic representation – joined the party and addressed the crowd. Paige ran a great campaign in February, truly earning each and every vote. She brought her motivating spirit to the room last Wednesday and we couldn’t thank her enough!

A special thank you also goes to SFUO Pres Tyler Steeves who joined the party and spoke about youth engagement in student politics and about campaigning, as he encouraged all to get involved and to take the opportunities in front of us to learn from former and current reps’ experiences.

Thank you to all those who came and made this year’s kick off INCREDIBLE! We look forward to an even greater All Party Party next September!

Special thanks to Muse Mohammed for capturing the moment with his photography – pictures to come shortly!

Next steps?

1) Come out to our drop-in meetings EVERY WEDNESDAY at 7PM in Café Alt – everyone is welcome (yes, EVERYONE!) to join us for a chat about everything and anything related to politics and/or women’s issues!

2) Were you at the All Party Party? Leave us your feedback! What did you like most? What should we try next year? Or… Didn’t make it? What held you back?!

See you Wednesday!

- Lynne Lessard

This post was adapted from the uOttawa Equal Voice Chapter’s blog post by the same name, dated October 8th.  Equal Voice thanks Lynne for her contribution.

My name is Sarah Doucette; I am running for Toronto City Council in Ward 13. I have lived in the Ward with my husband and children for fifteen years. During this time I have saved school swimming pools, built playgrounds, and kept Swansea Memorial Library from closing. I have organized community clean up days and e-waste free recycling days.

I am a founding member of Green 13, a local environmental group, and am working with others to prevent more Diesel trains from bringing toxins into our neighbourhood.

I have been a member of 11 Division Community Police Liaison Committee for over seven years. I am a member of the Aquatics Working Group chaired by former mayor David Crombie, I have been involved with the Toronto District School Board Ward 7 council chaired by Trustee Atkinson and been on school councils at Swansea PS and Humberside CI for a total of fifteen years. Being involved with the local schools I know we need more daycare in our ward.

I believe a councillor needs to listen to the people. I have invited the Business Improvement Associations, Resident Groups and Tenant Associations to join a Ward Council, which will meet quarterly. As Councillor I will hold monthly public meetings so residents can bring their concerns and issues to discuss with me. I will continue to distribute my newsletter on local issues, which people tell me they find informative.

While working at Swansea Town Hall for the past six years, I have established the principals I will bring to city hall.

I LISTEN…I RESPOND… I TAKE ACTION!

For more information on my campaign and how to get involved please visit my website at www.sarahdoucette.com I am looking for people to come canvassing, take a lawn sign or make phone calls.  But most of all I am looking for your support on October 25.

Sarah

On September 9-10,^th scores of women and a handful of men arrived at Rideau Hall for the Governor-General’s Women’s Conference. The conference was entitled “Together for Women’s Security,” and it really lived up to its name!

Thursday morning started with speeches from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Professor Constance Backhouse, the Honourable Jean Augustine, the Honourable Belinda Stronach, and many others. This was followed by a discussion with the audience on the subject of Women’s Security. In the afternoon, there were smaller break-out groups surrounding various subjects, followed by a plenary session. In the evening there were some amazing performances, and Friday was filled with more inspiring and thought-provoking speeches and plenary discussions.

This conference gave the participants the opportunity to share their experiences with each other while discussing new solutions and ways forward. All aspects of women’s security were discussed in detail: physical, emotional, sexual, economic, and political. There was a lot of emphasis placed on the importance of working in solidarity with each other and with all women, despite the many differences that exist in this demographic. There was much reflection on the work of the first and second wave feminists, and discussion of all that still needs to be accomplished.

The momentum of the second wave has been lost to a certain extent, but to a young woman like myself, this powerful gathering of women felt like a rallying call for a third wave of feminism. I was struck by the open, friendly, and communal atmosphere of the conference; interacting with the other participants felt like spending time with family. This conference truly brought women together in an inspiring setting that will provide the impetus for all the participants to continue working towards security for all women!

As the new Equal Voice Youth Chair, I am honoured to represent the youth on the Equal Voice Board.  From the outset, I hope to enhance our communication, so that we can better meet EVY’s needs and to further our mission in bringing an equal representation to all levels of government in Canada.  With this in mind, I look forward to the launch of the new Equal Voice Youth Website, where youth members can stay connected through news, Flickr, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, facilitating the growth of student chapters across the country.   I trust the Equal Voice Youth category on our new blog: Canadian Women in Politics, will also prove to be pivotal and enhancing conversations being had between student chapters and regional chapters, and Equal Voice with Canadian voters and supporters.

Michal Harewood, the new Equal Voice Youth Chair 2009-2010

I would also like to add that in the next couple of months, school and politics will move very fast.  With existing chapters at McGill University, York University, UOttawa, and new a new chapter being established at Carleton University, many events are being planned for the fall.  In her last post, Charlotte Burchette, the President of UOttawa EV Chapter, discussed her chapters’ upcoming “All Party Party” on September 29th, as Carleton University Equal Voice readily anticipate their founding meeting later this month.  What’s more, in November, the McGill University Equal Voice Chapter will be hosting their annual “Women in House” trip to Ottawa, which promotes women’s representation in government by giving female McGill students the opportunity to gain an inside look into the daily schedules of female politicians in the Canadian federal government.

I look forward to a fun and fruitful year as your new youth chair, and stay tuned for more posts from EVY in the months ahead.

All the Best,

Michal

On behalf of the executive of Equal Voice UOttawa, I would like to welcome all of our members back for another year and say hello to those of you who may be learning of our club for the first time.  We have an exciting year planned that we hope many of you will be able to take part in.

As a kick off to a new school year, we will be hosting the first annual all-ages All Party Party on September 29 at campus bar 1848.  The event is designed to bring together all political persuasions for a night of networking, music, food and trivia.

Starting September 15 we will be hosting weekly meetings to plan events, discuss issues surrounding women in politics, as well as politics in general, and to act as a welcoming place for networking, collaboration and solidarity.  Later in the year we hope to once again offer workshops for women interested in running in campus elections.

As always, we look forward to connecting with other young women interested in running for office, getting involved in the political process or merely love to talk about politics.  We invite everyone to read our blog at or join us on Facebook/Twitter under the name EqualVoice UOttawa.

Thanks and have a great year!

The EqualVoice UOttawa Executive

EV Toronto woke up this morning very excited for our mayoral debate tonight, but it was dampened when we got word that the front-runner in the polls, Rob Ford, was not going to be joining us after all. He told our event organizer, Velma Morgan, that he had a BBQ he had to attend instead.

We’re going to try and not let that sully the debate, since the other four major players, George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Sarah Thomson and Joe Pantalone, will still be attending. But it is a reminder that some politicians do not value a discussion on issues important to women or care to share ways to support women running for political office.

Either way we hope to see you out tonight. And if you can’t make it, check back with www.equalvoice.ca for a review of how it went down.

LOCATION: YWCA Toronto, 80 Woodlawn Ave. E.

TIME: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

This morning at 8:00 a.m. (EST), e-ballots were sent to all eligible Equal Voice Youth (EVY) members to cast their votes for Equal Voice’s new National Youth Chair.

“This is the first time Equal Voice has officially staged an online election to vote in a new board member,” said Nancy Peckford, the Executive Director of Equal Voice.

“As an organization, we are delighted to harness the power of an online voting system to elect our new Youth Chair.”

Using the secure voting system, Simplyvoting.com, Equal Voice anticipates a strong turnout from our membership.

“I think that this is a great method of reaching out to our youth members across the country and to engage them in selecting our new National Youth Chair,” expressed Beki Scott, outgoing National Youth Chair. “I encourage everyone to get online and vote today!”

Voting officially closes at 24:00 (EST) on Sunday, August 15th.

A look at the Candidates:

NATASHA ENTWISTLE: My names is Natasha Entwistle and I am a 26 year old woman who is passionate about politics, but more specifically about seeing more Canadian women involved in politics at all levels of government. I find it to be a sad state of affairs when there is less than 25 per cent of the politicians (at the national level) that are women. I grew up in Israel, Russia and Cuba as the daughter of diplomat. I have been in Ottawa for over a decade. I am fluent in French, English and Spanish. Currently, I am Special Assistant to a female Senator and former MP and Minister. She has been a great inspiration for me. I would like to have the opportunity to inspire and get young women involved in politics from a young age, that way; once they grow up they won’t just work towards getting more women involved, they will demand it.

MICHAL HAREWOOD: Michal Harewood is president and founder of Women of Color Sisterhood, a non-profit organization and social network of diverse women that offers life programs and volunteering services to women’s organizations. She consults regularly with executives from a variety of backgrounds and professions to help build communication and knowledge amongst women and the community. Prior to her current position, she was president of the Vanier Christian fellowship at Vanier College. Raised in Montreal and Austin, Quebec, Michal now lives with two sisters in the diverse district of Cote des Neige in Montreal. Michal has recently graduated with honours from Vanier College with two DECs in Psychology and Women Studies. She has recently been asked to join the board of the Negro Community Center and to focus on the rebuilding of the center’s infrastructure. Next Year, she plans to continue her bachelors in Political Science and pursue higher levels of academia.

AMY KISHEK: I am presently completing my joint honours degree in political science and public administration at the uOttawa, where I was elected to represent undergraduate students on the Board of Governors. I have been extensively involved at uOttawa, including serving on the Student Federation, and competing at the World Debating Championships (2008, 2009). In 2009, I was named “Personality of the Year” by the campus newspaper. For the past year, I have worked full-time for M.P. Paul Dewar, and have been involved in partisan and non-partisan federal and provincial politics from an early age through elections and lobby efforts. My work experience includes time spent at CIDA and Elections Canada. In 2007 I helped found the National Capital Youth Chapter of EV, and in 2008 developed the Experiences Program, later assisting in attaining a grant for the program from Status of Women. I have a working knowledge of French, and fluently speak Arabic. My goals include attending law school.

ERIN ASHLEY SCHRYER: Erin Schryer is a graduate student, commencing her PhD in Education at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in September 2010 and an Early Childhood Consultant with the Department of Social Development in New Brunswick. Erin is interested in women in leadership roles, including women in politics, and strongly believes that young people and women in particular, are the key to propelling our great nation forward. Erin is an alumnus of the nationally acclaimed leadership programme, 21 Inc., and presently sits on the steering committee of Equal Voice New Brunswick. Pursuing doctoral studies is the avenue Erin has chosen in order to give back to her community and country. Erin’s research interests are twofold; firstly, to ensure Canada’s youngest minds have the best models of care and education available and understood and secondly, to conduct applied research that will affect and inform both policy creation and change.

JILLIAN TERRY: Jillian Terry is a graduate student in Political Science at Carleton University, where her MA thesis research focuses on feminist international relations and the need for feminist perspectives in the study of international security. Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Jillian has been an active member of the Equal Voice National Youth Committee since the spring of 2008, and was instrumental in establishing a Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of Equal Voice in the summer of 2009. She recently presented a paper at the Canadian Political Science Association annual conference on the topic of Canadian attitudes towards women in politics, and has completed extensive research on women in electoral politics both in Canada and Iceland. Jillian is passionate about electing more women to all levels of Canadian politics, and looks forward to working with Canadian youth to promote the goals of Equal Voice across the country.

In late July, Nancy Peckford, the Executive Director of Equal Voice, and myself had the privilege of meeting with the Ambassador of Norway, Eikeland Else Berit, and Norwegian intern, Jenny Eline Linge, at the Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa.The meeting was prompted by Ms. Else Berit, who had expressed a keen interest in learning more about Equal Voice and the status of women in Canadian politics.

According to recent statistics from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Canada sits at 50th place internationally with respect to the number of women in elected office, where 22 per cent of Canada’s Members of Parliament are women.  According to the United Nations, in order for women to have a sustained and meaningful impact within a country’s legislative assembly, a “critical mass” of least 30 per cent women is necessary.  Despite relative improvements in the last few years, Canada’s numbers have been consistently stagnant since the early 1990s and could definitely use a boost in the upcoming election cycle.

In contrast, Norway is one of several Scandinavian countries with a star record of balanced representation for women and men in elected office at all levels.  Since the early 1980s, the country has undertaken a number of reforms.  These have included the implementation of quotas within some parties, in which it is stipulated that a minimum of “40 per cent women and men” must be elected to the country’s federal legislature.   Norway sits in 8th place internationally with respect to the number of women represented in elected office, where 39.6 per cent of their Members of Parliament are women (since their October 2009 election).

During our meeting, the Ambassador stressed Norway’s experience and relative success with respect to integrating women within their political process.  She noted that the country’s success is partly owing to the fact that women’s participation has been mainstreamed by political parties and the Norwegian electorate alike, where many Norwegians now believe that “democracy,” in its truest form, means “balanced representation for women and men.”

Norway has also recognized the need to make politics more accessible for women.  This has included implementing regular, family friendly work hours, within elected legislatures and also accommodating a style of leadership that does not tolerate sexist comments or behaviour, to name a few examples.  Interestingly, we learned that the Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, routinely picked up his children from daycare at the end of a regular Parliamentary work day, when they were children in school.

We’re excited that the Embassy of Norway in Ottawa has expressed an interest in partnering with Equal Voice to host a number of events in the months ahead, as our organization continues to explore examples as to how we can move forward in making Canada a more balanced, representative country.