Equal Voice News Winter / Spring 2010

Equal Voice - 2010 Toronto EVE Award Recipient,
Anne McLellan

Equal Voice is pleased to announce it has selected the Honourable Anne McLellan, P.C., O.C. to be the winner of the 2010 Eve Award (Toronto), in recognition of her achievements in political life.

Ms. McLellan served four terms as the Liberal Member of Parliament and served as both a Cabinet Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. Her Ministerial portfolios included the Minister of Health, Minister of Natural Resources and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians and as the first Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Ms. McLellan will be honoured by Equal Voice and the Canadian Club of Toronto at the fifth annual Women in Public Life luncheon to be held on April 30, 2010, where she will reflect on her experiences in public life.

This is our major fundraising event and we invite you to attend.
Tickets and tables can be purchased at: www.canadianclub.org

Equal Voice - A Conversation with Minister Gail Shea

On the evening of March 31, Equal Voice’s National Capital Region (EV NCR) chapter had the honour of hosting “A Conversation with Minister Gail Shea,” at the Parliamentary Pub in Ottawa. For an hour, the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans spoke about her experience in politics with the 75 participants, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced in federal and provincial politics. These included her experience with the media as a woman and the challenge of balancing her private life with her public life. Her message was inspirational and emphasized the importance of women entering public office. Minister Shea was the last speaker in EV NCR’s inaugural “A Conversation With…” series. We would like to thank Pfizer for being the generous sponsor of this fabulous event.

This Equal Voice event was filmed by CPAC, check your local listings for future broadcast times. For pictures from the event, please visit EV on Flickr.

Equal Voice - In The News

Equal Voice was recently featured in The Globe and Mail’s lead editorial, “The hurdle to leap in the next election” on January 11, 2010. The editorial describes Equal Voice’s efforts to urge political party leaders to adopt voluntary internal quotas for women candidates. Recognizing that much of the power in the political system continues to lie with male party leaders, the Globe and Mail noted that Equal Voice’s strategy has made a measurable difference in securing promises from party leaders to recruit, nominate and ultimately elect more women to Parliament.

Equal Voice - Women in Politics Campaign School - Ottawa

On February 27th, Equal Voice had the pleasure of attending the Women in Politics Campaign School at Ottawa’s City Hall. A total of 70 women from Eastern Ontario attended the event hosted by Ottawa Councillors Marianne Wilkinson and Jan Harder. The school was created to engage more women in the political process with helpful advice from women with political experience, including a number from Equal Voice.

We would like to thank Raylene Lang-Dion, former National Chair of Equal Voice and former EV NCR Chair, for being the master of ceremonies throughout the course of the campaign school and Sherri Moore-Arbour, EV NCR Chair, for her time on the political panel. An additional thanks goes out to Joan Weinman, Director of Communications, and Giovanna Mingarelli, EV National’s Communications and Membership Liaison, for their presentation on working with traditional media and social media on the campaign trail.

International Women’s Day:
Be Her or Support Her

On International Women's Day Equal Voice launched "Be Her or Support Her," an action campaign created to galvanize women into seeking elected office or to support other women to do so. The action campaign is intended to provide practical solutions to tackling the low number of women in elected office at all levels in Canada. As part of the solution, Equal Voice has dedicated a new portal on its national website to highlight three key areas in which women can either seek to "be" the candidate or support another woman in the process. These three areas include: individual action, community action, and party action. For more information, please click here.

Equal Voice Launches Particip8

On March 8, 16 extraordinary women
gathered at The Wellington.

On March 8, Equal Voice announced the launch of “Particip8,” which is the first of several gatherings being held throughout Canada’s National Capital Region to encourage local discussions surrounding women in politics.

We would like to thank all of our members and supporters who helped to spearhead this initiative! For more information on the launch, click here.

Equal Voice - Toronto Chapter Organizes Inspirational
Municipal Bootcamp

Over 40 female candidates showed
up for the bootcamp.

The Toronto chapter held its first municipal bootcamp on Saturday, March 20th. The day-long event was opened by an inspirational panel featuring former Toronto Mayor Barbara Hall, Maytree manager of leadership and learning and former council candidate Alejandra Bravo and Ontario Federation of Labour executive officer Terry Downey. The rest of the day was filled with practical seminars on campaign basics including media relations, managing volunteers, fundraising, legal issues and canvassing. Read Catherine Porter’s article, “What I learned at campaign boot camp”, which was featured in the Toronto Star for more! A big thank you and congrats to event organizers Velma Morgan, Melissa Wong and Gabriella Richichi-Fried.

Equal Voice - Experiences Networking Receptions

EV's Carleton University Interns:
Katie Lloyd and Beth McSherry
at The Metropolitan in Ottawa,
March 9th.

EV’s national mentorship program, Experiences, has been hosting a number of networking receptions throughout the country for registered participants in their mentorship program. Events include:

Edmonton on February 23, Toronto on March 4, Ottawa on March 9, concluding the series in Vancouver on April 7. We would like to thank everyone who has come out to show their support and the wonderful EV Experiences director and coordinators for these successful events.

Please visit the website Experiences.

Equal Voice - The Sheila James Fund

On November 24th 2009, friends, family and former colleagues of the late Sheila James launched the Sheila James Fund at Equal Voice in honour of her memory. Sheila, a self-described "public affairs professional and occasional political hack", was a former journalist who became a communications strategist and advisor at Queen’sPark for both former Premier David Peterson and Premier Dalton McGuinty. She died at the age of 48 in August, 2009, after battling breast cancer. To donate, please visit Equal Voice donate.

Equal Voice - Doris Anderson Fund

Equal Voice is also pleased to announce the establishment of the Doris Anderson Fund, named in memory of the legendary Chatelaine editor, author, and women’s rights activist who died in March 2007 at age 85.

Doris was a leading voice for the election of more women, and we are proud to uphold her legacy at EV.

To donate now, please visit Equal Voice donate.

Thinking Women’s Brain Spa - April 16-18, 2010

Equal Voice is proud to be part of the second annual Thinking Women’s Brain Spa, running April 16-18, 2010 at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Equal Voice is leading the development of the Brainspa’s Political Bootcamp with a focus on our new initiative: “Be Her or Support Her,” a workshop focused on getting women to seek elected office and supporting the women who run.

The bootcamp is aimed at a range of women – from the seasoned politician to the skilled woman who is looking to make a change. The Thinking Women’s Brainspa will be a weekend to connect, learn and share with others passionate about building a strong country full of capable and talented leaders. To RSVP or to see how you can contribute to a weekend with like-minded women, email: brainspa@thinkingwomensbrainspa.com.

Equal Voice - Advisory Board Members Honoured

Please join us in offering congratulations to two of our long-time Equal Voice members, Alexa McDonough, O.C. & the Hon. Jean Augustine, P.C., C.M. Their contributions were acknowledged by the Order of Canada on December 30, 2009.

Both of these women have contributed significantly to the history of Canadian women in politics and in so doing, are distinguished and deserving recipients of the Order of Canada. We are proud of their contributions and their involvement with Equal Voice.

As noted by the Governor General, Alexa McDonough, O.C. is being honoured for her pioneering contributions as a politician, and for her lifelong commitment to progressive change and social activism.

Jean Augustine, P.C., C.M, is being celebrated for her distinguished career as an educator, politician and advocate for social justice in Canada.

Again, we extend warm congratulations to them both.

Moneris

Please note that Equal Voice donations will now be processed by Canada’s secure transaction merchant, Moneris. To find out more, or make a donation, we invite you to visit this link: www.equalvoice.ca/donate.cfm