Sunday December 10th - Ottawa Rally and March

On December 10th, International Human Rights Day, Canada will mark the 25th anniversary of its ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Instead of celebrating this historical milestone, women in Canada are mobilizing to ensure that governments honour and respect their international and domestic human rights commitments.

This is because over several months now, the federal government has acted in ways that deny most women’s realities, undermine women’s access to justice, and abandon its own obligation to advance women’s human rights in Canada.

Women from the Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa area will gather in front ofthe Supreme Court of Canada at 1:30 pm and march to the Famous Five Women'sMonument on Parliament Hill to demand that Prime Minister Stephen Harper honour his election commitment to uphold women's equality and human rights.

• Ottawa Rally and March for women’s rights, for equality and justice, & access to governments and the courts
  When? 1:30 pm, Sunday, Dec 10th (International Human Rights Day)
  Where? Supreme Court of Canada, 301 Wellington Street, Ottawa
  
  
  

Events Elsewhere:

• Harper 911 equality ‘hotline’ They’ve been told to pick up the phone and call the Harper government if they have a complaint about women’s issues, so a group of Ottawa women have set up an "equality hotline" to do just that.


• NS groups launch card-writing campaign

• Women Nobel Peace Laureates send a letter to Prime Minister Harper : "We women Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative are writing to express our concerns about recent decisions which may jeopardize the historic efforts by Canada to achieve women’s full equality, at home and abroad. On December 10th, International Human Rights Day and the 25th anniversary of Canada’s ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, we will stand in solidarity with women’s organizations across Canada in urging you to honour and respect international and domestic human rights commitments."

• PEI women say:""Every Canadian woman, mother, grandmother,sister, aunt, niece, daughter and granddaughter who is not already suffering from the reign of cuts to social programs and health care is about to feel thesting of those cuts," says Donalda MacDonald, CUPE Regional Vice-President from Prince Edward Island.


• NL women's groups take action


• NWT bra burning “Harper has kicked women back to the sixties and we have a fitting response”. The Yellowknife Women’s Society is hosting a good, old fashioned bra burning event this Sunday in front of the Greenstone federal building.


• "Not In Our Name, Mr. Harper!" at Moncton NB City Hall

• The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is asking all its affiliated unions, advocates and activists to call the Premier's Office and tell them that muzzling the voices of people who need human rights protection the most is not okay, write letters to the editor in your own home town and lobby your local MPP. They are also asking their affiliates and community partners to join them in Ottawa on December 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the Supreme Court of Canada where women will rally and march for Women's Human Rights, for equality, for access to government and the courts.


• Letter Writing Campaign Alberta
  Who? YWCA Calgary
  What? Letter writing campaign to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in protest of status of women cuts and changes in terms and conditions
  When? December 10th


• Bus to Ottawa from Montreal
  Who? La Fédération des femmes du Québec
  What? Two buses to Ottawa from Montréal
  When? Sunday, December 10th, 2006


• Bus to Ottawa from Toronto and back
  Who? Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses OAITH
  What? Bus to December 10th Rally on Parliament Hill!
  Where? Meeting place: Gather on December 10th at 8:45 am at 2 Carlton Street (corner of Carlton and Yonge Sts) in downtown Toronto.When? Leaving Toronto for Ottawa: Sunday, December 10th at 9 am sharpRally in front of Supreme Court, Ottawa at 1:30 pmReturning to Toronto: Sunday, December 10th at 4 pm sharpWe should be back in Toronto by 9 pm


• Women Walking Together Saskatoon
  Who? Iskwewuk E-wichiwitochik (Women Walking Together)
  What? Brunch/Entertainment, DVD airing of “Highway of Tears”,Vigil/Remembrance, speakers talking about the cut backs and their affect on Aboriginal women in Canada
  Where? White Buffalo Youth Lodge, 602 20th Street West, SaskatoonWhen? 12:00-3:00pm, December 10th