Empowering women through advocacy and education.

The October issue of CFUW Ontario Council News is out! 

This month our President, Sandra Shaw, writes about something you might not expect from a feminist advocate: how we’re failing boys and young men, and why that matters for women and girls. Boys falling behind in school can lead to isolation, economic frustration and recruitment by extremist and misogynist movements. Sandra lays out concrete ways our members can push for change.

Also in this issue:

• Speaker Series #1: Leading Change Through Legislation. How does a good idea actually become law? Two sitting MPPs and a lobbyist walk through it. Saturday, Oct 24, 10 a.m. to noon, on Zoom.

• Defence of Democracy & the Politics of Rage. What happened when a club hosted an All Candidates Meeting.

• The Housing We Need. Questions to ask your municipal candidates, from CFUW Northumberland.

• Resolution intent deadline is Oct 30. Your club’s ideas shape our advocacy.

• Women’s History Month, Persons Day and the International Day of the Girl Child.

• Club news from Sudbury, Aurora & Newmarket, Milton, Grimsby and more.

Re-engaging former leaders, women who have "been there, done that" and stepped back, requires a fundamentally different approach than developing emerging or early-career leaders. Traditional incentives like title elevation, basic committee seats, or standard promotional roles

often feel likes "more of the same" work without new value or inspiration....

Ever written to your MPP and wondered what happened next?

On October 24, two sitting MPPs and a veteran lobbyist will tell us — plainly — how an issue travels from a constituent's concern to a bill on the order paper, and where advocacy actually lands.

If your club is building an advocacy plan this year, this one is for you.

Speaker Series #1: Leading Change Through Legislation

Saturday, October 24 | 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET | Zoom

Learn more and register: https://www.cfuwontcouncil.org/speaker-series-1

Managing the volume of information coming from CFUW National, Ontario Council, and local Club communications can quickly lead to information overload for executive members and general members who subscribe alike.

Most subscribers actually like to read through the newsletters. But it is important to have a standardised way to get the information out to all Club members, whether they receive the newsletters or not. Additionally, time sensitive material needs to be forwarded to the appropriate person for action....

While supporting my home Club through an All Candidates Meeting (ACM), the Club President and I came face to face with the Politics of Rage (the use of anger and resentment as a political tool to mobilize support and influence public opinion. This approach often exploits societal divisions and grievances.).

The Club President was subjected to threatening emails and defamatory statements by candidates and their supporters....

October is a month to enjoy the seasonal transitions. The array of colour in the trees is a spectacular sight. An autumn hike, complete with the crunch of leaves underfoot, can be uplifting. As we prepare for the winter ahead, storing some of those leaves in our flower beds provides winter shelter and insulation for insects. When birds migrate back to Ontario in the spring, you can enjoy watching them forage through those leaves for a nutritious meal. Surviving insects will emerge to become our seasonal pollinators. Leaving leaves is a win-win.

Preparing for winter is another fall task. Charming is a winter scene with a snowy roof and icicles everywhere. Icicles hanging from a roof?! This can be a sign of heat loss which can contribute to higher usage of fossil fuels. It turns out that fall is a perfect time of year to insulate our attics. It is not too hot to work up there. Cellulose insulation is preferred as it emits fewer greenhouse gases. (Drawdown Explorer, 2026). Deploy Alternative Insulation Materials |

Project Drawdown®)

Enjoy some pumpkin spice, squash soup and preparations for the fall season! If you have Ontario-specific questions, suggestions, pictures or resources to share, I would be pleased to hear from you at ecc@cfuwontcouncil.org

Thanks, Sue Bailey