ROADMAP TO UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE IN ONTARIO
CFUW Ontario Council is a member of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. They have, in partnership with the Association of Early Childcare Educators Ontario, developed a Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario, in response to the 2021 federal budget establishing a Canada wide early learning and child care system. In order for this to happen here, Ontario must, like British Columbia, collaborate with the federal government.
The OCBCC campaign is an opportunity for families and supporters in Ontario, to advocate for ELCC. They have also created a Campaign Toolkit which would be of interest to clubs working in early learning and child care.
Please help to support a national child care system and advocate for action in Ontario.
ADVOCACY * AWARDS * ACCOLADES
It’s an understatement to say that this year has been unusual, and the OC clubs have succeeded in changing – the way we connect, the way we fundraise, the way we support each other both as individuals and as clubs.
This Special Edition of the Annual Report – ADVOCACY ✮ AWARDS ✮ ACCOLADES – celebrates your action. To all of you with your energy and enthusiasm that covers these pages – and there is much more that hasn’t been captured and noted – for your work and determination, this Special Edition is to thank you and asks, please keep it up! Enjoy!
Long Term Care
Trained Personal Support Workers who have full time jobs with benefits including sick days are key to the improvement and recovery of the Long-Term Care (LTC) sector, staffing levels adequate to provide a minimum of 4 hours of care per resident by December 2022, on-site unannounced inspections are recommendations from a Spring 2021 survey, Long Term Care in Ontario, with 1272 respondents covering 195 towns and cities in Ontario, from Ottawa to Oakville to Stratford and Windsor.
The survey was done by CFUW Stratford in cooperation with CFUW chapters of Windsor, Oakville and Kitchener-Waterloo, with the assistance of Regional Director Elena Freeman. Read the Survey Report.
16 Days of Activism
CURRENT ONTARIO COUNCIL ACTIONS
A number of letters were submitted to the Ontario government in 2020:
- November 30 – Conservation Authorities Act
- November 19 – Review of the Child Care & Early Years Act
- November 5 – Human Trafficking
- October 1 – Payday Loans
- April 9 – Thank-You to First Line Essential Health Workers
- April 6 – Support for University Students
To view Letters and Briefs from previous years select the appropriate year from the Select Category drop-down list on the right-hand side of the page.
To view Budget Briefs from previous years select Budget Briefs from the Select Category drop-down list on the right-hand side of the page.
Letter-Writing Campaign for Clubs
Letter writing is a forceful form of advocacy. Those written in your own words are powerful and effective. For politicians, they are a guide to local public opinion, and for advocates, they are a simple way to start that conversation, to tell their story, to seek answers. Letters can be that first step in advocacy action
A recent survey of Ontario Council clubs concerning public policy issues identified the following top five:
1. Health: Long Term care, Public Health cuts, Home Care
2. Climate Change
3. Poverty and Affordable Housing
4. Education and schools: Increased class size, Funding, Mental Health support
5. Women’s Rights: Pay Equity, Child Care.
Ontario Council has created a letter-writing package for clubs to use: Backgrounders with talking points and CFUW policy on many of the top five issues; hints about effective letter-writing; Letter-Writing-a Lost Art created by Cheryl Ambrose; CFUW Advocacy Guidelines
Backgrounders:
Health: Long Term Care in Ontario
Climate Change: Carbon Pricing: CFUW Oakville
Clean Your Plate: CFUW Oakville
Poverty and Affordable Housing
Women’s Rights: Early Learning and Child Care
Gender-based Violence: Human Trafficking
Gender-based Violence: Sexual Assault Centres Funding
Advocacy Tools:
CFUW Advocacy Guidelines – who connects to who, and how.
Writing Powerful Letters, a guide
Letter Writing: A Lost Art, 2019
