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Posts Tagged ‘election’

Countdown to the Provincial Election: What YOU can do

Posted on: September 27th, 2011 by Nellie's No Comments

The Step it Up Campaign is a coalition of women’s networks, organizations, groups, and individuals who want to see “better, faster government action to end violence against women. ”  Created in 2006, the goal of Step it Up is to urge all political parties to take a firm stance against violence against women and to include a concrete action plan in their election platforms.

To encourage this process, the Step it Up Campaign has developed a Platform for Parties for the upcoming election on October 6th.  This platform includes recommendations on areas such as accessibility, poverty, housing, education, access to childcare, and funding for women’s services.

Step it Up is asking for Ontario voters to present this platform to their local candidates and ask them what they are doing to end violence against women.  We were so fortunate to have Anna Willats from Step it Up speak at our “Women Vote 2011” election forum earlier this month.  Please visit www.stepitupontario.ca for more information and resources.

Nellie’s hosts “Women Vote 2011” election forum

Posted on: September 22nd, 2011 by Nellie's No Comments

Do you know what time the polls open on Ontario’s Election Day?  Or which party has the most female candidates?  On September 13th, these and other questions were answered across the Grand Ballroom at 519 Church Street Community Centre during Nellie’s “Women Vote 2011” election forum.  The women and children who use our services were invited to learn more about the issues that will effect their lives in the upcoming Provincial election.

Women participated in an Election Game and excitedly answered questions about the different parties and their platforms.  Special speakers shared their wisdom about election issues and challenged and informed us.  Dinh Ngo, from S.E.A.S Centre spoke in Cantonese about election issues facing East Asian communities.  Anna Willats from the Step it Up! Campaign talked about important questions we could ask the candidates about ending violence against women.

(Dinh Ngo from S.E.A.S and Anna Willats from Step it Up with our Election Game spinner!)

The night ended with a thought-provoking Question & Answer session and a big thank-you to all the staff, volunteers, and speakers who helped to make the event a success.

The election happens on Thursday October 6th.   Don’t forget to vote and keep checking our blog every tuesday until then as we highlight important election issues and initiatives.

(Answers to the 2 questions: Polls open at 9am on election day and the Liberal Party has the most female candidates).

Countdown to the Provincial Election: What YOU can do!

Posted on: September 13th, 2011 by Nellie's No Comments

The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction  is calling on all provincial political parties to make poverty reduction a key election issue this fall.

In their recently released statement “A Call to Action on Poverty in Ontario”, they say:

“As the October provincial election approaches, we call on all Ontario political parties to make the reduction and eradication of poverty a key election issue and to clearly outline their commitments and concrete plans to tackle poverty in our province.”

Many of the women and children who come to Nellie’s are not only leaving situations  of abuse, but of poverty and homelessness as well.   The Toronto Community Foundation reported in their 2010 Vital Signs report that “almost one quarter (23.4%) of children in female lone-parents families were living in poverty in 2008.”

As countless social service agencies around the city see their demand for services increase and their financial capacity to provide these services threatened by funding cuts, it is of utmost importance that the government we elect takes a serious and progressive stance on tackling poverty. 

Please check out http://25in5.ca  for more information on how you can get involved.