Women's March & Rally: It's Time For Change! LeBreton Flats, Minto Park, Parc Jacques Cartier (Hull), Parliament Hill
Marchers will gather between noon and 1 pm at LeBreton Flats (off Fleet Street), Minto Park (Gilmour @ Elgin), and Parc Jacques Cartier in Hull (Laurier Blvd.). Marches begin at 1 pm ~ the three strands will converge at the US Embassy (Murray Street), then proceed together to Parliament Hill ~
the program on the Hill (tentative) runs from 2 - 4 pm:
1:45 A capella singing group sisterLune welcomes the marchers
2:00 Opening remarks by Québec personality Johanne Doré
and Co-MC;ritual / performance by Odawa Native Drummers;
Algonquins of Pikwakanagan welcomes us onto the land
2:15 Terri Brown President,
National Action Committee on the Status of Women
2:25 Vivian Barbot-Lymburger, Federation of Quebec Women
2:40 Songs by Faith Nolan
2:45 Comments about the 13 "Feminist Dozen" demands
2:55 Statements on first four demands
3:05 Nubia Cermeno sings
3:08 Statements on next four demands
3:18 Honey Novick sings
3:21 Statements on last five demands
3:30 Nancy Riche, Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress
3:35 Women's March choir
3:40 Andrée Côté, Canadian Women's March Committee
3:45 MC's offer Closing Remarks
Demand 3 of the "Feminist's Dozen" demands calls for $2 billion allocated to an early childhood development fund in the year 2000 as a first increment of a five-year plan.
Thousands of Canadian women from the Queen Charlotte Islands to Prince Edward Island will march to Ottawa on Sunday, October 15th, in a lead up to October 17th's National Lobby Day here in Canada, and the Global March and Rally in New York. They will rally at LeBreton Flats, Minto Park Women's Monument and Parc Jacques Cartier (Hull) before proceeding to Parliament Hill.
The March and Lobby are the culmination of months of intensive grass roots mobilizing in Canadian towns and cities. Hundreds of thousands Canadians have signed and sent cards to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, demanding the elimination of poverty and an end to violence against women.
Featured speakers at the Sunday rally include: Terri Brown, President of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women; Vivianne Barbot-Lymburner, Federation of Quebec Women; Nancy Riche, Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress; and Andrée Côté of the Canadian Women's March Committee. Performers include SisterLune, Faith Nolan, Nubia Cermeno, and Honey Novick.
On Monday the 16th at the Women's SpeakOUT, participants will have an opportunity to report on regional activities and strategize about lobbying and implementation of the proposals contained in the CWMC demands document, "It's Time For Change," the backbone of an aggressive lobbying strategy, comprised of 68 proposals for legislative and policy reform.
Women are arranging National Lobby Day meetings with their MPs for Tuesday, October 17th. Representatives of the Canadian Women's March Committee will meet with the Prime Minister and key members of Cabinet, presenting 13 immediate demands for change: " the Feminist's Dozen."
"Canadian women are making history with women around the globe," says Andrée Côté, Canadian Women's March Committee. "Our international counterparts are reporting that 109 international delegates from 81 countries will be joining the Global events in Washington and New York - this is unprecedented!" Journalists from Ghana, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Algeria, France, Gambia, Haiti, Switzerland, Belgium, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Lebanon and Peru are confirmed to be covering it.
The World March of Women 2000 was initiated by Québec women and now involves over 5200 groups in 157 countries. The international web site -- www.ffq.qc.ca/marche2000/audio_video.html -- contains 30-second radio spots in Spanish, English and French and the international version of the World March of Women song.
