Hot Tubbin' For Justice

The Power of Breaking Barriers: Systemic Change, Individual Gains Dr. Natalia Kenem, the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund introduced and set the context for this panel. She said that women belong at the centre of development. Population isn't just about numbers it's about people's lives. As we take global stock of what's happening in the world, when everyone awakens, mountains will move.  And there is movement, and we'll hear from the following panelists on how we are moving toward progress and change. Panel: Shahira Amin - Independent Journalist (moderator) Dr. Alvaro Bermejo - International Planned Parenthood Waneek Horn-Miller - Indigenous Olympian Hina Jilani - Supreme Court of Pakistan Musola Catherine Kaseketi - Vilole Images Productions Nancy Northrup - Centre for Reproductive Rights Lina Abirafeh, PhD - The Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University Anoka Primrose - Social Entrepreneur Nancy Northrup from t...

I look forward to International Women's Day every year. There's always a ton of programming and this year did not disappoint! IWD 2019 was one for the ages! In fact it was a week full of celebration of women in so many ways. Everywhere I went all week it was IWD - I saw 2 theatre shows (Come From Away and The Good Bride), attended an author reading at VPL which was a tribute to libraries (and will have its own blog post soon), participated in the annual CUPE Metro IWD community event in Richmond, went to the Westcoast LEAF Equality Breakfast where I met Dr. Willie Parker (!), celebrated the launch of Canada's first indigenous woman-owned airline (Iskwew Air), and the 4th annual Women in Entertainment Celebration and Fundraiser for the DTES Women's Centre put on by the entertainment unions (IATSE 891, UBCP-ACTRA, Teamsters 155, DGC and ICG 669). Westcoast LEAF Equality Breakfast - Dr. Willie Parker (Keynote) When I saw that Dr. Willie Parker was going to be th...

with Sarah and Shelley at the Memorial March As I continue on this incredibly unpredictable path in the labour movement, looking back on 2018 gives me some time to reflect on the past year. It was also the year of a lot of "firsts" without my dad, which is still weird. Last year, I committed to write more about the things I attend, mostly for me so I can look back and remember what happened over the course of the year. So without further ado - here was my 2018! January With members of the first AUCE 1 bargaining committee Italian Film Festival  - I saw 6 films at the IFF. It was a great way to connect me to my dad as I was getting used to life without him. I was pleasantly surprised how good the movies were. I will be attending this year's festival starting this weekend - I have 6 tickets booked this time as well. Forza Italia! City on Edge Exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver - this was an exhibit about the history of protest in the city of Vancouver. The...

We started the morning off with a discussion on the day's theme "creating safe and respectful workplaces." We were treated once again to the great co-moderating team of Preethy and Matthieu where we heard about 3 very different situations where CUPE member are facing serious disrespect and challenges with their employer(s).  Sharon Richer - Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) Sharon set the context by sharing the horrific violence healthcare workers in Ontario are experience - often by the very patients they are there to take care of. Not enough is being done to create a culture where violent behaviour would be tolerated in the workplace. OCHU has spent a lot of time over the last little while surveying their members - asking them about frequency of violent incidents at work, incidents of sexual violence/harassment, fears, frequency of reporting, employer follow up and support.  The stats she shared were staggering.  There are so many factors as to why me...