Advocacy
We encourage CFUW members to bring about change by advocating on issues such as violence against women, early learning and child care, education, economic prosperity and the empowerment of women as leaders and decision-makers. CFUW also works on a global level for the adoption and implementation of international agreements that will protect and benefit all women and girls.
CFUW's current national policy priorities are grouped into: Equity & Social Justice, Education, and Safe & Healthy Communities. This includes focuses on violence against women and gender-based violence, Indigenous peoples and reconciliation, long-term care and elder rights, early learning and child care, employment and pay equity, and the environment and climate change.
CFUW's BC Council and BC clubs engage in advocacy on these and other issues including access to education, healthcare, housing, childcare, healthy drinking water, long term care and elder rights, free birth control, harm reduction and overdose prevention, liveable wages, employment and pay equity, prevention of violence and exploitation, our environment and climate change, reconciliation and Indigenous rights, and supports for newcomer and refugees, including from war in Afghanistan and the Ukraine, the War and Humanitarian Crisis in Israel and Gaza, and more.
Quicklinks
CFUW BC Policies list (1993 - 2021) with action sheets and template letters
CFUW BC Policy Book 2021 (PDF) - This has the full text of BC club resolutions adopted as CFUW BC policy, 1993-2021.
CFUW National Campaigns and Resources (regular updates)
CFUW National Advocacy webpage and CFUW National Fall 2023 Advocacy Packet (latest annual packet)
CFUW Advocacy News
May 5, 2024 is Red Dress Day
Nationally known as Red Dress Day, May 5th is a day for remembering missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls who have been victims of violence. Some steps you can take:
Hang a red dress in public areas or outside your house
Attend a #SistersInSpirit Vigil on May 5
Read and encourage others to read the Final Report and the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Support Indigenous communities or organizations working to protect Indigenous women
Host kitchen table talks with friends or CFUW club members to discuss the topic and how it affects your local community
Advocate for Indigenous-led child welfare services to keep Indigenous children close to their culture and break the cycle of trauma
Attend public ceremonies and powwows, get to know your local Indigenous community and powwow etiquette. Getting to know someone or a culture helps break down bias and racism.
May 1, 2024 is CFUW Elder Action Day!
CFUW National & CFUW Long-Term Care Study Group hosted the webinar - Supporting Older People to Age in their Communities: Showcasing Saskatoon.
View webinar recording.
See CFUW National's Campaign for Older People’s Rights in Advocacy Campaigns for Safe & Healthy Communities.
UPDATE & RESTORE HOME Care SERVICES FOR SENIORS: WEBINAR April 24
Join our webinar on April 24 at 10 am PT. Cohosted by CFUW BC Council and CFUW Victoria & Saanich Peninsula. Register here in advance for this webinar.
Our Speaker, Andrew Longhurst, MA, is a political economist, health policy researcher, and PhD candidate in the Geography Department at Simon Fraser University. He publishes regularly as a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and is a frequent commentator on health care issues, including seniors' care, wait times, financing, and system reform. His research and commentaries have appeared in the Canadian Journal on Aging, Globe and Mail, Policy Options, Toronto Star, The Tyee, and on CBC's The National.
Read our information sheet: Restore & Update Senior's Home Services.
Question: What opportunities do we have to influence policymakers as the BC Provincial October 2024 election continues to be part of our daily news?
Some Facts:
90% of Seniors want to age in home and community! However the support is difficult to access, is not always consistent and reliable and is very expensive in British Columbia.
Approximately 4,200 long-term care beds in BC are occupied by seniors who could live in the community if they had access to adequate and affordable home support.
Public home support is unaffordable to most seniors. A senior with an income of $27,800 is expected to pay $8,800 a year for a once-daily home support visit.
Most home support clients (51%) are at high or very high risk of placement in a long-term care facility. Despite this, almost one-third of family caregivers are in distress.
86% receive less than two hours of home care support, on average, per day. Funding levels need to be restored.
Canada is an outlier among developed Countries, spending only $1 on home care for every $6 on institutional long term care (LTC). Most others spend roughly equal amounts, and those most highly regarded for the high quality and happy outcomes of enabling seniors to age well, Denmark and the Netherlands, do the reverse. They spend more on home and community services than on institutional care. ~Don Drummond et al, "Ageing Well", Queen's University, Nov. 2020.
March 8, 2024 - On International Women's Day (IWD), we celebrate women in all of their diversity and the enormous strides we’ve made to achieve gender equality. It’s an opportunity to honour the strength and resilience of the women who have touched our lives — our sisters, mothers, grandmothers, friends, teachers, fellow CFUW members, and role models.
At the same, IWD also spurs us to reflect on how far we still have to go. Globally, 1 in 5 young women are married in childhood. 129 million girls are out of school. This includes millions in Afghanistan, where girls and women are banned from attending secondary school and university....read more on CFUW National's campaign page.
Social Housing in BC 2024
CFUW BC Council and CFUW North Vancouver presented a social housing webinar on Feb 28, 2024 at 4:00 pm PT with guest presenters:
Michael Geller: Urban Planner, Architect, Adjunct Faculty of Simon Fraser University.
Sara Goldvine: VP Equity and Corporate Affairs, BC Housing
Ian Cullis: Director: Asset Management, BC Non-profit Housing Association (BCNPHA)
Handout and Presentation slides are below.
CFUWBC-BCHousing-FactSheet2023.pdfCFUW North Vancouver: Social Housing in BC: Transparency and Accountability for BC Housing and its partners.
CFUWBC-BCHousing-Presentation-2024Feb.pdfBC Housing: Sara Goldvine: Improving Quality of Community Housing in BC.
CFUWBC-Ian-Culus-Presentation-2024Feb.pdfBC Non-profit Housing Association: Ian Cullis: Non-profit Housing Sector Overview.
CFUWBC-Micheal-Geller-Presentation-2024Feb.pdfSimon Fraser University: Michael Geller: Social Housing in BC: Transparency and accountability for BC Housing and its partners.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence: 16 Facts
From November 25 - December 10, 2023 raise awareness, learn, support survivors, and create change. In Canada, Indigenous women and girls, women with disabilities, newcomers, youth, 2SLGBTQQIA+ and non-binary individuals, and those living in rural or remote communities are disproportionately impacted by gender-based violence.
Educate and take action using CFUW's 16 Days information packet.
Promote 2023 global theme: UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls campaign!
SAving our Peatlands!
What can we do to preserve our peatlands? Why is it so important? November 14, 2023 at 4 pm PT: CFUW BC Council hosts a webinar for CFUW members on Saving our Peatlands with guest speaker Eliza Olson, founding member and past president of the Burns Bog Conservation Society
CFUW Letter on the War and Humanitarian Crisis in Israel and Gaza
On October 27, 2023, CFUW National sent a letter on the war and humanitarian crisis in Israel and Gaza to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as Ministers Mélanie Joly, Ahmed Hussen, Bill Blair, and Marci Ien, and Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Rae.
Use these materials to guide your club advocacy and help you take action! CFUW National's 2023 Fall Advocacy Package (PDF) has resolution backgrounders and take action tips and the advocacy webpage has downloadable template advocacy letters for these 3 new national advocacy policies:
Immigration Detention in Canada
Towards a Comprehensive Maternal Death Prevention Strategy
Advancing Sustainable Development and Gender Equality with International Trade Agreements
May 4, 2023 is CFUW Elder Action Day!
Join us May 4th at 1 pm pacific to celebrate CFUW's Elder Action Day and learn about models of Aging in Place Where You Want to be: Developing Supportive Communities for Seniors with Melissa Chang and Jen Recknagel from the NORC Innovation Centre. This is a free, public event. Register here on zoom: https://buff.ly/43KktxO
Giving KinshiP Care a Voice in BC.
Learn how Kinship Care can and does support children. On February 22, 2023 from 10:30 am - noon PT, CFUW BC Council hosted a webinar with Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives on "Giving Kinship Care a Voice" in BC. The webinar provided an overview of Kinship Care, an update on progress to date and explored what we can all do to make life better for the children and their caregivers. We want all children in kinship care to: be heard, be seen, be respected, and be supported.
Read CFUW BC Council's factsheet and 2021 policy on Kinship Care in BC.
Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives is an advocacy group of caregivers with lived experience. We are grateful to partner with them and to further explore this issue.
See actions clubs can take on our 4 new policies:
Strengthening Employment Equity
Tightening Bail Laws to Protect Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
Violence Against Women in Politics
A Clean Healthy & Sustainable Environment is a Human Right.
16 Days of Activism on Gender Based Violence
Join CFUW and GWI in taking action globally and in our local communities from November 25 - December 10, 2022.
Elder Rights & Long-Term Care Justice Campaign Testimonials
On May 4, 2022, advocates from across Canada participated in a poster campaign for CFUW’s second annual action day for elder rights & long-term care justice. Here are a few examples...
CFUW_Invisible-No-More_Elder-Rights-Long-Term-Care-Justice_Action-Toolkit.pdf2022 Invisible No More Campaign
Join us to promote the rights and dignity of seniors, those in long-term care (LTC) facilities, as well as the personal support workers (PSWs) and nurses who care for these vulnerable citizens.
Take action to support elder rights, a continuum of care, and long-term care justice in BC and across Canada.
#InvisibleNoMore #ElderRights #ProfitOUTofLTC #LTCJustice #ProtectOurSeniors #CFUW
