Perspective: Sept - Oct 2026

By Marcia Swaby

Report on CFUW Ontario Council Meeting May 2026

It was an honour to go to the Ontario Council Meeting. I learnt that Ontario members are the largest group of members in Canada with 4,453 members out of the approximately 6,000 nationally. All clubs have similar problems in that executive positions were hard to fill and retaining new members was a priority. We shared our strategies and I shared that we had to work not to be too cliquey and to be welcoming of new members in our small groups. I feel this has paid off in that we have kept more of our new members, especially the younger ones who have more energy.

The Peterborough Club were wonderful hosts. As part of their community service, they serve a nutritional meal monthly to single parents and their children.

CFUW members of 50 years of membership were honoured with a certificate. CFUW Mississauga has seven members who were acknowledged. Congratulations to Lois Adams, Janis Alton, Joy Cunningham, Olga Fraser, Dianne Lawson, Jane McDougall, and Duane McIlwraith. Unfortunately, Lois Adams passed away this summer. I had the pleasure of speaking to most of the ladies and Jane McDougall told me she has been a member for over 70 years. She and Lois joined the club right after graduation.

The atmosphere at the meeting reminded me of feminist groups that I belonged to in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. It was needed as we have seen a rollback in some of the rights that women are facing in some countries and even the roll back of scholarship monies from the Ontario Government for post-secondary education. Again, this probably affects women more than men as even today we do not have pay equity.

The two themes of the workshops were Indigenous issues and how women are treated in politics. I went to a great workshop by 3 active politicians: one municipal, a parish reeve and a federal MP. All had to deal with misogyny but as more women get involved, the meetings were more productive and less rude. All Canadian federal parties had fewer women elected in the last election. The differences between rural and urban problems were also highlighted. They also said to get change, have the facts and a solution!

The differences with how Indigenous women were treated was discussed. Peterborough has a clinic where both Western and Indigenous medicines are offered. This is a first for a clinic. The hospital in Sioux Lookout has this which I saw when I worked there before the pandemic. In 2022, there were 39 reserves with drinking water advisories. The areas around Peterborough are working on this as there have been three water advisories on nearby reserves. The theme was that we all have a joint responsibility to look after the land.

The other exciting presentation was from CFUW London. They had university students as members who with their professors, also members, did research on Post-Partum Depression showing that it is not rare. One in 5 women experience this, and accessibility for treatment for rural women, Black, Indigenous and People of Colour was less than optimal. I was thrilled that students were involved and there is great hope for the future, even if they have to fight battles that we thought had improved or even those we thought we had won.