DATE: March 17, 2003
Women's Advisory News
In November Karen Pedersen from Saskatchewan was elected National Women's President at the 33rd National Farmers Union Convention in Saskatoon. She replaced Shannon Storey. Colleen Ross Weatherhead from Ontario was elected National Women's Vice President. We also have one new Women's Advisory Member: Marilyn Gillis from Region 6.
Our thanks to both Shannon Storey and Susan Luthje who stepped down this year for all their hard work.
Employment Practices of Farm Families
After four years of dreaming of the Employment Practices of Farm Families Research Project and diligent hard work to make it happen, the Employment Practices of Farm Families will soon be coming to a close. NFU Women can be proud of their work and initiative in pushing this ground breaking research forward.
Farm Women's Bureau
We are happy to see that Rachel Whissel has joined Gail Erickson in the Farm Women's Bureau. We look forward to continuing to work with them.
Karen Pedersen and Colleen Ross Weatherhead represented the NFU at the annual meeting of the Farm Women's Coalition in Ottawa from December 8-10, 2002. Along with 8 other women from the Coalition, they discussed policy and common ground. They wrote a joint position paper which they presented to Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief. It was a very positive meeting both with other farm women and with Minister Vanclief. For the first time that we know in Canada, farm women jointly called for agriculture to be taken out of the World Trade Organization.
Women Reject Trade LiberalizationWomen of the National Farmers Union, the Canadian Farm Women's Network, Federated Women's Institutes, Résau des Entreprises Familiales, and Federation des Agricultrices du Quebec have been working together in coalition for some time on issues of common concern. The groups are in the coalition to augment their efforts on their own agendas, with the aid of practical and organizational support available within the federal Farm Women's Bureau. Soon we hope to have a joint web page.
III World Congress of Rural Women
Colleen Ross Weatherhead attended the 3rd World Congress on Rural Women in Spain on October 2-4, 2002 on behalf of the NFU. View her Summary Report.
III World Congress of Rural Women
Women's Vice President Karen Pedersen attended The World Food Summit (five years later) Non-Governmental Forum in Rome in June 2002. This is her report from the Women and Food Sovereignty Workshop that was held why she was there.