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As a sitting member of the PRC Women’s Committee I was invited to Prairie Regional Council 2025 in Winnipeg. Upon arrival on Tuesday afternoon, I met with Unifor National Women’s Department director, Tracey Ramsey to go over expectations over next 3 days. It was then I learned that our only other committee member, Cecily Howe would not be in attendance for PRC and we would be voting in a new member at the end of the next day at the Women’s Caucus. At this point I was the only member of the committee in attendance and would need to step in to lead the Women’s Caucus as well as present the Women’s Committee report on Thursday.
Wednesday morning we met early to set up the Women’s Department table with information about the Women’s Advocate program, bargaining in a Domestic Violence into the Collective Agreement and various campaign effecting women workers. I was able to speak to several Unifor members that did not currently have a Women’s Advocate in their local and share my own experience as a Women’s Advocate for Local 531 and the importance of the role.
At the beginning of the conference, a member led us in singing the Canadian National Anthem. Many of our members sang the non-inclusive lyrics. This gave me an opportunity later in the day to speak out about the importance of gender inclusivity. Following the lunch break, I was asked by Tracey Ramsey to bring attention to the “Save the Date” cards for the Prairie Regional Women’s Conference. It was at this time that I spoke out in solidarity Canadian women, reminding us to include all of us in our anthem’s lyrics. Seven years ago, Canada officially changed the lyrics of our national anthem to be gender inclusive. Previously, the lyrics read 'in all thy sons command." The updated lyrics now read "in all of us command." Inclusive language matters and gives all of us the opportunity to belong, not in spite of our differences, but because of them. At a time when our neighbors to the south of us want to own us and at a time in our country when the rate of gender-based violence continues to rise, let's never fail to sing "True patriot love, in all of us command."
The highlight of the day was the speech by the Honourable Wab Kinew, the NDP Premier of Manitoba. He spoke of his active support of Canadian workers, his strong stand on keeping money and jobs in Manitoba and the rest of Canada, and his compassionate commitment to finding murdered and missing Indigenous women.
After adjournment, we held the Women’s Caucus. I reached out to Gina Smoke, Unifor's Director of Indigenous Relations, the week prior to speak at our Women’s Caucus. She is an engaging, relatable storyteller and encouraged us all to persist, even when we doubt ourselves. We then heard from a sister who nominated Pamela McKinnon for the third member of the Women’s Committee. Pamela comes to us from Brandon, MB and is the Women’s Advocate at her local.
Our guest speaker on Thursday was Carla Beck, Leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and on Friday it was Naheed Nenshi, Leader of the Alberta NDP. Both renewed their commitment to Canadian workers and our need for unity across the country. We also had the privilege of listening to Jill Wilson, Drag the Red coordinator, spoke on the grassroots volunteer organization in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to searching the Red River for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Jill spoke of generational trauma and her experience being a ward of Manitoba Child and Family Services and being exploited. At 14 years old, she survived a violent attack and tried to access support from the RCMP, who instead turned her into a criminal. Local newspaper, the Winnipeg Free Press published an article labelling her a hooker when she was 15 and there seemed no way out of the gendered racism that kept her unhoused and trafficked. Still, she was determined to build something better for herself and when she was finally able to access support, she vowed everything she had been through would be usable to help others in their recovery. She is resolved that these experiences are part of her truth, not who she is. She has since dedicated herself to the recovery and prevention of murdered and missing Indigenous women. Following her presentation, local unions and Unifor National pledged a total of $12,000 to further the work of the organization.
Tracey Ramsey gave a presentation on Declaring Intimate Partner Violence an Epidemic. For years, Tracey has worked with women’s organizations, researched and promoted ending violence against women. Her presentation offered data on the staggering prevalence of intimate partner violence in Canada. For example, the incidents of sexual violence from 2014 to 2022 is 163% higher. For anyone who believes this is an “issue” that is getting better and doesn’t need campaign, the data clearly proves otherwise. That said, the question remains, why petition governments to declare IPV an epidemic? This declaration draws attention to the magnitude of the problem, rather than remaining silent and hiding it. Speaking up reduces the stigma and raises public awareness. IPV also has a significant health and social impact that can be reduced with resources for prevention. When the government recognizes the systemic nature of IPV, more resources can go into prevention and recovery. This presentation tied into the Prairie Regional Women’s Conference in October and I will be speaking more about this conference as the planning continues over the next few months.
This was an unforgettable experience that renewed my commitment to Unifor and to every member in Local 531.
Submitted by Tracy-Lynne MacLellan, YYC Women's Advocate, Unifor Local 531
