Recently, Senator Marilou McPhedran spoke to Ontario Council representatives about the impact that the lack of civility has had, not only on government representatives, but also on our citizens.
The Senator called on Ontario’s CFUW members to persuade their elected officials in the municipal, provincial and federal governments to sign if they have not, a Civility Pledge, such as one authored by the Canadian Association of Feminist Parliamentarians (English pledge follows the French pledge). This pledge specifically requests that candidates end the harassment of women politicians and that they commit to calling out colonialism, racism, misogyny and discrimination whenever they see it.
Apparently only about 80 of the 400 Federal Parliamentary members have signed it since it was introduced in June of 2024.
It has been suggested that one way our club, both as individuals and as CFUW members, can support the effort to encourage more civility by the parliamentary and other government representatives (such as Regional and Municipal Councillors) is to call or email them and ask them whether they have signed, or would be willing to sign, a Civility Pledge, and if so, thank them.
As a non-partisan organization, CFUW National and Clubs can support or oppose policies and laws as long as we focus on the issues, not the individuals or parties.