The London and District Labour Council (LDLC) along with allies gathered at Victoria Park in London, Ont. Saturday to celebrate the 114th anniversary of International Women’s Day.
The LDLC said women across Canada continue to face systemic barriers to decent work, fair wages, and economic security. The rising cost of rent, food, and healthcare is disproportionately impacting women, especially those in precarious jobs.
The rally opened with Indigenous elder Mary Lou Smoke and included music and speakers followed by a march on Richmond Street.
“I’m actually celebrating the importance of the International Women’s Day breakfast that was held with the London Abused Women’s Centre,” said Tina Stevens, first vice-president of the LDLC.
“It serves a lot of our members from the Indigenous community. I’m also celebrating for single mothers in our communities, that the co-op housing is being developed in the City of London, that it will help and it will provide safe and affordable housing.”
London-Fanshawe MP Lindsay Mathyssen told CTV it is a time to come together and stick together to fight for basic rights.
“We fight for that equality, we fight for social justice, we fight for fairness and to make our community a better, safer place,” said Mathyssen.
“We’ll keep fighting, we’ll keep coming together and we’ll keep celebrating each other and our accomplishments and keep reaching for even more.”
Mathyssen added many women are scared of the “right-wing extremism”, which is happening both in Canada and south of the border.
“There’s our own bodily autonomy, our right to choose what we can and cannot do with our own bodies,” said Mathyssen.
“The funding for abortion, just because you say that you ban abortion, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. It means that women are making far more dangerous choices because they need to to have that autonomy. He’s (U.S. President Donald Trump) done crazy things. He’s taken down websites that talk about breast cancer awareness and information on where women can get health services. His cabinet is a lot of billionaires and a lot of them are men. I think all of them are.”
Stevens told CTV News that women are being attacked regarding their rights from both Trump and Ontario provincial government leadership.
“We’re being set back,” said Stevens.
“The funding for women’s groups is being defunded from our provincial government. We need to pressure them and be able to stand up again for the fair equity, pay, the wages, the housing in terms of our rights, and our voices so that we’re not silenced.”
The LDLC added in a news release that with a federal election on the horizon, “it is absolutely critical that we elect leaders who will champion policies for women, advance gender equity, and protect hard-won rights like pharmacare, affordable childcare, pay equity, and paid domestic violence leave.”
