The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 8, 2015 | 18 AWH is leveraging power of numbers for women by Ian Holroyd Oakville Beaver Staff There's power in numbers and the Advancement of Women Halton (AWH) is using every avenue available to advocate for women's issues -- at home and abroad. The AWH is dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to make gender equality a reality. The steering committee met recently at the offices of SAVIS (Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Service), a member agency. The group is comprised of 25 local women's organizations that joined together in 2008 to form a "critical mass" of women to put pressure on decision-makers. "We keep reminding them, `Have you looked at this from a woman's point of view,'" said Tina Agrell, a representative with Reclaim Our Democratic Canada (RODC). "They get a bit irritated with us, but we keep on doing it." Among the activists at the table was former Oakville MP Bonnie Brown. She explained the need for the group was realized in 2007, when she was still in office. Brown said once a year, she would invite the heads of all the local women's groups to a round table meeting so she could keep her "finger on the pulse" of women's issues in Halton, and The executive members of the Advancement of Women Halton (AWH) are pictured, from left, Tina Agrell, Ancilla HoYoung, Doreen Nichol, Bonnie Brown, Teri Shaw and Kathryn Baker-Reed. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/ HaltonPhotog) take the information back to Ottawa. "What happened was, a lot of [the groups] who were struggling alone were absolutely thrilled to find out that there were other people who were nearby interested in the same things and working on similar projects," said Brown. AUCTION HARDWOOD & LAMINATE FLOORING LOCATION: 3620B LAIRD #6, 6, MISSISSAUGA at 403 auction, 3620B ROAD LaiRD UNIT RD, unit Mississauga ON th SATURDAY OCTOBER 29 2011 at 11:00 AM Wednesday, May 13th at 7:30pM PUBLIC "I was thrilled to get the information to take back to Ottawa, but they were more thrilled to encounter a support group," she added. The AWH, a non-partisan organization, was founded in January 2008. According to Teri Shaw, its steering committee chair, key issues currently on the radar include democracy, poverty, childcare, violence against women and pay equity. "Women's issues are all issues and all issues are women's issues," Shaw said. While the AWH fights for women here in the community, it is also vocal on the international and national stage. It has been backing one of its member organizations, Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN) Oakville, advocating sending drugs to Africa to treat HIV/AIDS and malaria. It has also been monitoring the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, which its members say could have a profound impact on local governments. Nationally, the AWH has focused on missing and murdered aboriginal women, pushing for lawmakers to call an inquest. With respect to government partnership, the AWH members were critical of the federal government for not supporting women's issues and more enthused about provincial support. "You can't imagine the brainpower in the room when we have our meeting," said Ancilla Ho-Young, coordinator of the Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Care Centre at Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital. "All the women are so knowledgeable and so involved and so engaged. I learn so much." "Our main problem is trying to decide what to push on because any month when we have a meeting we could have 10 issues," said Brown. "We have to decide, are we going to have an impact here or are we going to be spinning our wheels." PREVIEW: FRIDAY OCTOBER 28TH wednesday, from NOON UNTIL DAY OF to SALE from preview May 5PM 13thAND froM 2pM 7:30 pM 9 AM UNTIL SALE TIME DIAMOND UNRESERVED AUCTION, NO MINIMUM BIDS · OVER 40,000 SQ FT You loved the last one so top quality Hardwood Flooring for less is back. This Auction will feature Top Quality 3/4" Pre Finished nail down hardwood flooring and will be sold regardless of Cost or Loss. You can expect to see beautiful Oaks, Maples, Cherries, Black Walnut, Japanese Exotics, Bamboo, Birch, Golden Oaks in a large variety of Finishes including Hand Scraped and Wide Planks up to 5" wide. There will also be a nice selection of Laminates and Engineered hardwood that can be laid right over Concrete. Both Feature an easy click together installation. The Engineered hardwood has a solid hardwood top that can be refinished up to 3 times. Buy from the original Flooring Auction and the biggest and the best. We have sold over 2 Million square feet of flooring in the past 3 years. Our buyers return time and time again for excellent products and value. Take Advantage of Low Auction Pricing. Our average buyer saves thousands of dollars over Retail. We sell by the square foot so you only have to BUY WHAT YOU NEED! 2013 & 2014 Readers Selection DiamondWinner 3 Weekly Grass Cutting 3 Tree and Shrub Pruning Book 3 Sod Installation Yours Today 3 Spring Cleanup Special on Now! R0013264776 Professional services ALL PURCHASES MUST PAID FORIMMEDIATELY IMMEDIATELY AFTER THETHE AUCTION. ALL PURCHASES MUST BE BE PAID FOR AFTER AUCTION. REMOvAL IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE UNTIL 10 PM REMOVAL IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEAUCTION AUCTION UNTIL 4PM, ANDMUST THURSDAY MAY 14TH FROM AMSALE TO 1 PM ALL ITEMS BE REMOVED DAY9OF BY 4PM ALL ITEMS MUST BETRUCK REMOvED BY 1 PM MAY 14TH. BRING YOUR OR TRAILER, BRING YOUR TRUCK ORON TRAILER, FORKLIFT ON HAND TO ASSIST WITH LOADING. FORKLIFT HAND TO ASSIST WITH LOADING. CASH, VISA, MASTERCARD & DEBIT · STANDARD 15% BUYERS PREMIUM APPLIES All flooring sold by thesquare square foot toto the highest All flooring willwill bebe sold by the foot the highest bidder; BUY ONLYWHAT WHAT YOU bidder; BUY ONLY YOUNEED! NEED! FOR MORE INFORMATION P PLEASE VISIT ONLINE AT WWW.FLOORAUCTION.CA Marcus Baird 905.467.1507 905-820-0555 877- 820-0555 www.lawnbros.ca