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1 5 | Friday October 20, 2017 | OAKVILLE BEAVER |www.insidehalton.com Wynne and Naidoo-Hanis on Women's History Month F rom Mary Ann Shadd' s revolutionary newspaper columns, to Dr. Sheela Basrur' s leadership during the SARS outbreak, to Penny Oleksiakfe Olympic triumphs, women have been making enormous contributions to Ontario throughout our history Yet their stories aren't always well-known or widely acknowledged. This October is a chance for us to change that. We're marking the 25th anniversary of Women' s History Month in Canada, an opportunity to celebrate the stories of women who have helped to build the strong and vibrant province we live in today Judy LaMarsh is one of those women -- she was born in Chatham, Ontario, and went on to become the Minister of National Health and Welfare, largely responsible for developing our country' s medicare system and later the Canada Pension Plan. Women' s History Month is celebrated in October to coincide with Persons Day, which honours the historic decision on Oct. 18, 1929, to include women in the legal definition of `persons.' This victory gave women the right to be appointed to the Senate and proved to be a major turning point for women' s rights in our country Just like it did then, government continues to have an important role to play today in advancing gender equality While Ontario now has a female Premier, a Ministry of the Status of Women and a cabinet that' s 40 per cent female, there' s still much more work to do to create a fair and equal society Letk be frank. Over the last year, there have been Kathleen Wynne Indira Naidoo-Harris that will add 100,000 new licensed spots and make it easier for parents, usually moms, to go back to work As Ontario' s first female Premier, and Ontario^ first Minister of the Status of Women, we know women bring something powerful to the table: new ideas based on their diverse perspectives and experiences. Minister Naidoo-Harris was born in apartheid South Africa to South Asian parents and grew up in a small rural town in Alberta. N o matter where you work, if your team includes a wide variety of backgrounds, you're more likely to think outside the box and develop innovative solutions to challenges. This year' s theme for Womens History Month is #ClaimYourPlace. The truth is each of us has something unique to contribute. This October is about recognizing your potential. It' s about encouraging women and girls to speak up and claim their places at school, at work and in their communities. It' s about all of us honouring the achievements of the women who came before us, and continuing to fight for greater inclusion. When women succeed, we all succeed. -- submitted by Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister of the Status of Women, Ontario, Halton MPP many discouraging moments. In certain political spheres, we've seen a startling permission for sexism and misogyny Social media has revealed the abhorrent way people still talk about women under the cloak of anonymity It reminds us that attitudes can fall back and we need to actively guard the progress we have made. In Ontario, we value the contributions of men and women equally But it' s not enough to say these are our values. We have to act on these values -- and that' s what we're doing. We know, for example, women make up the majority of people earning minimum wage in this province. They're trying to support themselves and their families on a paycheque that just doesn't go far enough. This spring, we announced we are boosting the minimum wage to $ 14/hour starting next year, and then to $ 15/hour in 2019. We have also started a transformative child care program ALL LOCATIONS INSIDE OAKVILLE 6 BURLINGTON LONGO'S ARE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK °F p \\P & We have joined the movement dedicated to giving back T h e F lu V ir u s c a n t r a v e l 2 m e tr e s th r o u g h t h e a ir. Don't go viral. Get your flu shot here. d o n t g o v ir a l.c a Flu shots available at your Morelli's Guardian pharmacy located inside your Oakville/Burlington LO N G O 'S locations. No appointment necessary m o r e l l i 's G IV IN G TUESDAY N o v e m b e r 28 th , 2017 W e e n c o u ra g e y o u to d o n a te to Halton's local charities jc c k c for a special GivingTuesday insert in your newspaper edition leading up to this special day! p h a rm a c y F illin g p r e s c r ip t io n s . F u lfillin g e x p e c ta tio n s . M O RELLISPHARM ACY.CO M I ONLINE P R ESCR IP TIO N RENEW AL I COMPOUNDING AVAILABLE I FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED s coGeco S w itch on am azing *· · Connected to your community* insidehalton.com Fast, professional services inside your Oakville & Burlington LO N G O 'S