Before sixty-five women and men began a series of conversations and a community March for Women's Health last Saturday, organizer Kaitlyn Neath welcomed the participants with the following words.

“Migwetch, thank you all for being here today in support of the global women's march. I know we've been gathered for many different reasons. As Ontarians; as women, we have a lot to march for, but I think we can all find a commonality in our concerns for the health of our community, and in recognizing that if we do not support the women who live here, we put their health, and the health of our community as a whole, in jeopardy.

We're here, because healthy women are integral to maintaining a healthy society, yet the majority of the world's poor, are women.

We like to say, “not in Canada”, as if sexism doesn't exist here, yet the average yearly income of a single mother is nearly $28 000 less than that of a single father's, and senior women are more likely to live in low-income households than their male counterparts.

We're here because women's health issues and pain are often overlooked or ignored, by a medical system that still uses research based on clinical trials in which women are not proportionately represented.

Even though women are more likely to report severe and long-lasting pain, we typically get treated less aggressively than men and are more likely to be referred to a therapist instead of a pain clinic.

We're here because women are more likely to report severe and long-lasting pain, we typically get treated less aggressively than men and are more likely to be referred to a therapist instead of a pain clinic.

We're here because women of colour make 64 cents to every man's dollar, and indigenous women make 46. Funding cuts and the discontinuation of free tuition hurt these women the most.

We're here because cutting funding to midwives, especially in rural and indigenous areas of Ontario, should not be an option.

We're here because 83% of all victims of spousal violence are women.

We're here because hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ2+ remain the most violent in Canada.

We're here because women matter, but our health and safety, is affixed to price-tags and policies that disregard our rights to live and thrive.

We're here, because these issues should be non-partisan, but it is abundantly clear, which leaders are willing to sacrifice us for their own political and monetary gains.

Every woman in our community matters and none of us are expendable.

Thank you for being here today, to support women, to walk with us, and to lift each other up.

Women in our community may face many barriers that impact their physical, emotional and mental health. We're going to talk about stigmas and funding cuts that affect our lives and our community. We're going to talk about how people living different experiences, with different identities, are influenced by intersecting forms of oppression. That means, we're going to recognize our differences. We're going to listen to our neighbours.

...We are missing some very important voices from our conversation which is unfortunate, because it is is so necessary for the health of our community, that we listen to all of the diverse voices that live here. We failed to do that this year. I wish I could lay the blame solely on the short-notice of this event, but we also need to recognize that the women's march movement has not been without some problematic elements. California and a few other cities actually cancelled marches this year due to the lack of diversity.

Owen Sound obviously isn't California, and this isn't something that we can rectify today, but I think it's important to think about how we can elevate the differing voices of our community leaders. It's time to move past acceptance and start offering up the floor.

There are also some women who were unable to join us due to illness or other medical conditions, and some due to the failings of our medical system. To those living with a visible or invisible illness or disability, unidentified or unrecognized pain; we see you. We support you. We believe you.
Let's remember to lift one another today....at the end of the day, we want to be working towards positive change.

I think it's safe to say that we are all probably here for different reasons. We hope that you'll have the opportunity to learn about issues that impact different members of our community, as well as have the chance to talk about why you came here today.”