Ellen Woodsworth

Ellen Woodsworth speaking at a press conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Ellen Woodsworth is a social activist and politician based in Vancouver, Canada. She is the great-niece of J. S. Woodsworth, founder and first leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (which became the NDP), and cousin of former NDP MP Grace MacInnis. She is the founder and chair of Women Transforming Cities International Society.^[1] She is currently considering running for the NDP nomination for the federal riding of Vancouver East (occupied by outgoing MP Libby Davies).

Woodsworth sat on the Vancouver city council for six years, co-founding initiatives such as the World Peace Summit and Women Transforming Cities Society. Woodsworth also has more than 35 years’ experience in social activism in Canada. She has championed issues such as affordable housing and homelessness, electoral reform, environmental sustainability, women's rights, seniors' rights, LGTTBQ rights, racism, free trade, and economic equality.

Early Life and Education

Born in Toronto, to Jean and Ken Woodsworth, Woodsworth went to the Canadian Academy for high school in Japan before returning to Canada to complete her BA at the University of British Columbia. At university, she was elected to head the UBC Speakers' Bureau. Woodsworth was part of the Abortion Caravan to fight for women's right to choose.

Woodsworth is the great-niece of J. S. Woodsworth, founder and first leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (which became the NDP), and cousin of former NDP MP Grace MacInnis.

Social activism

Woodsworth has been a vocal advocate in the issues of affordable housing and homelessness, electoral reform, environmental sustainability, women's rights, seniors' rights, LGTTBQ rights, racism, free trade, and economic equality. She has more than 35 years’ experience in social activism in Canada.

Early Activism

After graduation from UBC, Woodsworth’s political work took her back to Toronto. She co-founded and edited a women's newspaper The Other Woman in Toronto, Ontario. In 1974, Woodsworth helped found the Toronto Wages for Housework Campaign. She moved to London, England to work with the International Wages for Housework Campaign in 1975.

Activism Achievements in Vancouver

To continue her social activism on the beautiful west coast and rejoin her family, Woodsworth settled in Vancouver in 1979. She was part of a national group that forced Canada to include unpaid work in the 1996 census - the first country in the world to do so. Woodsworth also chaired the BC Action Canada Network, which opposed the free trade agreements. She was hired as a social planner by the District of North Vancouver to document the child care needs of the district. Woodsworth was elected chair of Britannia Community Services Centre. She was on the Board of REACH Community Health Clinic coming up with the logo “community health in community hands” to support neighbourhood health services.

For the next ten years worked as a community organizer in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, where she fought for social housing, on seniors issues and against violence against women. As chair of the Bridge Housing Society, Woodsworth raised funds to build 36 units of social housing and house the Downtown East Side Women's Centre. She helped organize the annual Feb. 14 Memorial March to draw attention to murdered and missing aboriginal women. She was invited to coordinate the BC Seniors’ Summit from 1997 to 2002, developing the key policy framework for seniors in BC, and saving the Seniors’ Bus Pass. Woodsworth also sat on the inaugural board of the LGBTTQ Generations Project. Recently, Woodsworth has been active in protests against the Kinder Morgan Pipeline and Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Vancouver City Councillor

In 2002, Woodsworth was elected a Vancouver City Councillor. She was immediately appointed the Vancouver representative to the Executive of the Union of BC Municipalities, and the Executive of the Lower Mainland Treaty Advisory Council. She was the first openly lesbian city councillor in Canada.

Woodsworth sat on the Vancouver City Council for six years, championing the issues of affordable housing and homelessness, electoral reform, environmental sustainability, and economic equality. Woodsworth convinced the Vancouver City Council to join the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination and set up women's, multicultural and LGTTBQ Council Advisory Committees. Woodsworth was part of the Vancouver Council that created the Greenest City by 2020 environmental strategy.

Call for campaign finance changes

After Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson received campaign donations from at least two American supporters, Woodsworth called for a ban on foreign campaign donations such as those received by Robertson.^[2] She also spoke to the 2014 BC Special Committee on Local Elections Expense Limits, calling for limits on campaign donations and spending.

World Peace Summit

Woodsworth co-founded the World Peace Summit, a week-long conference bringing more than 35,000 participants to Vancouver from around the world.

Women Transforming Cities International Society

Before leaving the Vancouver City Council, Woodsworth and the chair of the city's Women's Advisory Committee founded Women Transforming Cities. This organization conducts multi-lingual dialogues in the World Cafe format, to bring out women's suggestions for how their city could become safer and more suited to their needs. Women Transforming Cities organized a sold out National Conference with Councillors, academics, urbanists, women's organizations and unions; a sold out Pecha Kucha at the 1,200 seat Vogue Theatre and a very successful “Hot Pink Paper Municipal” election campaign to get all Vancouver parties to support 11 key issues to make cities work for women and girls. WTC is part of a five city coalition that will launch a “Equity and Inclusion” How to Guide for Municipalities which will be launched at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities AGM in Edmonton in 2015 and is part of the national alliance Up for Debate 2015. ^[3]

References

External links

• Ellen Woodsworth at Vancouver City Council