April 12, 2022 Newsletter

The only news you'll need this week šŸŽÆ

Clearing a New Pathā„¢ and Clearing a New Path Podcastā„¢Ā are products of Radar Media, located in Dorchester, Ontario on the traditionalĀ territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Neutral peoples who once used this land as their traditional beaver hunting grounds. Ā As a settler here Iā€™m committed to deepening understanding of Indigenous communities and reframing responsibilities to land and community. I am grateful to Mother Earth for the opportunity for love and connection and to the spirits of the Elders and the Medicine People who still walk the Earth.

APRIL 12, 2022

Last week I sent out over 400 invitations to female mayors and band council chiefs to attendĀ our first virtual event!

YOUR VOICE MATTERS: A Rural Virtual Town Hall is LIVEĀ (more details below) is an opportunity to come together and listen to the issues facing different rural women entrepreneurs across Canada. Those issues include: sexism, racism, homophobia, access to capital and overall access to resources (and others). You won't want to miss it!

As always, you can support us here by becoming a member.

NEWS

On my mind this week:

1. From the "Do people still wonder why women don't run for office?" fileThe Integrity Commissioner for Kincardine, Ontario has been called in to investigate after a white male councillor was recorded during a council meeting, sayingĀ Ā "You're a f--king c--t."(CBC News)Ā  The comment was allegedly directed at a white female-identifying councillor (the male councillor says it was directed at himself).This wasnā€™t the first time the female councillor felt such a personal attack. After one council vote, someone in the community told her ā€œI hope you get raped,ā€ā€œThat doesnā€™t happen to the guys,ā€ she said. ā€œI would like it to get better for women who want to stand for elected office. And that we need allies in our men who sit around the table. And the integrity commissioner canā€™t give that to me.ā€(Owen Sound Times)Here's a letter posted on Twitter from another female councillor, from another small Ontario municipality, calling on the Kincardine council to ask for an apology and to have the councillor removed, to send a national message.

2. Our first everĀ Rural Women Town Hall!You canĀ SIGN UP HEREĀ and please help spread the word by sharing with your networks and/or by sharing our posts on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagram

WHY A TOWN HALL? Many of us haveĀ worked for organizations and/orĀ heard the words of administrators or senior leadership that say they areĀ committedĀ to diversity, equity andĀ inclusion. But how many of the people creating these policies in rural Canada, are actually consulting the people the policy will affect? Are there measurable outcomes? WeĀ politely go along without using the privileges we have to change things. How do we do that? By listening to the issues from the people affected by them.WON'T YOU JOIN US?AND....IF YOU OR YOUR ORGANIZATION WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THE EVENT:EMAILĀ [email protected]Ā or hit 'reply'.

3. Funding and awards:

4. If you have tax questions and you have time today, CRA is presenting a webinar for small business. Sign up here

5. The Centre for Women in Business and Mount Saint Vincent UniversityĀ in Nova Scotia areĀ conducting surveys with women entrepreneurs, over the next 3 years, on the impacts of COVID-19.ā€œWe know all women face the same challenges, but the underrepresented groups face additional challenges and thatā€™s what we really want to know,ā€ (Source: Huddle.today)

Clearing a New Path Podcastā„¢ and this newsletter are both supported by Xplornet Enterprise Solutions

PleaseĀ share the newsletter and the signup form! AndĀ if you know of a female entrepreneur in rural Canada that weĀ should speak with, please connect:Ā [email protected]