WOMEN MARCH WORLDWIDE
‘Really something to be part of’
They marched by the thousands through the streets of downtown Ottawa, as they did in other parts of Canada and the world, in support of the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday.
Some Ottawa residents made the trip south to join the massive march through the streets of Washington, one day after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
For Ottawa Coun. Catherine McKenney, who travelled to Washington with a photographer friend, the experience was both overwhelming and hopeful. The crowds were so big, she said, that it took an hour to get out of the subway and onto the downtown streets. “I have never been in a crowd like that. Everybody was friendly, everybody was happy. It was really something to be part of.”
McKenney said she sat near a Muslim woman on the Metro ride to the march who told her that she was from Washington and that Saturday was the first time since the election that she had felt safe in a crowd.
Crowd sizes became a political issue in Washington over the weekend with Trump and his officials inaccurately claiming that his inauguration had the biggest crowds ever, despite photographic evidence to the contrary.
Crowd scientists were reported as saying the Women’s March drew three times as many people as the inauguration.
McKenney, who arrived in Washington on Friday afternoon, said the differences in crowd sizes she saw over the two days was stark. On Friday, she said, “it was empty. The streets were empty. You could walk anywhere, you could sit anywhere.”
Alice Ruth Hinther, who also travelled from Ottawa to Washington by bus, said she met a Washington resident, Martin, a 48-year-old black man, who thanked the Canadians for coming and gave them all a hug. He told Hinther and others that he fears for his son’s safety as an 18-year-old black male but that the size and tone of the women’s march gave him hope for the future.
Saturday’s large crowd in Ottawa was a pleasant surprise for organizers who said they wanted to send a clear message that women’s rights are human rights and that Canadians won’t tolerate Trump-style politics, which many see as misogynist and divisive.
While the organizers initially hoped for 500 people, Ottawa police estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 people filled Laurier Avenue from Bronson Avenue to Metcalfe Street.
The march drew a mix of genders, colours and ages.
People drummed, chanted and waved placards that said, among other things, “Nasty women of the world unite,” “Woman’s place is in the resistance” and “I can’t believe we still have to do this.”
Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, who last June spent a day in North Dakota campaigning for Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primaries, said that this time she “decided to fight the politics of
This is a really safe, peaceful place for people to come ... This is not a one-time event. Revolution is an ongoing act and ... this is a revolution.
Trump in my own country.
“It’s not good enough to call yourself a ‘feminist.’ What we need is political action (and) leadership to make a tangible difference for women in terms of equality and justice,” Ashton said in an interview.
Later, in a speech, she highlighted missing and murdered indigenous women, sexual violence and harassment, and pay equity as pressing issues that Canadians must deal with.
Though Saturday’s march — one of more than 30 across Canada — was intended to highlight the importance of women’s rights, an anti-Trump sentiment was evident.
The march ended at the Bronson Centre, with boisterous rallies happening simultaneously inside the auditorium and outside on the street.
“No hate, no fear, everybody is welcome here,” the crowd chanted as the sound of beating drums filled the air.
Catherine Butler said she started organizing the event about seven weeks ago, noting proudly that Ottawa was one of the first Canadian cities to announce there would be a march here in conjunction with the one in Washington, D.C.
Saturday’s crowd in Ottawa was a confirmation to Butler that people are hurt, scared and angry, and that they needed a place to put those feelings.
“This is a really safe, peaceful place for people to come and share that experience with others who feel like them,” she said in an interview.
Minutes later, she told the cheering crowd: “This is not a one-time event. Revolution is an ongoing act and, make no mistake, this is a revolution.”