I’d like to start off with thanks. Thanks to the organizers for keeping this movement growing and strong, thanks to my fellow speakers, it’s an honour to be up here with you, and thanks to all of you (indicating audience) for being here today.

I’ve only got so much time, so I just want to note when I use words like women and men, I’m referring to how we each identify.

That being said I’d like to call on the cis-men for a moment. First, thank you for being here, and now that you are here I have some homework for you. Your task is to go back to your fellow cis-men and tell them all you see and here today, because the women around you have been doing that job for far too long.

I’m here for some of those women, and some that are not here.

I’m here for women fighting for disability justice and Mad Pride.

I’m here for women who couldn’t be here because they couldn’t leave their homes, or couldn’t afford to get here.

I’m here for people living for months in women’s shelters because they’ve got no accessible place to go. Or worse, living with those who abuse them.

I’m here for all of us who need an accessible, affordable place to live.

I’m here for women fighting to have families, and fighting to keep those families together.

I’m here for women who organize women, and those who are here for the first time.

I’m here to remember Kimberly Rogers, who died because Conservative politicians decided to get tough on social assistance, and I say never again!

We will not allow our sisters to be dragged into the darkness by Ford and his cronies who think they can separate us be redefining disability to serve their own agenda

We are disabled and mad women, we are in every community, and we will not go back!