Edna Toth – Community Champion, Stalwart Feminist, Advocate and Activist, Unsung Hero, Mentor to many and Friend.
Born Edna Usher in Banbury, England in 1931, daughter to one of England’s only female pub owners, Edna Toth was a force of nature. She could pull a pint, fire a rifle, pilot a plane, and build a go-cart, while whistling happily all the while. Her house was where all the kids and community wanted to be.
An award-winning journalist, and expert at pitman’s shorthand, Edna created Tough Times newspaper, in 2012 – which circulated well over 100,000 copies a year to coffee shops, shelters, services and the Region. Tough Times was the only platform that amplified the stories of those with less power and privilege than she, including the “working poor”. She was a fierce activist and advocate who campaigned to end the corporal punishment of children in schools, for free dental care for seniors and children, for the rights of women and the voices of people who are homeless. She was a long-Ime NDP supporter, labour activist and the founder and Chair of the Peel Poverty Action Group (PPAG).
Edna received her BA in Women’s Studies from the University of Toronto at age 75, thereafter received the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service, and Mississauga’s Citizen of the Year Award at age 80.
Always on the move, Edna was a huge proponent of food security and was relentlessly supporting the Knights Table, in Brampton, as the only “Soup Kitchen” in Peel at the time. She further sought funding from various sources to create the short documentary “Spaces and Places” which was the first film of its time – documenting the daily experiences of people experiencing homelessness in 2009. It was also a first with Tough Times, the only social justice newspaper in Peel and one Peel Poverty Action Group wish to continue in her honour.
Predeceased by her husband Mike who passed on last year, Mike and Edna was the perfect complement. They told me of the story of their meeting, a blind date whereby they were to each to meet someone else, but found each other – they were literally attached by heart and actions : Mike was a sports writer, soccer player and coach, Edna, the editor and the mouthpiece for her family and the community.
Edna deeply loved all her children, children In law, grand children, and community equally: She and Mike had 4 children and 11 grandchildren, not to mention us community members to love and care for!
Unsurprisingly, Edna exhibited extraordinary strength, leadership and compassion her whole life, and right to the end.
Edna passed peacefully at Georgetown Hospital on February 17, just shy of her 94th birthday (March 4th)
Edna’s passion for our vulnerable community members, dynamism and quick wit do live on in us all.
The family requests donations to Knight’s Table food programs. hgps://www.canadahelps.org/en/chariIes/knights-table/
We also ask this council to support the Peel Poverty Action Group with ongoing funding to produce Tough Times Newspaper.
Finally, Peel Poverty Action Group request that the Region will find means to provide meaningful financial support to Peel Poverty Action Group, for the continuation of Tough Times news, and also funding to the Knights Table for the expansion of Knights Table to Cooksville – all in honour of Edna Toth.
The legacy of her commitment to community is to include the voices of everyone in these civic engagement spaces and provide a place of comfort and safety. This is work she has left for us to continue – our continual ability to centre our most vulnerable community members in government processes, policy, legislative discussions, program creation, and implementations and oversight mechanisms. This is the mandate of PPAG, and with your support, we believe that PPAG is the conduit to meaningful engagement and change.
We all have stories to tell, experiences to share and learnings to embrace, and through listening and continued shared dialogue with those who are often silenced, forgotten, and not at the table – you may also find hope, resilience and solutions.