Toby Brooks

Toby Brooks has worked at local shelters for abused and homeless women. At 65 she retired from front-line work and now serves as a volunteer on the Regional Coordinating Committee to End Violence Against Women. She believes that her Jewish heritage propels her to speak up for human rights. During the 1960s she was active in the American Civil Rights movement. After moving to Canada in the 1970s, she developed a hearing loss which propelled her to work for the rights of the disabled. At age 65 she was distressed to learn that Ontario law allows employers to retire workers against their will. The propeller linked her to other local people who formed the Ottawa group, Group for Flexible Retirement (GFR).  GFR was among the citizens that convinced the Ontario government to change the law.

She now works as a freelance writer, specialising in clear writing, a style aimed at bringing the printed word to people who have trouble reading. She is the author of Pat Lowther’s Continent; the biography of Canadian poet Pat Lowther, a woman who was murdered by her husband. (Charlottetown:gynergy books, 2000)