Achieving Womens Equality in Canada

In Context
Womens equality is a critical marker of a societys security and health when women enjoy their full rights and equality, families and communities thrive. Despite acknowledgement around the world of this fact, the situation for women in Canada is disappointingly behind: violence against women, in all its forms, remains a crisis (especially among Aboriginal/Mtis/Inuit women); the wage gap persists while employment equity remains elusive; women are disproportionately represented in caregiving sectors, both paid and unpaid; most mothers of young children have no choice but to enter the labour force, yet Canada still lacks a comprehensive national child care program; and womens poverty deepens throughout all demographics, but particularly for Aboriginal/Mtis/Inuit women, the elderly, women with disabilities, and racialized/ immigrant women. The slashing of funding to Status of Women Canada by the Harper Conservatives in 2006 a clear expression of opposition to womens advocacy and organizing, including through the acclaimed Court Challenges Program marked the beginning of the end for many womens organizations in Canada. The Conservatives indifference toward womens equality is also evident in their resistance to calls for a national child care strategy and aggressive dismantling of the federal long-gun registry. The struggle for womens rights in Canada has been fought in resilient ways for decades. There is no excuse for the lack of womens full equality in Canada. It is time to do better.

The Peggy Nash Plan

As the next leader of the NDP, I will ensure womens equality is a central theme in everything we do. Under my leadership, the NDP will fight to link social/economic equality and economic advancement for all Canadians, and to make meaningful investments in equality. For example, the creation and protection of good paying jobs is at the heart of my commitments such opportunities and the tax base they generate are critical to a strong social safety net and thereby, integral to womens equality. To support the renewal of Canadas womens movement and agenda for womens equality, I want to hear from women throughout Canada, amplify their voices, and heed their wisdom. While respecting provincial jurisdiction, we will launch an action plan for equality and act decisively to: 1. Reinstate the federal gun registry and legislate protection of the data it collects and encompasses. 2. Focus on violence against Aboriginal, Mtis, and Inuit women and girls, which to date has been so ineffectively addressed in Canada: a. provide increased support to NAOs and campaigns like Sisters in Spirit; b. launch a comprehensive national action plan to combat violence against Aboriginal, Mtis, and Inuit women and girls; c. remedy police and government failure to protect, investigate, and prosecute the various forms of violence endured by women in these communities; d. pursue integrated measures that serve to eliminate the related social and economic inequities which place Aboriginal, Mtis, and Inuit women at a chronic disadvantage.

3. Ensure equality in employment: a. Introduce a proactive pay equity system ; b. Remove the discriminatory elements of the Employment Insurance system to ensure those who pay into it have fair access to benefits and expand EI coverage to protect workers in precarious employment; c. Initiate a full review of employment equity within federal jurisdiction and introduce measures to address weaknesses in the program. 4. Establish a 21st Century (Royal) Commission on the Status of Women to: a. assess the progress made in the 42 years since the last such Commission; b. consult Canadians on a renewed agenda for womens equality; c. make recommendations for proactive solutions to womens inequality in Canada.

5. Increase support for women and families, since a modern system of education, social services, affordable housing, and income support programs is essential to ensuring womens equality: a. Support the development of national policy frameworks encompassing provinciallydelivered, quality public and non-profit services, including early childhood education and child care, housing, elder care, and pharmacare (legislation could be modeled on recent NDP private members bills such as the Early Learning and Child Care Act and the Secure, Adequate, Accessible and Affordable Housing Act); b. Enhance the economic security of seniors by improving the public pension system beginning with increases in the Canada Pension Plan and the Guaranteed Income Supplement; c. Improve the Employment Insurance maternity/parental benefit program by expanding eligibility for new parents such as self employed and precarious workers, increasing benefit levels, introducing flexibility such as how Quebec has done, and adding paternity leave benefits. The Harper Conservatives prioritize fighter jets, unnecessary new jails, and corporate tax cuts. Under my leadership, the NDP and the next federal government will ensure those funds are redirected to social programs which foster equality and strengthen our economy.