FEWO Committee Report

NDP Dissenting Opinion

FEWO study on The Economic Leadership and Prosperity of Canadian Women

March 20, 2015

New Democrats believe immediate action is required to address the lack of progress in women's economic security. We are concerned that women's equality has been deteriorating rapidly in Canada: there are consistently more women than men living in poverty in Canada, affecting indigenous, racialized and women living with a disability in particular; women's employment levels are below men's; and violence against women plagues women's socio-economic security.

For a decade, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have left women behind, ignoring their priorities. They’ve cut services women rely on. They’ve stopped funding services that advocate for women. They have introduced tax policy which experts fear will result in reducing women's workforce participation. And they’ve refused to call an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

While New Democrat members of the committee recognize the importance of applauding, supporting and  encouraging successes for women in leadership roles, we must first and foremost call attention to the fact that there remain systematic barriers to reducing the gender gap and income inequality and therefore to giving women access to choice and to opportunities. 

As one witness’ brief said:

“In recent decades, debates have shifted away from asking what it is about women that makes leadership difficult to attain towards analyzing the structural or systemic barriers. Or, what it is about leadership positions and the organizational structures in which they are embedded that make it disproportionately difficult for women to access leadership positions. Building on a solid body of research demonstrating that women’s competence or capabilities are not primary culprits for the gender gap in leadership, research has pointed instead to a vast array of factors including: economic disadvantage (e.g. when a financial investment is necessary to leadership eligibility), ideological conventions and cultural sexism, insufficient support for career development, familial obligations etc.[1]”

Many witnesses spoke to a lack of action and leadership on the part of the federal government in addressing barriers to gender equality in Canada and the continued economic insecurity faced by many Canadian women.

Further, while we welcomed the chance to participate in the study, New Democrats feel the resulting report is not representative of the testimony. The report is overly favourable to the government while most witnesses’ testimony and correspondence were overtly critical. New Democrats are dismayed that the report was not a synthesis of the evidence gathered providing a piece of the puzzle towards true gender equality, as it should be and that the recommendations contained in the report are not representative of the recommendations heard by the committee during the study. 

The committee received over one hundred recommendations including many on commonsense policies like the need for a national housing strategy and         for recognizing foreign credentials, for measures to close the gender pay gap and to reduce poverty, and for a federal vision for post secondary education. Another 15 recommendations spoke of the need for a national childcare strategy. While New Democrats believe these recommendations are crucial to the economic prosperity of Canadian women, none of them made it into the report. Furthermore, New Democrats decry that there is no proposed long term, strategic plan. Canadian women deserve better.

New Democrats know that when women thrive, Canada thrives. Canada cannot do so without them. In the words of Professor Kathleen Lahey, “sex equality is a fundamental strategy for achieving prosperity.”[2] Further, “[w]hat we are facing here is a question of how economic policies and social policies intersect with women's life aspirations to produce a very disturbing picture showing the deterioration of sex equality in Canada.[3]

NEW DEMOCRATS THEREFORE PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING RECCOMENDATIONS:

• That the Government of Canada immediately implement pro-active pay equity legislation for all federally regulated workers based on the recommendations from the 2004 Pay Equity Taskforce Report and repeal the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.
• That the Government of Canada work with the provinces, territories and Indigenous communities to create a universal early childhood and childcare program delivered with common principles like affordability, availability and quality that costs no more than 15$/day per child.
• That the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, municipalities, community partners and other stakeholders, ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians that takes into account the unique needs of women.
• That the Government of Canada reinstate the federal minimum wage to 15$ an hour.
• That Status of Women Canada fund organizations for advocacy work and independent research with the goal of advancing women and girls equality in Canada
• That the Government of Canada develop, in collaboration with the provinces, territories, First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and their representatives and other stakeholders, a coordinated National Action Plan to Address Violence Against Women which would include: (a) initiatives to address socio-economic factors contributing to violence against women; (b) policies to prevent violence against women and policies to respond to survivors of violence; (c) benchmarks for measuring progress based on the collection of data on levels of violence against women over time; (d) independent research on emerging issues that relate to violence against women; (e) a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls; (f) strategies that address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of different communities including specific attention to Aboriginal women, women with disabilities, women from minority groups and young women; (g) participation by community and other civil society organizations, including support for those organizations to participate in the implementation of the national action plan; and (h) human and financial resources earmarked specifically to carry out the program of action set by the plan.
• The Government of Canada adopt a long term plan and vision to achieve gender equality in Canada including addressing barriers, and restoring the long term census for the much needed data and research needed. 
• The Government of Canada cancel its income splitting proposal