Annual Report 2005 – 2006

United Nations Platform
for Action Committee (Manitoba)

“Looking at the World through Women’s Eyes”

This past year, UNPAC has been preoccupied with our Gender Budget project. Thanks to the creativity and energy of our staff, Jennifer de Groot and Becky Thiessen, ably assisted in the first half of the year by Kreesta Doucette, particularly with developing popular education materials, by Sandy Rubinfeld who did marvelous things with the UNPAC website, and by Mandy Fraser who helped with a variety of tasks including workshop facilitation, we have had a transformative year. Our staff were supported by the Coordinating Committee, the members of UNPAC, and by an advisory group of ‘Wise Women’.

It has been a transformative year. More younger women have been drawn into Coordinating Committee work, we’ve tackled our archival materials, and our outreach has been greatly expanded. As you will see from our Project Coordinator’s Report, we have been able to engage grassroots women through popular education workshops in Manitoba’s rural and northern communities, and in Winnipeg’s inner city, demystifying budgets, and empowering women to communicate their priorities to their MLAs. Through Mary Scott’s faithful production of UNPAC’s bi-weekly communication email, Snippets, with its excerpts on local, national and international events and news, UNPAC’s outreach has been constantly expanding

Another dimension of the Gender Budget Project that we refer to as a “treetops” approach, to borrow a term from Noam Chomsky, has involved meetings with Provincial Government people. Through the Ministers of Finance and Status of Women, and in follow-up meetings with members of Treasury Board, we promoted gender budgets. The rationale for doing gender analysis is that as men and women have different social and economic roles, particularly around reproductive and “care” work in the family and community, and so are affected differently by government policies, programs and taxes. For the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) commitments by governments to gender equality to be realized will require adaptations on both the revenue and expenditure sides of government activity. While results have not been dramatic, we have appreciated the Treasury Board commitment to building capacity within government so that gains made will be sustainable.

To add a little colour and drama to our project, UNPAC’s Femme Fiscale, with her Beijing PFA boots rooting her solidly to the ground, and the PFA toolkit firmly girdling her waist, made her debut appearance on Budget Day at the Legislature. There she persuasively challenged the Golden Boy sitting proudly atop the Legislative Building facing a prosperous future to take his head out of the clouds and come down to work side by side with her to tackle women’s most pressing problems such as affordable housing, child care and adequate income. To counter the dominant media messages targeting tax cuts and smaller public programs, women who, because of their care work, are more dependent on social services wore colourful buttons saying “Proud to be a taxpayer”.

UNPAC also went to Regina to attend a FAFIA (Feminist Alliance for the International Advancement of Women) Symposium and AGM, and a Status of Women Canada Prairie Consultation. We explored ways to use our designated Technology Fund, contributed to a PCWM (Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba) workshop on Gender Budgeting, incorporated a gender perspective in the Manitoba CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Alternate Provincial Budget, took part in a gender budget coalition, and made submissions to the Just Income Coalition, citizen review of the Minimum Wage (improvements have been minor), and the Provincial Review of the Employment Standards Act (we are hopeful that upcoming revisions will incorporate gender sensitivity).

To retiring Coordinating Committee members, Robby Simpson, Susan Hancharyk, Janet Carriere and Roberta Bishop, your contributions to UNPAC have been beyond measure. Robby has been a stalwart in so many ways ever since Beijing, acting as chair for many years as well as offering significant input into our earlier Women & Economy project. Susan has been UNPAC’s faithful Treasurer for many years. Janet served as our chair and a most insightful member of the Human Resource Committee, and Roberta has brought her knowledge of technology and management to UNPAC’s service. We thank you and look forward to your continuing as UNPAC members, and wish you all the best in future endeavours.

It has been a busy and I think a productive year. As UNPAC’s Chair, I want to thank our members, funders, Status of Women Canada and Status of Women Manitoba, our committed and imaginative staff, the Coordinating Committee and its sub-commitees, Mary Scott as editor of Snippets, all those wonderful women who turned out to our workshops and followed up with letters to their MLA’s, and the enduring support of the Manitoba Women’s Advisory Council. Their energy and enthusiasm have empowered us all to carry on the struggle for Gender Equality.

Muriel Smith
May 2006

Gender Budget Project Report

The UNPAC Gender Budget project has enjoyed a successful and productive first funded year. A large part of our staff energy has gone into organizing gender budget workshops around Manitoba. We have held 24 popular education workshops on the provincial budget with 250 women in attendance. Just over half of these workshops were held in rural and Northern communities around Manitoba while the rest were held in Winnipeg. We have created a popular education workshop facilitation guide that has received very positive feedback and has led to dynamic and empowering workshops. In the words of one workshop participant, “The workshop is energizing and inspiring.” We thank the many organizations and individuals who have hosted and promoted our workshops. Your support has been essential to our success.

Alongside our education and consultation efforts, we have continued to lobby the Government of Manitoba urging them to implement gender analysis in the provincial budget process. We meet regularly with staff at Treasury Board Secretariat to monitor progress on this task. We also met with the Ministers of Finance and Status of Women to inform them of our findings so far and to make some budget recommendations. At the 2006 Manitoba NDP Convention, meetings with UNPAC were mentioned in a written response from the Government to show members what progress had been made on a gender-based analysis resolution passed at the 2005 Convention.

We have also lobbied for specific concerns, primarily housing and childcare along with other poverty-related issues which have been raised repeatedly as key issues for women in all of our workshops. We made submissions to the Manitoba Minimum Wage Board, the Public Performance Review, and the Employment Standards Review. Over 90 women who have attended our workshops have written letters to their MLAs requesting that gender analysis be used in the budget process and naming their specific concerns. These letters have certainly increased Manitoba women’s voices to elected leaders.

The Femme Fiscale — created by UNPAC staff, advisors, and friends — created a big splash when she flew into the Manitoba Legislature on Budget Day to ask how Budget 2006 would make life better for the province’s women. She received good media coverage including a short segment on CTV news and a lovely photo in the Winnipeg Sun. A radio interview with the Femme Fiscale by Lesley Hughes is available on the UNPAC website. In between Femme Fiscale appearances, her postcard series — created by resident artist Becky Thiessen — encourages the broader public to consider the relationship between women and the budget.

Much effort went into the Alternative Provincial Budget which we co-chaired with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba. The alternative budget addresses many of the concerns we heard raised by women at our workshops particularly the need for more social rental housing and the need for lower costs and more spaces for childcare. Other issues addressed in the APB relate to income, water, food security, education, and justice.

Beyond the Femme Fiscale coverage we had good media coverage of our workshops including articles in seven rural newspapers and coverage on one radio station. One workshop attendee, Mary Ann Drazenovich, wrote a wonderful article about women and the budget in West Central Streets. UNPAC staff were also heard on CBC radio and CKUW.

We stayed well-connected to the community through our workshops, regular updates to our listserve, and participation in numerous community events including the Winnipeg Social Forum, Women’s World March, Just Income Coalition Community Low-Wage Inquiry, Women’s History Month at Manitoba Legislature, Women’s Social Forum, various International Women’s Day events, Provincial Council of Women gender-based analysis event, and an all candidates meeting at Wolseley Family Place. We shared our work outside of Manitoba at two academic conferences: “Gender and Canadian Values in the 21rst Century” at Brandon University and “Imagining Public Policy to Meet Women’s Economic Security Needs” organized by Simon Fraser University and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC. We also participated in FAFIA’s Annual Meeting and Gender Budget Symposium as well as the Status of Women Canada Prairie Consultation in Regina in September.

We were pleasantly surprised have been nominated for our “Best Practices” and subsequently selected to participate in the Grassroots Women’s International Academy which precedes the World Urban Forum taking place in Vancouver this coming June. Becky and Jennifer will attend the academy and Gisèle Saurette-Roch will be at the World Urban Forum. We look forward to the opportunities for international dialogue and collaboration that this event will bring.

Be sure to visit the UNPAC website at www.unpac.ca. The site is constantly evolving and features reports from each of our workshops, summaries of our workshop findings, media articles, the Femme Fiscale cartoons, background resources on gender budgets, information on women’s budget priorities, and many photos.

Many thanks to those who have been involved in the UNPAC Gender Budget Project. Staff throughout the year included Jennifer deGroot, Becky Thiessen, and Kreesta Doucette. Sandy Rubinfeld, Mandy Fraser, Cindy Leszczynski, Shawna Dempsey, Janis Dahl, and Gina Mount provided additional help. Our chairperson, Muriel Smith, was indefatigable for yet another year. UNPAC Treasurer Susan Hancharyk and Human Resources committee members Roberta Bishop and Janet Carriere also provided valuable support. We greatly benefited from the wisdom, creativity, and enthusiasm of our Wise Women: Lorna Turnbull, Sue Hudson, Shauna MacKinnon, Gerri Thorsteinson, Gisèle Saurette-Roch, and June Menzies. Karen Kliewer, Danielle Mondor, and Jackie Hogue also shared their creative expertise with us. We also thank our funders Status of Women Canada and the Province of Manitoba as well as all those who have taken the time to attend our workshops, and those who helped make them happen.

Respectfully submitted,

Jennifer deGroot,
Project Coordinator

Snippets

The evolution of the electronic newsletter Snippets has been quite remarkable. It started after the Beijing Conference, in 1996, as a way of staying in touch, (for maybe a dozen women) and sharing the tremendous amount of information that was starting to come by way of the Internet. At the same time, UNPAC supported a very basic web site.

Today, some 10 years later, Snippets has grown to a wide and diverse group of subscribers, over 200. Many do live in Winnipeg, or close by, but also there are others who have either moved away, and want to keep in touch, or have heard of Snippets and want to be part of the news and advocacy sharing. Most are women. Many share Snippets with colleagues.

Initially, Snippets had a local, or national focus — what was happening as a follow up to Canada’s commitments to the Platform For Action. It included announcements about current events that might be of interest to UNPACers. There were also useful hints and tools about how to use the web, and e-mail.

However, over the years, there have been changes in our communication. There is an overload of information, particularly when you see it from an international perspective. Many stories, about many women, from many countries. There has also been an increase in the ability to get information on current events from sources such as the Manitoba Women’s Advisory Council Council Currents.

So the focus this last year has been more on the international news. Stories and reports available about the remarkable women who are making a difference. The internet has become a virtual library of information, some of it useful to support the work we are doing here. Being involved with UNIFEM enhances the opportunities for sources, and with potential subscribers.

It has been a pleasure to interact with so many women over the years. It does seem many women are using Snippets as a way of keeping informed, and some are even finding employment, or opportunities to be connected with groups and organizations. Many also take action, such as signing on to petitions or letter writing.

Peace,

Mary Scott

UNPAC Coordinating Committee for 2005-2006