UNPAC’s Response to the Federal Budget
April 14, 2003.

Honourable Jean Augustine
Secretary of State for the Status of Women and Multiculturalism
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0M5

April 14, 2003

Dear Honourable Minister Augustine,

Thank you very much for your invitation to comment on the recent federal budget.We are pleased to have the opportunity to share our thoughts with you. Through our Women & Economy project we have the opportunity to hear the economic experiences of many women in our province, many of whom find themselves economically disadvantaged. We feel it is our responsibility to do what we can to address these inequalities.

Overall, we were pleased with the focus on spending that was part of this year’s budget. We feel that government spending on social programs is crucial to maintenance of a society that treats all citizens fairly. Specifically we are pleased to see money devoted to child care, health care (specifically for Aboriginal health care), housing, and an increase in the National Child Benefit. We are also pleased to see an extension of student loans to refugees, improved services for persons living with disabilities, and programs supporting Aboriginal peoples who find themselves extremely vulnerable in today’s economy. We are also pleased to know that Canada’s level of international assistance will increase as this money is important in lessening the global gap between rich and poor.

However, we feel that though this budget devotes monies to important social programs, these monies are not enough to make a significant dent in the problems created by massive cuts to social programs over the last decade. It seems to us that social program spending is still taking second place to tax cuts and debt reduction, despite the Liberal government’s 1998 promise to spend 50% of every surplus dollar on rebuilding social programs. This lack of investment is creating a social deficit that, like any other deficit, will need to be paid someday. We would like to note that the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative’s (CCPA) Alternative Federal Budget indicated that the government has room to increase program spending by an average of $15 billion per year over the next three years, while still balancing its budget.

Specifically in terms of child care, a greater investment than the $935 million promised over 5 years, is needed in order for provinces to actually implement comprehensive, affordable, and accessible child care programs. While Manitoba will be able to subsidize another 5000 spaces, the money will do little or nothing to reduce fees for paying parents or address the chronic underpayment of child care workers. It will also do nothing to create new spaces. Currently only 12% of Manitoba’s children have access to licensed child care.

Similarly, money set aside for housing is not nearly close to the $2 billion needed annually to create a national and comprehensive housing program. This money will barely make a dent in the chronic lack of affordable housing and severe levels of homelessness within Canada

In terms of international aid, we feel it is important to note that the doubling of international assistance will bring us to only 0.35% of GDP by 2010, half of the internationally-accepted target of 0.7% of GDP.

One way the government could have increased its revenues and therefore had more money to spend on social programs is by not increasing the RRSP limit from $13,500 to $18,000. This measure only benefits the very richest Canadians. It reduces the government’s income from taxes, income that is badly needed for social programs such as those mentioned above. The corporate capital tax is also a much-needed source of revenue for the government.

At the same time we feel strongly that rather than increasing money for defense, money for social programs would have had a much more tangible and long-lasting effect on the true security of Canadians.

Before we conclude we would like to reiterate the importance of gender-based policy analysis. It is clear to us that women’s experience of life in Canada is very different than men’s. In order to ensure that women are not discriminated against by government policy and practice, we ask that a comprehensive gender-based analysis approach of all policy in all government departments be made mandatory in order to ensure that men and women benefit equally.

Finally, though this may not fall within the scope of the budget, we need to say that it was with a good deal of relief that we welcomed your government’s decision not to participate in the US-led invasion of Iraq We ask that Canada maintain its position of peace and that all efforts be made to provide humanitarian aid to Iraqis both during and after this terrible disaster.

Once again, we thank you for asking for our thoughts on the budget. We look forward to working with you further,

Jennifer deGroot,
Women & Economy Project Coordinator

cc: Honourable John Manley, Minister of Finance
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien