SUFA Review
October 30, 2002
Note: We agree to having our submission posted on the website.
The UN Platform for Action Committee (UNPAC) was established in 1995 to advocate for the implementation of the Platform for Action and other United Nations agreements that advance women’s equality. In 1995, 30 Manitoba women travelled to Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women, participating in both the UN conference and the parallel NGO (non-governmental organization) Conference. They returned to Manitoba with a commitment to see the recommendations in the Platform for Action implemented. UNPAC supports the objectives of the Platform for Action by working through community action and with other organizations, locally and globally, for equality, development, and peace. UNPAC’s current work focuses on women and the economy. For more information visit www.unpac.ca.
We believe that SUFA is an extremely important agreement made between the Government of Canada and the Governments of the Provinces and Territories. The principles of SUFA are integral to ensuring that the human rights — economic, social, cultural, and other — of all Canadians, are fulfilled. Given current levels of economic uncertainty, SUFA is all the more important in making certain that all peoples in Canada are treated with fairness and equity. We value the opportunity to provide our input in the implementation of this agreement.
Citizen awareness of SUFA
We are concerned that SUFA is not a well-known document. In our discussions with other equality-seeking organizations in our province, we have been shocked that so few know of this agreement, despite the fact that Manitoba is the only province to have held public consultations on the Agreement. This general lack of awareness is highlighted by the relatively low number of submissions on the website. Given this context, we question if the Agreement has the ability to hold to its original principles.
Recommendation
We recommend steps be taken to make many more Canadians aware of SUFA and its promise of a fair life for all.
Social programs
As we understand it, the underlying principle of SUFA is fairness and equity for all Canadians. To our eyes, in the three years since SUFA was drafted, inequality has continued to increase in our society. Much of this is a result of the disintegration of social services available to Canadians. Social assistance rates across the country are at rates far below the poverty line, access to affordable housing is severely limited as is child care, services for people in vulnerable situations such as women in abusive relationships, persons living with disabilities, and children, are at risk, and our health care system is showing strain. Aboriginal peoples in particular, face extreme inequality and a deficit in services to challenge this trend. Women also find themselves the majority among the poor and vulnerable. Indeed many Canadians find that the current structures do not allow them access to necessities of life including food to eat and a place to sleep. Such a situation violates the most basic human rights.
As provinces across Canada lower taxes and cut services, the federal government has not been there to either pick up the slack or remind provinces of their duty to provide for all citizens. Perhaps the most devastating of all moves was the elimination of the Canada Assistance Plan(CAP) in 1995. Under CAP, provinces had to abide by national standards in the delivery of health and social assistance, standards that did not carry on to CAP’s replacement: the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). The federal government’s attempt to ease the blow through the Child Tax benefit is meaningless to parents on social assistance living in the eight provinces in which the benefit is clawed back.
The trend to privatize public services has dealt another blow to government’s ability to care for citizens. Privatization moves taxpayers’ money into corporations and away from protective services. It also reduces accountability and creates a gap between citizens’ needs and government’s responsibilities.
Recommendations
We recommend that immediate action be taken to protect the most vulnerable peoples in our society. This includes raising social assistance rates to a liveable level, raising minimum wage, increasing core funding available to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who bear much of the weight of caring for vulnerable peoples in our societies, improving access to affordable housing as well as child care, increasing training and educational opportunities alongside a decrease in tuition rates, expanding resources for new immigrants, removing obstacles to disability benefits, and implementation of a far-reaching strategy to improve the lives of Aboriginal peoples following the recommendations set by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
We recommend immediate standards for the delivery of these services, standards that will be monitored and enforced. We recommend that gender analysis be part of these standards. We also recommend that it be illegal for provincial governments to claw-back any of the moneys provided by the federal government to protect all human life. We call for an end to the privatization of social services. In cases where services are already privatized we ask that the private entity be held accountable to federal levels of commitment to principles of equity and fairness. Finally, we recommend exploration into a Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI) that would give all Canadians the right to a decent life.
International agreements
Canada is a signatory to a number international agreements including the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) as well as its Optional Protocol, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Many provincial governments are only vaguely aware of these international agreements and their responsibilities under them despite the fact that the Vienna Declaration makes clear that, “Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings; their protection and promotion is the first responsibility of Governments.” Current delivery of social programming in Canada at times directly violates these agreements.
Recommendation
We recommend on-going education to inform both citizens and governments of the implications for policy and program that are a result of these international human rights documents.
Free trade
We are particularly concerned about the impact of free trade agreements on the government of Canada’s ability to perform its duties with respect to ensuring fairness and equity for all Canadians. Free trade agreements generally serve to increase the power of corporations while decreasing the power of governments. This creates yet another gap between citizen care and government responsibility.
Recommendations
We recommend that the Government of Canada take immediate action to review the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on its ability to provide for citizens. This review should be performed before any new trade agreements such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas(FTAA), are negotiated. We recommend extreme caution in the negotiation of further trade agreements.
Once again we reiterate SUFA’s promise of a fair life for all. We will watch eagerly for the results of this consultation not only in word but more importantly in action.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer deGroot
UN Platform for Action Committee (MB)