“women get political
 at budget workshop”

Flin Flon Reminder

December 15, 2006

“Up until today, I wanted to stay away from anything political. Now, I want to make a change and stand up,” said a woman who participated in a workshop held at the Women’s Resource Centre in Flin Flon on November 16. The event gave women an opportunity to talk about how the provincial budget influences them and how they can influence it.

The full-day workshop was one of a series held across Manitoba and organized by the UN Platform for Action Committee (UNPAC) Manitoba, a Winnipeg-based organization that works to promote women’s equality, development, and peace. “Many women feel the budget isn’t for them, that it’s something just for business people or politicians. But the budget impacts women’s lives in a very real way on a day-to-day basis,” says UNPAC Coordinator Jennifer deGroot.

For example, deGroot pointed out that women still assume the majority of the responsibility for raising children in our province. Because of this they need certain supports such as affordable child care. On average women earn 73 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women have less earning potential because of lower salaries and because of family responsibilities so programs such as social housing, public transportation, health care, and child care are important in making sure they have equal opportunities. Supporting women is essential to supporting families and ensuring children grow up to be healthy members of society.

One of the favourite activities during the day was a laminated pie chart showing different areas of government spending such as health, education, and justice. Participants had to guess which piece of the pie went with which area. Many were surprised that health takes up such a large percentage of our provincial coffers (41.7%). Debt is the smallest piece of the pie at just 3.3%. On the revenue side, corporate taxes are just 4.5% of government revenue.

After the exercise Barb Hopkinson, one of the participants, said: “Now I can interpret the budget better which means it’s easier to talk about it to others.”

At the end of the day women discussed ways to make their voices heard. Meeting with their MLA, writing letters, talking with the media, and sharing what they’d learned with friends and colleagues were some of the ideas raised. “Before this workshop I never thought I could make enough of an impact,” says Jana Koczka, “We need to be united as one to have a loud voice.”

Several women wrote letters to Flin Flon MLA Gerard Jennissen naming their budget priorities. Affordable housing and childcare were at the top of the list as well as funding for the Women’s Resource Centre. There was also a suggestion that the government hire a coordinator to arrange all non-emergency medical travel for Northern Manitoba.

Jennissen said, “It’s important for everyone to be involved in budget discussions. That’s why we have the public budget consultations. We want to make sure that our priorities are indeed the people’s priorities.” As for women’s involvement in the process he added, “Women are 51% of the world’s population so they’re a majority and it’s absolutely important that we hear their unique needs. For example, on average women’s wages have not kept pace with men’s — that’s one inequality that has to be addressed.”

Jennissen also said that he has spoken with Finance Minister Greg Selinger on the need to have women involved in the development of the budget, particularly the structure of the budget consultations. “The Minister is very approachable and wants as much public input as he can get. It seems very reasonable to me to include women in the dialogue.”