“We are the government, we are the people, I have a responsibility”
— Workshop Participant
— Workshop Participant
Altona,
May 9, 2006
Borderlands School
Division Office
Facilitators: Jennifer deGroot, Becky Thiessen & Mandy Fraser
Participants: 27 women
The following ideas were generated by workshop participants as part of our gender budget consultations. Please note that this list does not represent the official position of the UN Platform for Action Committee Manitoba (UNPAC). Neither UNPAC nor all of the participants have endorsed these suggestions.
1. What are key concerns for women in your community?
- Childcare
- Money for families/parents who want to stay at home
- Literacy/Adult Education
- Both need to funded adequately
- More funding options to support these needs
- More choice for women and education, not just a two-year program, option for university
- Access for women for more educational opportunities — workshops
- Housing
- Stop building expensive condos
- Many people need affordable options: young families, seniors etc.
- Community services
- More resources
- Family centres, women’s centres
- Mental health support
- Accessible
- Skills training
- More support for families
- Minimum wage increase
- Caregivers — of elderly, children, people with disabilities
- Teen/Youth support
- Peer support/mentorship
- Shelter, services, activities
- Other options than “church-run” activities
- Teen pregnancy
- More funding for people who work with youth and justice
- More flexible funding options
- Volunteers — funding for community volunteer programs
- Adult ed/literacy
- Increase child tax benefit
- Transportation — if no vehicle, isolated
- Cost of living is too high for those living on social assistance
- Urban/rural misperceptions, “People in the country are with it, too!”
- Government department fractures
“I will speak to my MLA not when asked, but when I have something to say”
— Workshop Participant
— Workshop Participant
2. a) What Government programs and services have really worked to meet women’s needs and concerns? How could they be expanded upon or made better?
- Baby First Program
- Pregnancy Crisis Centre
- Home Care
- Respite — (family services, health)
- Family Resource Centre
- ADAMH
- Adult Education Centre
- RIAT — integrity team
- Community Links
- Women’s Shelter — Genesis House (Winkler)
- Childcare — Kiddie Sunshine Centre & Daycare at Adult Educ. Centre
- Library
- Parks
- Ball diamond
- Waterslide
- Millennium Centre — jogging, curling, skating etc.
- Drop-in Youth for Christ centre (not gov’t funded)
- Post office
- MCC — not gov. funded
- Kidsport- does not cover everything, limited
- Junk to Joy — new art drop-in centre for older youth “at risk”
- Heating cost cheques in winter. But not available to renters
- Low-income Housing, but…
- Quite rundown
- Difficult to get into, need more
- Not good for large families
*Many programs are working, however it should be noted that women want all programs to be:
- more available and accessible
- more community-based decision making, distribution of dollars
- simplification to access programs and funding
- change of attitudes regarding needs of women
- standardization of policies
2. b) What ideas do you have for programs and services that could meet women’s needs?
- Another youth drop-in centre
- Women’s support groups
- Counselling for all in family
- Parenting classes
- Self-care — physical and mental. Free.
- More funding… better awareness
- More low-income housing
- Resources partnering together
- Long-term thinking
- More equal tax system
- Lower costs for childcare
- Transportation to post-secondary school
- Adult learning centre in Morris
3. Women often do not have enough money to do the things they need to do and they often do not have enough time to do the things they need to do either. Where are you crunched for time? What could the government do to give you more time to do the things you need to do?
- More accommodating childcare hours — ie. For shift work
- Childcare in the workplace
- Flexible hours for women/parents in the workplace
- Support for home-based business
- Bring awareness of women’s resources to rural areas (What is available to us?)
- Community taking care of community
- Breakdown generational barriers
- Increase wages
- Consider travel time to/from work — 1.5 hours
- Transportation
- fuel can cost $350-450/month
- to sport games, practices, etc
- for people with disabilities
- Extend childcare credit when child is living at home/in school yet over 18
- Funding for field workers
- One-Stop Shop
- Where you just have to tell your story once!
- Simple processes (where there is confusion, there is profit)
- Jobs for Youth — hard to find in smaller communities
- Tax support for caregivers of seniors
- Financial support for stay-at-home parents — put value into it
- So parents can stay home and be happy
- No financial and social sacrifices to stay at home
- Respite for single parents
- Yard care
- Cooking/cleaning
- Social time
4. What ideas do you have on how the Government could earn more money? Examples include: raising existing taxes, introducing new taxes, or stopping programs that don’t work. Use the creativity you have learned from your experience as a woman living with a tight budget.
- Stop paying EI to agriculture students in winter
- Government workers should take their own lunch to work
- Equalization (like the inter-provincial system) for all income earners
- Decrease tax break for high income folk
- Cut back on government bonuses, pensions — be accountable for expense account
- Decrease wages
- Drug bust money used for needed programs
- No tax on healthy food, tax on junk
- Raise corporate taxes
- Where is the info/money going that goes into research and studies?
- Accountability of funds
- Focus on prevention - healthcare
- More women in budget process