Brandon,
October 17, 2006
The Women’s Centre

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Facilitators: Jennifer deGroot, Becky Thiessen & Janis Dahl
Participants: 12 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?

• Affordable Housing
• Childcare
• Safety
• Public Transit
• Education
  • Access to training and education
  • quality
  • lack of respect in public school system
• Decision-making
  • Lack of female participation in political process
  • Government accountability
  • Women’s voices sidelined
  • Building buildings not communities
• Racism — lack of respect
• Self-esteem
• Counselling
  • Family violence
  • children

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? b) What ideas do you have for programs and services that could meet women’s needs?

• Reinstate National Childcare Program
  • Publicly funded childcare
  • More spaces
  • Training
    – Access to diploma
    – Subsidized training
    
  • Increase in pay
  • Increase in facilities
• Unpaid work of raising children should be recognized
• Choice to work at home or in paid employment should be equally economically valued
• Subsidized access to training and education
• Awareness building of programs
• Women’s groups/organizations funded
  • Reinstate and increase funding to Status of Women Canada and Manitoba
• Employment guidance
  • Feminist approach to careers
• Support for Immigrant women
  • Language
  • Employment
  • Affordable housing
  • Integration into community
• Prevention and awareness of health and well-being
• Funding of alternative health therapies
• Feminist orientation to counselling — personal and employment

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?

• Too much on your plate
• Balancing your self and others
• Looking after family
• Spending time as family

How could government help?

• Increase minimum wage
• Available resources for homecare and respite
• Recognition
• More flexible childcare
• More family-oriented programs
• Tax breaks for respite, homecare and stay-at-home parents

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.

• User fees geared to income
• Increase corporate taxes
• Higher tax rate for non local business
• Higher income tax for higher earners

TAKE ACTION!

• More women in politics
• Decrease barriers to women in decision-making positions
• Education
• Go to a budget consultation
• Get on boards
• Ask questions
• Protest
• Lobby MLAs / MPs
• Become informed from gender perspective
• Be the change — practice what you preach
• Change attitudes — ourselves, our spouses/partners, friends
• Equalize workload
• Letters — newspaper, government