Winnipeg -
Crossways-in-Common,
March 14, 2006

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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?

• Child Poverty
  • Kid’s activities
  • More support for extra-curricular sports
• Women’s Health
  • Mental
  • Physical
  • Disabilty
    – More support
• Childcare
  • Affordable
  • Accessible
• Women and Politics
  • Representation
  • Training/Education
  • All levels
    – Schools
    – Boards
• Housing
  • Rooming houses
• Social Assistance
  • Supports cycle of poverty
  • Equality
  • Need living wages/assistance
• Violence against women
• Computers
  • Needed at home — for women and children
  • CAP — stability and accessibility
• Transportation
• Women’s voices
  • Listen to them
  • Diverse women’s needs
    – Elderly
    – Aboriginal
    – Immigrant
    – Rural
    – Urban
• Women’s centres
  • Increase funding
  • Need core funding
  • Stability
• Justice System
  • Accountability
  • Missing women
  • Women in prison
    – Programs
    – Facilities

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?

• Headstart
• Wolseley Family Place
• Art City
• Broadway Neighbourhood Centre
• Winnipeg Harvest
• Health Care
• Self and Family Managed Care, Brokerage, and Cluster housing
  • Programs that assist people with disabilities in paying for attendants, while continue to live independent lives within the communities of their choice
• Odd Jobs for Kids
• Good Food Club
• Public Library
• CAPC — community action program for children
• Home Care
• Childcare
• Healthy Start
• Mother Goose
• Sports Programs
• Women’s Resource Centres
• Women’s Shelters
• Winnipeg Education Centre
  • Access Programs
  • Education Programs

**These programs are all highly valued, but ideas to be made better include:

• Longer hours
• More funding
• More spaces
• More activities
• More staff
• More women’s programs
• More publicity of programs
• Distribute programs throughout city
• Flexible, free childcare
• Allow transition time for Social Assistance to paid employment
• Money for house calls from doctors
• Affordable transportation
  • Cheaper fares
  • Longer transfers
• More free, accessible, non-judgemental counselling
• Computer training for everybody
• Online library access for rural
• Student grants not loans
• Federal Government — un-index CPP — not equitable for women
• Government-funded empty buildings
  • Dances
  • Flea markets
  • Crafts
  • Recycling

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

• Grants instead of loans
• Female only rehab
• Safe and Affordable Housing
• Daycare and Housing together — longer hours
• Longer drug and alcohol rehab
• Telephone service for people on S.A.
• Budgeting workshops for teenagers in school
• Special needs daycare
• Mentorship programs
• More support/services for immigrant families
• Real apprenticeship programs
  • More for women
• Programs to help parents held children with careers and job training
• Health classes for high school students to stay informed
• University programs in high school
• Re-write life skills curriculum
  • Budgeting, childcare, nutrition, organization
  • Daycares in school
  • Parenting skills
  • Politics
  • Better sexual health education
  • Learn more while young
• Integrate childcare into everything — more flexible, 24 hours
• Equalization — like federal-provincial program but a payment to women who need it
• Nurturing assistant
  • Program to assist moms
• Maintain quality and continuity within existing programs
• Programs need permanent working positions, not contracts
  • Need benefits and job security
  • Sustain programs with core funding
• Food — more programs to make healthy food available (Good Food Club, Community cupboard, Community Shared Agriculture)
  • Not more food banks

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?

• Nutrition classes
  • Prepare proper meals
• Free/cheap bus passes
• Subsidy for gym membership
• Mentorship programs between elderly and young mothers — benefits both
• Start time for school should be later
• Free breakfast/lunches at school
• Free childcare system
  • Flexible — days/evenings/weekends
  • More employers providing childcare
  • Gov’t incentive to include childcare in work place
  • Look at European model
• Higher wages (Pay women what we deserve)
  • Equal wages for equal work
  • Women earn less, must work longer…
• imagine… if women went on strike for a week
• Self care
  • Less stress — massages
  • More sleep = more community time, more leisure time
• Shorter work week/day
• Government
  • Offices stay open later
  • Accessible e-mail
  • Website less complicated
  • Convert language into layperson’s terms
• Before and after school daycare
• School supplies provided by the division
• Educate male parents how to share the household responsibilities and childcare
• One job rather than 3 = more time for family care
• Benefits
  • Can’t retire
  • Sick days paid — going to work sick — health concerns — costs gov’t
  • Paid Personal time
  • Paid Family leave
  • Dental time for appointments
  • No benefits means no proper self/health care

4. What ideas do you have on how the Government could earn more money? Use the creativity you have learned from your experience as a woman living with a tight budget.

• Corporate sponsorship of programs
• “Sin” taxes
• Taxing based on income
• Community economic development
• Insure alternative health care
• Invest in healthier environment = healthier people
• Tax credits for public transportation, enviro-friendly methods
• Increase tax in SUVs (with no pollution controls)
• More accountability for money being given or received
• Stop paying for research on marginalized people
  • Take action
• Government run daycares
• Revitalize old buildings
  • Encourage closed business owners to provide their building for women’s groups and activities
  • Offer a central registry; the government would encourage the building owners to rent to Women who would arrange fund raising projects for themselves or others and would pay taxes on the proceeds.
• STOP CUTTING TAXES –especially to most privileged
• Long-term thinking rather than election-to-election planning
• Reduce election spending
• Increase transfer payments
• Increase corporate taxes
• More crown corporations
• Economize
• Prioritize/re-visit/evaluate spending and programs
• More involvement with the people involved in the policies
• Resource management
  • Multi-talking
  • Utilize to its fullest potential
• Cut subsidies to corporate taxes
• Public awareness of programs/Open book policy
• Stop paying for blackberries and cell phones for gov’t bureaucrats
  • Cut technical, resources and pensions
  • Redirect to communities and families
• Food donations for free lunch/breakfast/nutritional programs
  • Preventative health care