Government budgets can either promote women’s equality or exacerbate women’s inequality...
“We need to stand up for ourselves, and not just complain.”
— Workshop Participant 
selkirk workshop discussion

Selkirk,
January 28, 2006

Back to Workshops Page

Our workshop was hosted by the Business of Professional Women and held at The Selkirk Friendship Centre. The range of women was great; many women coming from diverse backgrounds. At the end of the workshop it was interesting to hear the business women talk about what they had learned from the single young mothers. It is the low-income mothers who have the greatest knowledge of what works and what does not work for women and famlies in the provincial budget. The young women at the workshop inspired many of the older women to keep on being actively involved.

« Read the following article on this workshop, that appeared in the Selkirk Journal, March 17, 2006 by Nancy Renwick.

In Selkirk the top concerns were the lack of affordable, decent and safe housing as well as lack of childcare.

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.

writing down concerns at Selkirk workshop
A woman writes down her concerns

1. What are key concerns for women in your community?

  • Lack of quality, affordable housing
    • Social Assistance housing allowance too low
    • Not enough Manitoba Housing units
    • Houses are insecure and unsafe
    • Mold and other health concerns
    • Long wait-lists - 3-6 months, depends
    • Meanwhile expensive condos going up
    • Lack of affordable/modest homes for seniors
    • High rent compared to Winnipeg
  • Day care
    • Need care for shift work/infants
    • Subsidized for preschoolers
    • 3 large daycares
    • need qualified and better paid workers
  • Transportation
    • Main street to Winnipeg, every 3 hours
    • Taxi is $16 there and back to Walmart
    • 2 hours to get to Winnipeg
    • Businesses on outside of town
    • Foodbank access (outskirts of town)
    • Library access (moving to outskirts of town)
  • More resources in city
  • Need more viable employment (no more McJobs or restaurant or gas station jobs) — 17 pizza joints in Selkirk!
    • Difficult location
    • Don’t want to go to Winnipeg to work
  • Need more quality food (less pizza)
  • Education
    • Training allowance for single mothers
    • HRDC — old funding program
    • Up to 3 years
    • Job and education and kids — too many demands
    • Need extra help to cover hidden costs
    • Confusion of programs/education available to mother’s on SA
    • No encouragement
    • Lack of communication for services from Social Assistance
    • People on Social Assistance receive inconsistent information
Back to Top

2. a) What Government programs and services have really helped to meet women’s needs and concerns? How could they be expanded upon or made better?

Back to Top

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

Back to Top

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?

Solutions:

Back to Top

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.

Back to Top