UPDATED March
6, 2009
March
8th International Women’s Message From the PEI Federation of Labour
Time
For Federal Politicians to Live Up to This Year’s Theme
On February 25, 2009, the Honourable Helena Guergis, Federal Minister
of State (Status of Women) announced the theme “Strong Leadership.
Strong Women. Strong World: Equality” for March 8th , International
Women"s Day (IWD).
The PEI Federation of Labour has to ask how a government that has
continually attacked women’s rights and equality can be so
hypocritical. Especially considering this is a government that removed
equality from the Status of Women Canada’s mandate.
“We sure didn’t see any respect for this theme in their recent federal
budget which was a real slap in the face to women. It didn’t
just leave women out; it was carefully crafted to deliberately attack
pay equity and ignore the lack of access for women to EI ” states Lori
MacKay, Vice President of the PEI Federation of Labour in charge of
Women’s Issues .
In this budget we saw the Harper Government bring forth The Public
Sector Equitable Compensation Act as part of Bill C-10 the Budget
Implementation Act. The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act will
radically change the rules governing pay equity in the federal public
sector and will remove the right of public sector workers to file pay
equity complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and
transform this fundamental human right into an issue that must be
bargained for.
This regressive Act even goes as far as to impose a $50,000 fine on any
union that encourages or assists their own members in filing a pay
equity complaint, leaving women to fight the system unaided.
“It is every union’s legal right and responsibility to represent and
defend their members. For the Harper Government to bring this Act forth
shows not only their lack of respect for basic women’s rights but also
their lack of respect for basic union rights”. Continues Ms. MacKay.
Their budget also contained very little for women and Canadians in
general in regards to EI. In a time where workers across the country
are losing their jobs at an alarming rate, this budget was an ideal
time for this government to fix a system that at the best of times is
not meeting the needs of Canada’s unemployed.
It is especially shameful that they did not address the very serious
issue of improving accessibility to EI. According to the
November 2007 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study
“Women and the Employment Insurance Program”, a full 30% of unemployed
women and 17% of unemployed men on PEI cannot qualify for EI. The
Harper government’s refusal to address this issue is made even worse
when you consider that PEI because of our high unemployment rate and
correspondingly lower qualification requirement has one of the highest
rates of qualification in Canada. According to the study, on average in
Canada only 32 % of unemployed women and 40 % of unemployed men
received EI benefits.
The PEI Federation of Labour has to ask where is that strong leadership
for women’s equality mentioned in this year’s theme in Ottawa.
It is definitely not coming from the female members of the ruling
Conservative Party including PEI’s own Minister of Fisheries, Gail Shea
who have continually and by times vehemently supported their Party’s
continued attacks on women’s equality.
It also has definitely not been coming from the Liberal Party who
refuse to stand up to the Harper government as the Conservatives
continue their ideological attacks against Canadian women. Recently,
the Liberals voted to reject a Bloc Quebecois sub-amendment that would
have enhanced Employment Insurance and left untouched the existing pay
equity rules . Only The Bloc and the NDP supported the amendment.
Liberal MP Mike Savage at a recent Public Service Alliance Rally in
Halifax even had the audacity to say that they are going to support the
Harper budget now even though they don’t agree with parts of it but
they will look at rescinding the Public Sector Equitable Compensation
Act and other bad sections if the Liberals return to power.
As this year’s theme for International Women’s Day suggests Women’s
Equality does not need this type of lip service. It needs
strong leadership and real action to move forward which is something
the Harper Conservatives have never provided and something that the
Liberals are willing to sellout to avoid another election.
March 4th when the Liberals and Conservatives joined together to vote
Bill C-10 through its third reading was a dark day for women’s rights
in Canada.
Our last hope is that the Senate will find the Strength and Leadership
mentioned in this year’s International Women’s Day theme that is so
lacking in Liberal and Conservative MPs’ and find a way to
remove the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act from Bill C-10
before it gets Royal Assent.
“As
we head in to rougher economic times, now more than ever women’s
equality needs to move forward not backwards” concludes Ms MacKay.
Press
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