Status of Women

Members Statements:

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, this month is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I had the honour of attending the launch in London this past Friday.

Violence against women humiliates and demeans women and often robs them of their hopes and dreams.

OTTAWA – The Auditor General, Shelia Fraser, released a report today that outlines how the government has failed to apply gender based analysis (GBA) to government programs. The report clearly outlines the failure to implement the 1995 “Federal Plan for Gender Equality”.

The report states that, “despite the government commitment to GBA that has continued since 1995, there is no government-wide policy requiring that departments and agencies perform it. The existence and completeness of a GBA framework varied considerably among the departments we examined.”

“This is 14 years of failure by Conservative and Liberal governments to live up to their obligations and their commitments to gender equality in Canada,” said Irene Mathyssen, NDP critic for the Status of Women.

Excerpt from LondonTopic.ca, for the full story: Click Here

On April 23, 2009, CBC National News interviews more mothers who have been fired without severance pay and who are told they are not eligible to collect Canadian employment insurance. Federal MP and NDP Status of Women Critic Irene Mathyssen challenged the Conservative Government in the House of Commons to change the rules to protect parents returning to work following parental leaves.

JENNIFER DITCHBURN
The Canadian Press: March 06, 2009

OTTAWA - When it comes to talking about women's issues, the Conservative government has torn up pages of the old policy dictionary and come up with a carefully crafted new language.

"Pay equity" has become "equitable legislation." "Gender equality" is now "equality between women and men." The national child-care program under the Liberals morphed into Universal Child Care Benefits. Even the word equality itself has been the source of internal wrangling...

..."Words are very powerful," says NDP MP Irene Mathyssen. "The use of the term 'equitable compensation' is a cloak, because it masks the really rotten things that are in that Act."

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, women and men around the world are recognizing International Women's Day as a time to celebrate women's social, political and economic achievements.

Sadly, women across the world still suffer extreme poverty, violence and violations of their basic human rights. In Canada, lack of attention to women's rights by successive governments has left equality rights in tatters.

Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):

I would like to take this opportunity to encourage my Liberal colleagues to stop and think about what they are about to do if they vote in favour of Bill C-10 this evening. They are handing out a death sentence to pay equity in the country.

Women have fought long and hard for the right to equal pay for work of equal value. By standing in the House and voting in favour of Bill C-10, the Liberals are undermining the aspirations of women for equal pay for work of equal value, throwing away their human rights, disrespecting the contribution women make to our communities and our economy. It is a slap in the face to all women in Canada.

Yesterday afternoon, the Leader of the Opposition told reporters, just outside the chamber, that he was willing to “swallow” the loss of pay equity. This is profoundly disrespectful and unapologetic to a breathtaking degree. Violations of human rights are not something we as Canadians should be willing to just “swallow”.

Hansard Record, March 3rd 2009
Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am most pleased to add my voice to the concerns expressed today, particularly in regard to the insinuation in the budget implementation bill of the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act. What an Orwellian term that is.

Over the last three and a half years, the government has tried to silence the voices of women. It has reduced funding to Status of Women Canada. It ended research, advocacy and lobbying. It closed 12 regional office of Status of Women Canada. It ended the funding to many women's organizations and its removed equality from the mandate of Status of Women Canada, all of these measures designed to keep women quiet, to keep them in their place.

It is not working. The government may have tried to deny the voices of women, but I have a letter, signed by 79 individuals, winners of the Governor General's Award in regard to the Persons Case, lawyers, academics, Canadians of great stature. I want to esnure that their voice and the voice of millions of Canadian women are heard in this place, so I will read into the record a letter they sent to the Prime Minister.