NLIS 10
September 21, 2001
(Executive Council)

 


Violence, taxation and employment insurance at heart of discussion between 
Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women

Sandra Kelly, Minister Responsible for the Status of Women, attended the 28th annual meeting of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women which concluded today in Quebec City.

"I was pleased to be able to discuss collaborative actions on increasing women's economic security and independence, preventing violence against women and empowering women's health with my colleagues from across the country," said Minister Kelly.

During the meeting, ministers reaffirmed their commitment to improving women's economic independence and security. Issues associated with women's participation in the labour force and their working conditions were central to the discussion.

Ministers agreed to conduct a project examining high growth sectors in which women were under-represented and will focus on strategies to increase women's recruitment and retention in these sectors, including a focus on workplace cultures. Quebec is conducting its own work on the matter. Ministers, with the exception of Quebec, also endorsed a collaborative project with their labour colleagues (CAALL) to gather statistical information and develop an inventory on access to employment benefits for non-standard workers, many of whom are women.

The ministers committed to examining how the tax system addresses dependent care, and agreed to make their respective governments aware of these issues.

Ministers also heard presentations from Manitoba on women's access to Employment Insurance and from Quebec on women's access to Regime d'assurance parentale.

The ministers also expressed their continued interest in incorporating and strengthening gender considerations in population health measurement, reporting, research and health planning.

Steps toward analyzing the root causes, the nature and prevalence of violence against women will be part of the work done to develop a set of indicators on violence against women. The indicators, due for release early in 2002, will provide a quantitative measure to monitor change in the prevalence and nature of violence against women.

The issue of access for victims of violence to parole hearings was raised by Minister Kelly. Earlier this year, the Solicitor General for Canada announced a new policy to allow victims to attend and present statements at parole hearings of the offender. Minister Kelly requested that her colleagues contact the Solicitor General for Canada to advocate for a change in the policy to provide financial assistance to allow victims with low income to attend parole hearings if they choose to do so.

Ministers discussed issues arising from the report Custody, Access and Child Support in Canada: Putting Children's Interests First, which addresses proposed reforms to the Divorce Act and family support services. The ministers agreed to discuss with their respective justice ministers the importance of integrating gender-based analysis before the adoption of any proposed legislative amendment to the Divorce Act. 

The next meeting of Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women is to take place in the Yukon in 2002.

Media contact: 
          Janice Lockyer, Communications, (709) 729-5730
          Anne Schroder, Status of Women, (613) 943 1729

2001 09 21                                 5:05 p.m. 


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