In all sectors?
Evidence of meeting #45 for Status of Women in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was programs.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #45 for Status of Women in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was programs.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Native Women's Association of Canada
In all sectors?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Native Women's Association of Canada
The Native Women's Association had different departments.
One, for example, was health. In April 2012 we had word from Health Canada that all our funding was cut. We couldn't do anything in the health sector for aboriginal women. Eight of our staff were laid off, and we never brought them back on because we were not successful in getting any more funds from Health Canada. That was one major cut.
Other cutbacks were, of course, with the Status of Women funding. During the Sisters in Spirit, the Native Women's Association of Canada was receiving about $1 million, which is public information. It has decreased steadily since then. We're getting much less than we had then, than we had last year. We have even less this year than what we had last year. Again, it has to be in relation to our staff. We have fewer staff in that department as well.
Core funding was decreased, as well, for all NAOs and aboriginal regional organizations across the board last year. In order to get funds to do work in various areas, we had to apply to a $20-million pot with the other four NAOs and all the aboriginal regional organizations across Canada. It was a very competitive process.
We entered the process. We submitted our 10 proposals on February 20, or something like that, of last year, which was the due date of each proposal, and we had word only in October, November, that some of our projects had been funded. Right now we're doing work that has to be completed by March 31. It's one year of work that has to be completed by March 31, in three or four months.
It's very difficult for me and for our staff to work under those conditions. Of course, as my colleague was saying here, it is hard to keep a dedicated staff, where they want to work, where they want to be in the workforce, and where they like their job. But we can't offer stability. That's the situation I, along with all the other NAOs and ROs, am in right now in terms of funding.
12:40 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP Hélène LeBlanc
Thank you, Ms. Duncan.
We will now hear from Ms. Bateman.
You have the floor; you have seven minutes.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I really want to thank all of our witnesses today. It's so important that we hear what you have to say. I have a lot of scribbles from the various comments that so many of you made. I'm going to try to make sure I get around to all of you.
The first place I'd really like to start is near and dear to me. We won't have the full seven minutes. I was a school trustee before I became a member of Parliament. It was something I took such pride in, because that is where we can make a difference.
A number of you have spoken of the need to engage children when they are young and help them mould.... If the family model isn't there for them, I think it was Ms. Wells who said that school is the second best thing. It's a valuable tool to use.
How do you see this engagement happening? We certainly did a lot of it when I was in my school division.
12:45 p.m.
Lana Wells
I think a lot of schools and school jurisdictions are committed.
Again, I think you need the funding that goes to the provinces and then supports ministries of education.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
This actually ties in to my other question.
I happen to be a chartered accountant. You have consistently spoken of the accountability structure. You have consistently spoken, Ms. Wells, of the accountability required to achieve positive outcomes on transfer payments.
As you know, transfer payments under this government, from 2006 to where we are today, have never increased at this rate. But I'm hearing from you that we could do a better job on demanding accountability. I'd love to hear that, on both fronts.
12:45 p.m.
Lana Wells
Yes, absolutely, and I think it's consistency of outcomes and demanding accountability back to the reporting-in on those outcomes.
I think school systems have a significant place in terms of policies and practices. Universities need to be training teachers in terms of curriculum. I think something came out today on lawyers. Lawyers today—just a switch—in Ontario are not being trained around domestic violence. Professional faculties need to have training around trauma, around family violence, violence against women, and so forth.
I think training needs to take place in professional faculties. I think school systems need to be looking at social and emotional intelligence and learning. We know IQ does not mean success.
12:45 p.m.
Lana Wells
That's right. So where are the measures in that? We don't have a report card in Canada on social and emotional. When you talk about the promising best practices I think that really putting an enormous amount of energy into teaching kids around healthy relationships, reducing trauma and its impact, and using the school system as a safe place for kids to learn how to be in healthy relationships is a critical strategy.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
You've read the British North America Act and you are very well versed on our Constitution. How do we do that?
12:45 p.m.
A voice
It's not federal.
12:45 p.m.
Lana Wells
This is the dilemma. Who has the responsibility and the accountability; where does the accountability lie?
I think teachers and school systems have a responsibility, but the federal government has a role to play in universal standards and measures.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
You've consistently said in your remarks, Ms. Wells, that you would like greater accountability from the federal government when we give transfers to the provinces and territories. How? Give an example.
12:45 p.m.
Lana Wells
Yes, you need contracts.
If I even think about contracts and how you even negotiate the terms of the contracts, when I think about the Government of Alberta giving money to all the school systems—and let's say, to the universities—within that, why can't there be a policy around sexual violence and ensuring there is support for people experiencing sexual violence, and also ensuring dating violence programming is offered throughout the university? Why can't we build it into our expectations around a contract? If you want to get at true change it's not just the programs for problems model, we need to have policies and legislation and guidance and measures and accountability, but we need support and people being able to measure that and collect that.
February 5th, 2015 / 12:45 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
You've given me a lot of food for thought and hopefully we can come back to that.
Ms. Dumont-Smith, thank you for your comment.
You specifically spoke to housing as an issue. Bill S-2 was quite frankly my proudest moment on this committee. I was incredulous when I learned that aboriginal women did not have matrimonial property rights, and hopefully that will address some of the issues, certainly for women in the case of marriage breakdown. I refer to my experience as a school trustee in the City of Winnipeg, where about 25% of our students were aboriginal, and there were many young women who were thrown out of their home because the marriage had broken down. They came to the city with a number of children and it's a very tough situation. I'm grateful that we've addressed Bill S-2.
But your group represents women. I think it was very courageous of Mr. Bellegarde to speak out—it was very recently on the front page of The Globe and Mail—saying that every member of his community has a role in this. Clearly he was looking to men and women.
What advice would you give him to engage the men and boys in the community in solving violence against women, because it's so crucial?
12:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Native Women's Association of Canada
I don't think I have to give advice because the Native Women's Association of Canada is working hand in hand with all the other NAOs: the AFN, the ITK, the Métis National Council, and Pauktuutit. We're working together to try to address violence from all our populations because we realize it's a situation where we all have to hold hands and we have to look at solutions broadly. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is part of our group as well.
We are engaged with the provinces and territories to come together at a round table, and to invite the federal government, and all of us can sit down to talk about how we address the situation. It's not getting better.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
You've mentioned that several times, that it's not getting better.
12:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Native Women's Association of Canada
No, it's not.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
The Chair NDP Hélène LeBlanc
I would like to let you finish, Ms. Dumont-Smith, and that will be all.
12:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Native Women's Association of Canada
I wouldn't have any advice to give Mr. Bellegarde because we're working together on the situation to improve....
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
His comments were seen as a radical concept, a great departure.
12:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Native Women's Association of Canada
No, we're all working together.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB
That is wonderful to hear. Thank you very much.
