Hello. My name is Hannah Girdler. I'm pleased to be here today to share my thoughts on what should be included in Canada's next federal budget. Thank you for this opportunity.
I am an active volunteer with Oxfam Canada, as well as a student at the University of Toronto. Oxfam is an international development, humanitarian, and anti-poverty organization that works around the world. As volunteers, we fundraise to support people living in poverty, and we do advocacy campaigns to address the root causes of poverty. I support Oxfam because it puts women's rights at the centre of its work.
On Monday, Oxfam launched a new campaign called Shortchanged. The campaign is focused on finding solutions to growing economic inequality, looking particularly at how to make work paid, equal, and valued for women. With a feminist prime minister and a government committed to inclusive growth, Canada has the potential to address both gender inequality and economic inequality. But to really accomplish this, our next budget must address the unequal economics of women's work.
Already, some governments are taking positive steps to do this. For example, after a lot of advocacy by Oxfam and our local partners, the Government of Malawi has raised the minimum wage, making a real difference in the lives of women there. Sweden's Equal Opportunities Act is another great example of how to address pay gap disparities between men and women. These examples show what governments can do to close the gaps between women and men in earnings and in opportunities.
Based on Oxfam's research, I believe that the government should make the following changes in budget 2017.
First, they should reinvest $862 million in Canada's international aid budget in 2017. An increase in the aid budget would strengthen Canada's leadership on the global stage. Twenty per cent of all new aid investments should be specifically allocated to programs that advance women's rights and gender inequality, particularly programs specifically focused on that.
Second, they should enact legislation for a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour, and work with the provinces to move towards living wages for all workers across Canada.
Third, they should follow through on the commitment to introduce proactive pay equity legislation, with particular attention to the greater pay equity gap for racialized aboriginal and immigrant women.
Fourth, they should sign and ratify the ILO Convention No. 189, Domestic Workers Convention, 2011, and expand the scope of legislation, policy, and programs that allow domestic workers to enjoy equal rights.
Finally, they should take greater steps to hold Canadian companies accountable for meeting labour standards when operating abroad, and provide support for developing countries to regulate similar labour practices.
As a global citizen speaking in a city as diverse as Toronto, I hope the committee recognizes how universal the struggle for women's economic activities is. We have the power to make changes for women here at home and for women around the world. With your help, I know that we can make the changes, starting with budget 2017.
Thank you, again.