Thank you very much.
Those who know me well say I would never be able to speak in five minutes, but I've practised, so I'm certainly going to try my best.
I am here representing Women's Centres Connect. There are eight women's centres in Nova Scotia, spread across the province. Most of them are in rural areas. I speak on their behalf, and on behalf of the many thousands of women and adolescent girls we work with on a yearly basis. I thank you for the opportunity to make this presentation today.
We have served tens of thousands of women in our community, mainly around issues of poverty, violence against women, and women's health. We are concerned about women's education and employment, and we foster women's leadership by supporting women's participation in civic organizations and in government functions.
We, as Women's Centres Connect, have a rural perspective on women in Nova Scotia. Our women's centres are mostly located in small communities, in Antigonish, New Glasgow, Truro, Sheet Harbour, Cornwallis, Yarmouth, and Lunenburg. I represent the only women's centre that would be considered to be in an urban area, which is Sydney. I'm afraid anything outside of Halifax is considered to be rural, so I also consider that we're in a rural area.
On a daily basis, the staff and volunteers in our women's centres provide direct service and programs to women who are living in poverty. We see the impact that poverty has on women's lives. We provide education and life-skill supports, and we support individual women in their struggles and through life transitions. We advocate for women when they run out of food, when they've had their electricity disconnected, when they're trying to support transportation, education, and trying to seek employment.
We view the development and implementation of a national poverty reduction strategy as an essential step towards eliminating poverty in Canada. We implore you to ensure that awareness of the specific needs of rural women is fully integrated into any such strategy.
Our vision of a healthier and more equitable Canada involves two major areas of concern, which should be addressed through government action. The first is adequately meeting people's basic needs and supporting people's efforts to develop their skills and capacities so that they are able to fully participate in community life.
As out-migration erodes community vitality, and the number of seniors and single-parent families increases, women confront tremendous demands to provide care for their children, elders, and family members with serious health problems. They must do this as they deal with inadequate housing, low income, lack of child care services, and no public transportation. Many women who become unemployed do not qualify for employment insurance benefits, and for many the overall situation is extremely difficult and fraught with well-founded anxiety.
Our vision for a national poverty reduction strategy would ensure that low-income Canadians have their basic needs fully met through sustaining employment and/or income-support programs. The strategy must be founded on valuing and supporting the caregiving work for which women have been traditionally responsible. Strong national standards for all programs must undergrid the strategy. And an understanding of the specific needs of women and of rural people must be integrated throughout.
We recommend that the Government of Canada implement a poverty reduction strategy that contains the following key elements: a guaranteed liveable income; a national housing strategy; an affordable and accessible public transportation system for rural areas; a national child care program, which will no doubt work differently in rural areas compared to urban areas; a sustainable reform of the EI system that would provide coverage to those working part-time and in precarious employment, including self-employment; a substantial increase in front-end grants for post-secondary students; and debt relief for graduates who are not earning enough to repay large loans and manage family responsibilities.
In order for a poverty reduction strategy to produce results, adequate funding must be provided to all provinces and territories as they are able to implement. However, simply transferring money to provinces without ensuring that the money is going to be spent on what it is designated for.... I think that's a very important component of that.
Without national standards and the funding to support them, our people and communities will continue to suffer, and our rural communities will remain at a significant disadvantage.
I'll stop at that and hope for questions.
Thank you.