Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'm at a bit of a disadvantage because I wear hearing aids and the loop system is not working. I'm going to be in and out and I'll do my best to hear you all.
I am here from Newfoundland and Labrador. I come here with the women in the province with me in spirit. They had a message for me to bring, and that is that women are not equal simply because somebody says this is so. We know that women are not equal. We have not achieved equality yet.
My apologies to the translators; these are speaking notes and I'm not sticking exactly to the script.
The snapshot I want to bring to you is the work that's been done by the very vibrant grassroots women's community in Newfoundland and Labrador on a number of issues, specifically with funding from Status of Women Canada through the women's program. I won't repeat that each time. Each project that I mention in fact has been in collaboration with Status of Women Canada, with the program officer, with the use of women's program funding.
On violence and justice, in 2003 in Newfoundland and Labrador the police reported that females are victims in the majority of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder reports in our province. Women comprised 82% of sexual assault victims, 75% of other sex crime victims, and 70% of reported harassment victims.
There was a woman in our province named Nellie Nippard, who was brutally attacked by her husband, who, without question, meant to kill her. She survived the attempted murder and went on to speak to other women to bring forward her story. She began working with women who were involved in the Gander Status of Women Centre as well as some other groups. Together they set out to change the policies of parole board hearings, because as she survived, as her attacker was put in jail, inevitably the parole hearings were coming up.
Victims had no voice in parole hearings. Thanks to Nellie, who nearly died, and her determination, persistence, and collaboration with other women, and funding from Status of Women Canada, those rules were changed. That is systemic advocacy. That happens because a woman is hurt, other women are hurt, women understand the issue, and we join forces together to create change for everyone.
The Gander Status of Women went on to do much more work in the areas of women's access to civil legal aid, custody and access issues, and other justice issues. The catalyst was a horrifying event.
On women's poverty, approximately 44% of single parents in Newfoundland and Labrador, almost exclusively women, fall below the low income cut-off. The Bay St. George Status of Women Council researched, advocated, and collaborated with a number of partners to work within the province to eliminate the barriers faced by women who had been supported to get access to education and training but were not being supported to actually find a job. This is advocacy. This is one woman being supported to education, but not being able to get a job. It takes a group of women, working together with other partners, to change the policies that get in the way.
In 2003, 45.9% of single senior women in Newfoundland and Labrador were living in poverty. They still are. The Central Status of Women Council in Grand Falls-Windsor is in the midst of a project that is identifying the impact of public policies and programs on rural women in the province over 50. They are gathering the full intersectionality of women's experiences and will be advocating for change based on that information.
On housing, many women in our province and across the country live in inadequate, unaffordable housing. Single women, women who have disabilities, many families, and mature women are all vulnerable to the risk of homelessness. It's a sad fact in our country. The St. John's Status of Women Council has existed for 30 years. It has put a huge effort into researching women's housing issues, developing recommendations, and advocating for change. Some of the pieces they have been advocating for have been put into effect. Policies have changed in our province. They are making a difference.
They are currently developing long-term housing, hoping to develop a shelter and programming for women who are at risk of homelessness, particularly the single over-thirties, perhaps experiencing mental illness, the women who are on the streets. Again, Status of Women Canada, women's programming.
Advancing women's employment: Women make up 70% of the minimum-wage earners in Newfoundland and Labrador—70%. In 2003 Newfoundland women had the lowest earned income in Canada, averaging $19,000 per year, which is 64% of the men's average income that year.
The Women in Resource Development Committee is opening up opportunities for women in the natural resource sector, in which Newfoundland and Labrador is very rich, while we are still very poor. This committee is bringing down barriers in the workplace, company by company. They are opening up avenues for women, they are helping women get the exploration, get the training, get moving forward in a very lucrative employment market. Their work is deeply rooted in gender analysis and equity principles. Research funded by Status of Women Canada has been essential and critical to form the basis of their work.
Multicultural women.... A recent study conducted in Newfoundland and Labrador revealed that finding appropriate employment is the key barrier to immigrant women from all levels of education, with all kinds of previous experiences in our province. The Multicultural Women's Organization of Newfoundland and Labrador, working closely together with the Status of Women Canada program officer in our province, has been bringing women together, working to advance their equality, increasing their knowledge of their rights and freedoms and responsibilities within our country, and also connecting them to community.
We know that women with disabilities have significant barriers. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 40% of women who have disabilities are unemployed. I need say nothing else.
Aboriginal women.... We have heard the experience from NWAC at the earlier presentation. In our province, aboriginal women from across the province and all cultural groups have come together for two provincially orchestrated, funded, supported conferences this year—in March and only two weeks ago—in Newfoundland and Labrador. Aboriginal women in our province are beginning to find true voices and are beginning to be heard at the right places, but there is so much work that needs to be done.
Concluding remarks: This work, which is a snapshot only of the essential equality work to move us forward, has been done through social development, delivery of wisdom, experience and knowledge, working with women who are real women with real experiences, and organizations that are prepared to do the advocacy work. The federal government must accept its role and responsibility. The cuts and changes must be reversed.
Thank you, Madam Chair.