Evidence of meeting #41 for Status of Women in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was pension.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
4:25 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
There was a discussion about the connection between poverty and the impact on the health care system. I wanted to explore another piece of that.
I have a 28-year-old constituent who is a single mother, and she's just discovered that she has cervical cancer. She works in a job where there are no benefits and there's no access to a drug plan. She's actually resisting, holding back on her care, because she doesn't know what will happen to her child if she goes for the surgery or how she'll be able to afford the drugs once she comes out of the hospital.
I'm wondering if you've had experience with that same situation, and could you comment on that?
4:25 p.m.
Chair, Women Elders in Action
Well, personally I've been a caregiver--my mother, my brother, and my husband. I've also had to receive care when I was ill. It's a very stressful situation, extremely stressful. It also aggravates some of the illness problems. It's not good for your mental health as well.
Unfortunately, in this country we seem to take caregiving as something somebody will do--it doesn't matter who; they're off in the east or somewhere, but they'll come and look after it. And it's usually the women who leave their jobs to look after somebody, to look after their aging parents or their children who are ill, and there is no compensation for that. They have to leave their job and get no pay, which immediately cuts down on the family income, which immediately cuts down on the medication they can afford, and whether they can even live in the same place where they have been.
So the volunteer caregiving in this country, the whole country alone--it's a very rich country--saves the health care system $5 billion every year. We have to have some recompense for these people who are doing these things. I think we could save an awful lot of money, not just the $5 billion, by paying some of these people or giving them the care, setting up some method of making sure this woman in your constituency has the proper child care, that she has the proper care when she is recuperating so that she can go back to work as an able-bodied person and look after her own affairs.
Something that seems to be ignored is the actual cause. If we get at the causes, we can eliminate a lot of the problems. We won't eliminate them all, but we can do it.
We have such a wealth of talent in this country that I'm just surprised that people seem to balk at doing something about caring for their neighbour. You know, at one time this country was full of that. I grew up on the Prairies, and that was an automatic thing that you did. If your neighbour was in trouble, then by golly, you were down there, helping in whatever way you could, whether it was a casserole or looking after the kids. Well, that should be expanded to make sure nobody in this country has a need like that.
I don't know. I just bang my head against the wall every time. I'm sorry about that.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
4:30 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
It leaves me breathless too.
Ms. Calhoun, I wanted to come back to you. You were describing the impact of the loss of services in the Atlantic community, and you seemed to be getting a head of steam going. I wonder if you could even begin to describe what that will mean for all those people in the community.
4:30 p.m.
First Vice-President, Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs
Are you talking about changes to Status of Women?
4:30 p.m.
First Vice-President, Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs
What I wanted to add to that--and actually I put it on the list of things for my closing remarks, but I'll say it right now--is this. For people who live in Ontario, the provincial government may or may not fund advocacy--I'm not sure if it does--but I want to assure you that provincial governments in the east do not fund advocacy. The Government of New Brunswick has never funded advocacy. So basically what that means is that those groups that have been advocating, trying to change a system to address some of the things we've been talking about today, are no longer there. They're gone.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
Committee members, since you agreed that you wanted to stop at 4.30 p.m., what I will now do is give each of the panellists, one from the east and one from the west, a minute to wrap up. And thank you profusely for taking the time to come. Sometimes we get into time crunches, and we apologize for that, but you've really filled our minds with certain ideas. You've given a lot of food for thought, and we will continue our study on that, and we'll have witnesses coming as well.
Ms. Blake, would you like to make the first closing remarks, for a minute?
4:30 p.m.
Member, Women Elders in Action
I would like to reiterate a few of the recommendations we've made that should be acted upon in the short and medium term because of this bulk of retirees who are coming by 2031. Of course there's affordable, accessible housing and a variety, a creative variety, of housing that people can become involved in, possibly by putting in a small amount of their own money, and not necessarily the old model. There is pay equity for women, compensation for unpaid work as caregivers to children and elders, and accessibility to post-secondary education for those who can't afford it so that there aren't these huge and growing gaps in the distribution of wealth.
I think the economics that our governments have been practising for the last ten to fifteen years has been creating a huge gap between the wealthy and the poor. And that is not a situation that any society can bear if it wants a peaceful society.
4:35 p.m.
Chair, Women Elders in Action
Yes, thank you.
I'd like to thank the committee for this opportunity to tell you about the experiences we've had, and what has happened in British Columbia particularly, where we're from.
One of things that haven't been mentioned here is child poverty. It's appalling that this country even discusses the words “child poverty”. Parliament promised a long time ago to eradicate child poverty. I was so hopeful, as were a good many of the people I knew, that if we eradicated child poverty, that meant there wouldn't be poor families, that they would be able to do the things we expect Canadians to be able to do. That is something I think the committee should take a really good look at.
The education part is extremely important. The better education we have, the better we can cope with the problems that are there. But it can't be that you relegate people with high education to...well, McDonald's jobs. Unfortunately, I know a couple of people who have degrees who are working in McDonald's at the age of 64. Do we want that? Is that the society we want? I believe Parliament has to take a look at it, that this committee has to advise Parliament about what kind of society we want.
Everybody who comes to a committee like this shows you the problem. We have indicated some of the problems we've encountered. We need to do better on education, as I've said, and we need better housing. And it's not just social housing, putting up a block and sticking those people in there. As Joanne mentioned, there are so many creative ways, through co-op housing, through various ways. Experiment a little. Try to figure out what will work or won't work.
We have to do something now about senior women who cannot afford to buy their medication. One of the members we had coming to our committee used to say, “I have to decide whether I can take my pills every day and not buy my groceries, or buy groceries and take my pills every second or third day.” That's not a situation we want to continue.
I would also ask that this committee continue to fund people like my group and other groups who are advocating for women. They're telling you what is a reality in this country. Please listen to them.
Thank you.
4:35 p.m.
First Vice-President, Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs
We've touched on a lot of issues today. I know people realize that the economic security for senior women that we talk about touches a lot of areas and impacts a lot of things, starting from when women first get into the workforce. If they don't have decent child care, they may be forced out for a few years, or they may work part-time.
I always find it amazing that we're so into attracting immigrants into the country these days. I think if we made this country a little more child friendly and family friendly, that if we had a family strategy, a family policy, women would have more babies. But that's not happening, and lot of women are ending up not having babies because it's just too hard; it's impossible.
We've touched on a lot of thing. I know it's complex. I really hope the committee doesn't get bogged down and think, oh, this is just too hard; how do we deal with it? There are things we've talked about that need to be addressed right now, in terms of the large group of senior women who are living in poverty. There are some things that need to change right now. But there are other things that impact every area and every period of a woman's life.
I want to respond to what Mr. Stanton said about education improving and the wages improving. I agree, we've seen a lot of positive things for women in the last 20 years; there's no question about that. Where it breaks down is on the whole issue of caregiving, because women are still taking 10 days off a year for their family commitments, and men are still taking a day and a half. Until we can change that scenario, we're going to end up in situations where women are working part-time because they're looking after their elderly mother and their children at the same time—that kind of thing.
Again, I thank the committee.
Do I get to ask a question now?
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
You can. Don't forget to give us your brief. We'll have it translated and distributed to the members.
Ms. Calhoun, you had a question.
4:40 p.m.
First Vice-President, Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs
Yes. I wonder what happens now. What do you do? Do you make a report? Are you coming up with recommendations that will be a report to Parliament?
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
We are continuing the study. We have a program as to how we are going to address it. We had native women last time, and we have the professional and senior women. We will be meeting to discuss the final outcome of all our witnesses' input.
Generally the process is that the witnesses are given a parameter and they produce it. Then the analysts prepare a briefing, and we decide how the report is to be written.
Thank you, once again
And thank you to the committee.
Yes, Ms. Neville.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
I don't know whether this is a point of order or a procedural issue. I was late because I was held up in the House. I apologize for that.
Many of us make our travel plans based on a 3:30 to 5:30 commitment. If there is an intention to have meetings end early, could you give us advance notice? I made my plans to be here until 5:30 p.m.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Yasmin Ratansi
--some committee members had a commitment and they had to leave. I didn't want the witnesses to see empty chairs.That is why I asked committee members if it was all right. They said it was. You know, when an urgency occurs.... Some people have government responsibilities and they need to go. I wanted to give them the courtesy of that.
Yes, Ms. Smith.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
It was not us, actually. If we are here on time, we can then all be a part of that decision. And I know sometimes things happen when some of us can't be here on time.
But I thank you on behalf of whoever it was who couldn't be here. I know I'm about to give a speech in the House of Commons. I thank you for your consideration. I'm sure that if you can, in the future you'll try to give us some advance notice.