Ms. Mathyssen.
Evidence of meeting #8 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was benefits.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #8 for Status of Women in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was benefits.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Thank you.
I'd like to start with you, Ms. Spencer. You talked about artificial barriers in terms of women being unable to access the training. I wonder if you could just reiterate those for us. What are those artificial barriers? What do we need to remove?
12:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Immigrant Women Services Ottawa, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
For some women, they have to be on EI in order to access certain types of training. We're saying that we need to remove that particular barrier.
If our intent is to make sure that women can access and have the opportunities they require to help them integrate, we have to ensure that we are not saying to them, “Oh, you have to work, and you have to get on EI, in order to get this.” What we should be saying to them is, “Here is an opportunity. Make use of that opportunity.”
If they require certain supports, make sure those supports are in place. They might require child care, or child minding. I know that in the LINC program, we do have child minding. In some of the settlement programs, we do have child minding. At the same time, we're seeing in some of these programs a restriction on the ages of the kids who are allowed to participate in these programs.
Take settlement programs as an example. Even though we now have child minding in some of these programs, kids must be 18 months and over to access that child care program. A mom coming in for help and assistance with a child who is six months won't have the opportunity to access child minding.
This is one example of what I call artificial barriers. On the one hand, we're saying that we're creating these opportunities for women. On the other hand, we're making it a bit restrictive in that only certain women can participate.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
So a national child care program might be of significant benefit for all women.
12:50 p.m.
Executive Director, Immigrant Women Services Ottawa, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
For all women, yes.
12:50 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Ms. Ngjelina, I too want to thank you for coming here and sharing your story. You said that when you arrived in Canada you worked in restaurants and you paid employment insurance premiums. Were you surprised, then, when you were ineligible to collect any benefits, even though you were self-employed for that period when you created your own businesses?
12:50 p.m.
As an Individual
I am very sorry that I came across so emotionally, but I definitely want to make sure that.... I do appreciate your sympathy, I really, truly do, but I just wish my language helped me a little bit better. My purpose for coming here today is all about the unemployment benefits.
Yes, I did make contributions. Yes, I would have appreciated it if I had some support, and I didn't have that support, and that is my question today. Where is my support? I am contributing, but what is given to me when I am in such a desperate need? I am very sorry, it has been more than four years, and I am socially insulated, and I am emotional and all those things.
I am very sorry I didn't make clear the point, but that's what it is. Don't I deserve unemployment insurance? I've been working many days, starting from five o'clock and finishing at three o'clock, that's how much I did sleep in that time, and I did make whatever contribution that I could. Just because my son happened to be sick.... I'm very glad that I managed to bring up the issue of my son's disorder in this room, and thank you for that. But the whole thing is, just because my son is sick, I am an unemployed person, and where do I go? I don't have sources to pay my bills because there's nothing available there.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
I don't want you to ever apologize. The story is very important.
If the reforms that we're talking about had made it easier for self-employed individuals to be covered under the EI program, would that have made a significant difference in your life, in your story, in what you experienced?
12:55 p.m.
As an Individual
It would have made a day and night difference. In those first years, the beginning is always the difficult part, and then I have learned so much on my way. If it was there, of course it would have made a very serious difference having the benefits of unemployment insurance.
Why am I excluded? I have been working very hard. I have worked for very long hours. I know that everybody in our blessed country deserves maternity leave, but I didn't get it and I didn't complain about that before. Now that I am in need, I say I deserve maternity leave, I should have a few days off. I know that many employees, even when they make mistakes in their workplace, take leave and they are still paid. Just because I decided to be self-employed, should I have sought a government job? I didn't know much in that time. Maybe that would have been a better option for me, and I would have something available to help me in difficult days.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
If you'd had that income security, would you have been able to better access services for your son?
12:55 p.m.
As an Individual
Of course. It would have made so many things better, even my own health would have been better. Of course it would have. As I said, again, it would have made a day and night difference if I had that little support. The result is what you see today. I am sorry I look so miserable, but I am the result of non-support. I don't know why I don't deserve any support. I know that there are many other mothers like me. I'm not against the contribution. I was given a chance to contribute and I did contribute. I employed other people.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Ms. Spencer, we've heard from previous witnesses that if you're self-employed there should be a mandatory contribution among the self-employed to make sure that the safety net is there. Is that something you would favour as a way of addressing some of these discriminatory kinds of practices in regard to income support?
12:55 p.m.
Executive Director, Immigrant Women Services Ottawa, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
If they are self-employed, there should be a mandatory in place that they can contribute. I don't know if I want to call it mandatory, but I think the opportunity should be there to allow them to contribute. Because sometimes people can barely break even, even if they're self-employed. I should say they should be encouraged to contribute to the system.
12:55 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Ms. Ngjelina, was there anything you wanted to say to the committee? Is there anything we haven't asked about that you need to get before this committee?
12:55 p.m.
As an Individual
I just want to urge the committee to do whatever is possible to give an opportunity to women like me to have better lives in case they get sick or their children get sick. I hope that our government will give more chances to people like me. Maybe there is not enough information about how it is to be penniless. Maybe there is not enough. Maybe another effort should be made to know how it is, truly, to be in the position I am in.
I really don't have the luxury of reading newspapers anymore or watching news anymore, because I am so consumed serving my child. There is nothing from disability benefits. He receives only $410 a month, which many times is not enough to pay for his antibiotics. It's part of my duty as a parent to provide my child with toys, but I don't buy toys. I buy teaching equipment, and it is very expensive. And I need to provide some food as well as the medication. There should be something available for my child or for me, some kind of respite. I have only four hours a week. That is too little when you have literally to work 24 hours a day. There's very little time for sleep.
So I would appreciate it if the committee made very serious changes in the employment benefit itself and had some kind of program for the very, very unique and difficult cases. I do not have family. I do not have anyone to go to. I only have the government offices and knocking on doors. I've learned the expression, “I'm sorry, you've fallen into the cracks”. I keep falling in those cracks every day. It is too cracky, and I don't know how to make it.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
I'm sorry for laughing, Ms. Ngjelina. It was what you said, the pun you made on the word “cracks”. It was funny in terms of the English language.
I want to thank you very much, both of you, for presenting.
Ms. Spencer, as always, your facts are there. You know your stuff.
I want to thank you very much, Ms. Ngjelina, for coming here and sharing your very personal experiences with us. Because it points out the systemic problems within the system that we must, especially at this committee, look at. It's evident that you have fallen between those cracks, as you say, in a very cracky system. So I think it is up to us to look at the systemic barriers and at those systemic cracks and see what we can do to fix the system in some way or form. So thank you very much.
1 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
We must leave the room. I'm sorry. But perhaps if you wish, you can have one second. I'm going to time you, because we have to leave the room at this time.
1 p.m.
As an Individual
I know that I represent many mothers, and I know very well that many times, just being a mother and trying to help your child and yourself survive.... Women are even victims of serious abuse. Things are connected with each other. When you are not financially independent, you are a vulnerable person, and there are so many other problems coming from that. So giving an opportunity to women like me with some kind of financial support helps in so many ways.
Thank you so much. Thank you.