Evidence of meeting #139 for Status of Women in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was children.
A recording is available from Parliament.
As an Individual
They have nothing. They're sitting there waiting, and there's nothing I can do or we can do to progress that. There has to be some consideration around those kinds of things—
Conservative
As an Individual
Yes, because if we're all waiting until 65 and we have no income, we're 55 and are unable to work for whatever reason, we have a challenge.
Conservative
As an Individual
I would like to see some kind of pension funding for mothers who choose to stay home. I can't emphasize too much the importance of raising our children in an environment that will help them become responsible adults.
I don't know how it looks. I need to think about it more and get feedback from other women. I shared with my friends that I would be speaking to a committee and what my focus would be, so I would like to go back and see what their thoughts are, what they are thinking. I think the more women I can get to tell me what they want to see.... I think we can move forward on that.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
We're now going to pass it on to Irene.
Irene, you have five minutes.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to Colleen and Juliette.
I think the issues you have touched on are very often overlooked.
Juliette, I would truly appreciate it, if you did in fact consult with your peers to think about a drop-out provision for CPP, and also about the need to improve the guaranteed income supplement. We do indeed have too many seniors living in poverty.
Colleen, concerning your issue about farm women, in my experience farm women contributed all of their lives—built the farm, made it possible for it to be a success—and then, when it came time, after a marriage breakup, to divide those assets, they were left out entirely. There has to be some equity for women. I think the judicial system is something we need to look at. Do courts treat women fairly in regard to the end of a marriage?
Specifically in terms of women surviving on their own.... I guess, Juliette, this pertains to you. You said you had to leave your community. Of course there's the isolation. You had to manage on your own. In terms of managing, there's a housing issue. In terms of the availability and the cost of housing—at this point in time the cost of housing is incredibly high and housing is not available—I'm wondering about a housing policy to ensure that this doesn't make women even more vulnerable and contribute to their poverty.
What would you like to see in terms of that basic need?
As an Individual
When I left the community, I relied on friends to give me support. They found a place for me in a rural area. Down the highway, there was a church where women—their husbands were farmers—provided the necessities for me.
I lived in Bonnyville in Alberta. I was able to apply for low-income housing, and I spent from 2000 to.... Since then I've been living in cities and smaller towns. People have asked me, “Why haven't you purchased a home?” I said it was because my money would go to my children, to raise them.
Unfortunately their dad was incarcerated in 2002, so I had no support other than me. Thankfully I had a family. My brother Raymond, when my son wanted to do extracurricular activities such as gymnastics and baseball, provided those funds for me. I had a lot of challenges in raising my children.
I went back to school; I went to school with them. It was a very difficult time, but we made it. My oldest daughter works for our nation as a care counsellor. My youngest, my only son, works in the finance department. He went through three years of university at UBC. My middle child, Candace, has gone to university at U of C in Calgary and Mount Royal University in Calgary as well.
Without the support from those individuals, I wouldn't be where I am today with respect to my children. For me, I look at my future and wonder, where do I go from here? Just about a month ago I was released from my position, and at this stage, where can I find work as an aboriginal woman? I can't go back into a small community on the reserve, because work there is limited. There's not much work, so I think my future is weak. I'm sure there are other stay-at-home moms who've gone though the same thing I'm going through. It's difficult for me to think of my future and where I will go.
I never did buy a home, because I felt I would let somebody else worry about the furnace, if the furnace broke or there were house repairs and all of that. I wanted the money I was making to go to my children.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Juliette and Colleen, I would like to thank you both for appearing before our committee. We have to go to vote, so we will be closing our meeting off today. Thank you so much.
The meeting is adjourned.
