Human Resources committee  Yes. That is from the 2000 figures reported in the 2006 Statistics Canada report.

Human Resources committee  It is a very staggering number.

Human Resources committee  If I could add to that, my office is in the Victoria Faulkner Women's Centre, which is a women's drop-in centre. On average, I'd say we get a woman coming in there on a daily basis who has nowhere to live. We had women coming in there last winter at minus 50 degrees Celsius who were living in trucks, just camper trucks, or in the cab of their truck, or in a van, or in a cabin that had no windowpanes in the windows or a door that blew open in the wind, etc.

Human Resources committee  We have one emergency transition home for women who are experiencing violence. We have one emergency shelter for men and women that's run by the Salvation Army; it has 10 beds. That is supposed to serve the emergency shelter needs of the entire Yukon. It does not accept children.

Human Resources committee  Yes, there was a tremendous amount of community support for that youth shelter. There was a great fundraising campaign, they had a lot of really good ideas, and a lot of the community was behind it. But I really don't understand why it didn't come about, because they even have a building, which is fully equipped, but they have no O and M money.

Human Resources committee  I think there's a whole spectrum of housing for women that needs to be addressed. Yukon Housing is building an affordable unit that was supposed to be for women and children, but it was extended to single-parent families, including men. We desperately need accommodation for single women who don't have dependants, who have the lowest rate of social assistance.

Human Resources committee  Definitely. Absolutely.

Human Resources committee  As you've stated, women's lives are distinctly different from men's. Women suffer from many forms of abuse and violence that men do not, which affects how poverty will affect their lives and create situations of poverty, addictions, etc. Women's life cycles are different in the way, as I mentioned earlier, that women often opt out of the wage economy for a while to raise their children.

Human Resources committee  I would say it would be both of the things you mentioned, anything that would take into account the seasonal and part-time nature of the work many women do, as well as the nature of women's work across their life cycle. Women start out working full time. Often women will stop working full time when they're staying at home to raise their children.

Human Resources committee  Definitely.

Human Resources committee  Thank you. Before I begin, I would also like to thank you for the opportunity to present to your committee. It's not often that Yukon women have a chance to participate directly in national public consultations. The situation of women's lives north of 60 is a world apart from that in the south--economically, socially, and culturally.

Status of Women committee  I think we need to remember that equality isn't just individual equality—I'm equal to you and you're equal to me—it's also systemic equality. I note that in this House there are fewer women on the floor than there were in previous governments. So it's a systemic problem; it's not just an individual woman's problem.

Status of Women committee  It's really hard to say. Because of our harsh climate, most of the homeless women are not absolutely homeless, sleeping on the streets--but some do, at minus 40. Most of the homelessness is relative, which means that women return to their abusive husbands, spouses, or partners. They use what's politely termed “survival sex” in order to survive.

Status of Women committee  Yes. Could you reframe that?

Status of Women committee  Yes, it definitely was. Working with the program officer enables us to think through the process a lot more clearly and enables us to really set priorities, to take a good hard look at what would be the best allocation of resources, given the particular situation at the time. All of that work ahead of time with the program officer helps clarify the whole project and put a really clear analysis on it.