Electoral Reform committee  Thank you. The PEI Coalition for Women in Government thanks the special committee for the opportunity to appear here this evening as a witness. It's particularly meaningful to appear on this topic during Women's History Month. For some context, the PEI Coalition for Women in Go

Electoral Reform committee  As you mentioned, there has been quite an under-representation of women in P.E.I.'s history in the context of the legislature here. We've only ever elected 26 women to the legislature, and as I mentioned, we're at 14.8% currently, which places P.E.I. among the lowest in the count

Electoral Reform committee  As you know, P.E.I. is approaching a plebiscite on electoral reform. The Coalition for Women in Government, as Anna mentioned, has been a part of the coalition for proportional representation, and through that work we've had an opportunity to present to the provincial special com

Electoral Reform committee  I would also offer that in 2009, the Coalition for Women in Government undertook a study. One of the biggest reasons we had heard from women as to why they decided not to run was a concern about work-life balance. So in 2009, we undertook some national research that compared the

Electoral Reform committee  Our research is mostly focused on the context of P.E.I., but I know that our friends at Equal Voice who have that federal focus have put forward some recommendations for modernizing systems to better meet those needs. I can't say for sure that it would adjust because of the remot

Electoral Reform committee  About the preferential ballot, we did recommend to the Special Committee on Democratic Renewal when we presented last October that regardless of any of the systems put forward, a gender and diversity lens should be applied to all of them to see how they would meet the needs of wo

Electoral Reform committee  Your question is about mandatory voting in relation to women's election in government. We as the Coalition for Women in Government do not have a position on mandatory voting. I know Dr. Dessurud had mentioned some research to me earlier. What we know from the number of women vote

Electoral Reform committee  Exactly. It is possible without the list. The open or closed list actually allows for contagion effects where parties are influenced by, say, for example, smaller parties in the context of P.E.I. historically, that have nominated more women as candidates, but it hasn't translated

Electoral Reform committee  I don't think this is specific to P.E.I. We see this in provinces across the country and in the territories as well, the under-representation of women in government. We reached a peak of 26.7% in 2007. In the past two provincial elections, we've had a steady decline, which is c

Electoral Reform committee  Yes, so when we talk about the nomination processes in the proportional system, we're thinking within the context of the contagion of fact and lists, and developing a list or a slate based on diversity characteristics, such as gender, geography, language, and all those things you

Status of Women committee  It is an honour to be here today with all of you. On behalf of the Coalition for Women in Government, thank you for the invitation. For those of you who may not be aware, the PEI Coalition for Women in Government is a multipartisan coalition of individuals and organizations tha

Status of Women committee  Yes, I'd like to jump in there. Specifically, I think it's something New Brunswick and P.E.I. have looked at. I tend to agree. Island women are smart, they're qualified, they're capable, and I think they're ready to run for elected office, so I don't think that's.... We must ac

Status of Women committee  We often tell political parties to consider having 50% women and diverse people on their search committees as they're out recruiting women. We've talked about recruiting here as well. We tend to be friends with and have networks with those who are like us and look like us, so if

Status of Women committee  I think there's a reluctance within the Canadian context to talk about quotas. The PEI Coalition for Women In Government does not have a position on quotas. However, we have worked on a project called “equity in governance” around increasing women's representation on boards. We k