This is not a full transcript of the meeting. It has been edited to focus on the statements made by the Yukon Status of Women Council's representative Charlotte Hrenchuk. Click HERE to go to the full transcript.
39th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION
Standing Committee on the Status of Women
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Chair:
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the committee, we have three panelists, one of whom has come from Yukon. I'd like to acknowledge that; it took her three days to get here.
Thank you so much. You must be really dedicated to be here.
Unfortunately, I'll stick with the rule that it's five minutes for each presentation.
I'd like you to know that we have your briefs, so if you want to add value by adding what you think, that should be more than what you've given us. That would be better, and it will allow you more interaction with the members of the committee.
Members of the committee, we're going to stick with five minutes, so that each party gets two rounds. That will be fair.
We have votes at 5:45, so we will be on a tight schedule.
Ms. Hrenchuk, would you like to start?
Ms. Charlotte Hrenchuk (Coordinator, Yukon Status of Women Council):
Thank you.
It took me only one day to get here, not three. It felt like three, though, with the time changes.
First of all, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to present the views of Yukon women to your committee. It is not often that Yukon women have a chance to participate directly in national consultations. I'm here on behalf of my organization, the Yukon Status of Women Council, which is a small non-profit, and my sister organizations in the Yukon.
The situation of women's lives north of 60 is a world apart from life in the south--economically, socially, and culturally. Isolation, a harsh climate, lack of resources, the high cost of living, a high rate of social issues, limited opportunities for employment, and the legacy of residential schools and colonization affect all aspects of all women's lives, first nation and non-first nation.
Twenty-three percent of our population is aboriginal, compared to 3.3% for Canada. In the other territories, this number is much higher. The legacy of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of aboriginal women, as well as cultural alienation and lack of respect, is greater in the north. Consequently, rates of spousal abuse, homicide, and sexual assault are higher for aboriginal women. As well, aboriginal women live with inequities under the Indian Act. This is not equality.
Yukon women are 2.9 times more likely to experience sexual abuse and are more likely to be killed by a spouse. The income gap is widening, with single mothers the most affected. Poverty in the Yukon is increasing. More women and children are accessing soup kitchens and emergency food banks. We don't even have a regular food bank. Women and children's homelessness is on the rise in our hostile environment. This is not equality.
The Yukon Status of Women provides a voice for Yukon women. We raise issues and form coalitions to act on behalf of women. We have the ability to speak to and represent women's issues. We provide data and information as well as policy analysis to other organizations and governments. The Yukon Status of Women Council has just completed a pan-territorial participatory research project on women's homelessness in the north in conjunction with colleagues in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
No such research had been conducted to date. Homeless women, the most marginalized in our society, told me this was the first time anyone sought their stories and gave credence to their experiences. They asked us to work for changes to the determinants that keep them trapped in cycles of poverty and homelessness. They asked us to make their voices heard and help them create change.
In order to do this, we need data. We need to be able to do research. There is very little data available on the north. The north is consistently left out of national studies. We are told that our numbers are so low that we have little statistical significance. We don't count. Then we are told that we have no data to support the need for more women's shelters, for low-income housing, for training programs, or for changes to public policy that would put more resources in women's pockets or give tenants some rights.
So we need to be able to conduct research locally using local researchers, but Status of Women Canada will no longer fund independent research. Sending southern researchers north is costly and inefficient and ineffective. They do not know the issues, the people, and the history. The message northern women are hearing is that the government no longer wants to fund research because they don't want to know about the inequities of our lives.
Policy work creates positive change for women. The Yukon Status of Women Council worked with local women's organizations and the Yukon Housing Corporation to create a priority housing policy for women fleeing abusive relationships. That means women and children now have an option other than returning to their abuser. This is making a real difference in Yukon women's lives.
Our work on raising social assistance rates will make a real difference in the choice many women face daily of paying the rent or feeding their children.
The cuts to the administrative budget will affect us drastically. We have a longstanding relationship with the Vancouver office. They understand our realities and have consistently given timely assistance.
Continuity and history will be lost, and we will have to compete with the Northwest Territories, the prairie provinces, and British Columbia for the scarce resource of program officers' time and assistance.
The website is not a friendly tool for women living in Beaver Creek, or those without a computer, of whom there are many in the north.
Regional representation is important; witness the parliamentary system. Centralization further isolates and marginalizes northern women. Yukon women are few in number, and they are a varied population with huge problems and high needs.
I'll have to stop you because otherwise others won't get time. You will have an opportunity in questions and answers and in the wrap-up comments.
This is not a full transcript of the meeting. It has been edited to focus on the statements made by the Yukon Status of Women Council's representative Charlotte Hrenchuk. Click HERE to go to the full transcript.
