Equality time

On December 6, remembrance is not enough

Nov 292012

Working for change is even more important than mourning the victims.

by Jody Dallaire

Many of us will pause to reflect on December 6, or attend commemorations for the 14 women women killed in the 1989 Montreal Massacre. And we’ll observe the National Day of Action Against Violence Against Women by remembering the women’s names and perhaps the list of the dozens and dozens of New Brunswick women killed by a partner since that date. I count 10 femicides in New Brunswick since 2010, almost a record for this province.

If women had their own Question Period

Nov 222012

Equality time

NB legislature gives short shrift to equality seekers.

by Jody Dallaire

New Brunswick’s legislature resumes sitting next Tuesday. Legislators work hard under difficult conditions, facing the political game as it is currently played, the public disenchantment, disrespect even, for politics — even from politicians — and the limited role of backbenchers.

The fact that there is so little diversity among the Members will not help the discussion either – very few women for one thing, no people of the First Nations, and no voice for the 15 percent of New Brunswickers who voted but for a party not represented in the Assembly.

Advocacy chill, CRA style

Nov 122012

Equality time

Government tax threats worry charities.

by Jody Dallaire

Sixty-seven registered charities lost their charitable status in 2012, most of them for failing to file required forms. Others have received warnings that their status is at risk unless they become less political.

From what I’ve been hearing and reading, I think that both federal and provincial governments are creating extra difficulties for non-profit organizations and registered charities.

Jobs that create poverty

Nov 052012

Equality time

Increased numbers of NB workers earn only minimum wage.

by Jody Dallaire

More than 12 percent of all female employees in New Brunswick are earning minimum wage — 19,400 working women in 2011. Given that 8.2 percent of female employees across Canada earn the minimum wage, NB’s 12.2 percent is the highest rate in Canada.

And you can forget the stereotypes. Few minimum wage workers are teenagers flipping burgers after school. The majority of them are adults — 70 percent of female minimum wage workers and 63 percent of male are aged 20 or more.

Tame report domesticates male violence against women

Oct 292012

Equality time

NB special committee ponders, produces neutered text.

by Jody Dallaire

After three years of study, a multidisciplinary provincial committee struck to review policies on domestic violence deaths has released a “first step” report. Having looked into the files of all “domestic homicides” between 1999 and 2008 — files from police, courts, coroners, social and health care workers — the committee came up with a rousing recommendation to standardize all information gathering from now on.

Housework is a gender issue

Oct 212012

Equality time

An idealized vision of housework in the 1960s

New article shows women still do twice as much housework as men.

by Jody Dallaire

Two Université de Moncton professors in psychology, Mylène Lachance-Grzela and Geneviève Bouchard, recently published an article titled: Why Do Women Do the Lion’s Share of Housework: A Decade of Research. The authors reviewed ten years’ worth of research (from 2000 to 2009) about household sharing of unpaid work in the United States. They define “unpaid work” as routine tasks like meal planning, cooking, cleaning up after meals, grocery shopping, laundry, yard work, household maintenance, paying bills and car maintenance and repairs.

Spanking… not an effective way to discipline

Oct 152012

Equality time

CMAJ, UN, urge Canada to ban physical punishment.

by Jody Dallaire

The issue of spanking has been making news headlines in recent weeks.

Several newspapers have published op-eds on the issue since the Canadian Medical Association Journal’s September editorial saying that Section 43 of the Criminal Code condones spanking. The CMAJ rejects the idea that spanking is an okay way to discipline your children.

Canada’s poor marks on Rights of Child

Oct 082012

Equality time

UN evaluates Canada's record, finds it lacking.

by Jody Dallaire

Canada has been celebrating National Family Week in the first week of October since 1981. I was hoping that this year’s family week would bring with it good news. Unfortunately, this official appreciation of families does not seem to extend to Canada supporting parents significantly in rearing their children.

Good data essential for good policies

Oct 012012

Equality time

New Brunswick issues new and different report on women's equality.

by Jody Dallaire

A new report from the Women’s Issues Branch in the New Brunswick government’s Executive Council Office released an “Equality Profile of Women in New Brunswick” shows women’s gains and losses in this province. Here are a few snippets of information from the report.

Redefining feminism

Sep 252012

Equality time

Every goal achieved opens a new vista of possibilities for women.

by Jody Dallaire

The Regroupement Féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick (RFNB – which is a New Brunswick based francophone feminist organization) recently launched a series of workshops called Feministe101, in Moncton (last week), Shippagan next week, and Edmundston in mid-October.

The Moncton event was well attended. Fifty young women came out to discuss how they can “clarify, demystify and reclaim the word feminism.”

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