Women’s List – Federal Election 2008

Women’s List – Federal Election 2008





All women hold at least one decision-making position: as a voter.



Make your vote count for the kind of society you want. Research the party positions on your priority issue(s), ask questions of your candidates. Write letters to the editor. Get your group – women’s, service, church, union, etc - involved in this exercise. Tell others what you are doing.



We summarize some of the issues of importance to Canadian women’s equality, under the following 10 themes and provide some sources to obtain more detail if needed.



Deliver on the constitutional promise of equality


Ensure equal rights for Aboriginal women


Fund quality early childhood care & education


Ensure a livable income


Commit to affordable housing


Eliminate violence against women


Ensure access to justice


Improve maternity & parental benefits


Act for women’s health


Increase female political representation






1. DELIVER ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROMISE OF EQUALITY


Reinstate the Court Challenges Program of Canada, which funded equality-seeking groups to bring key cases to court to advance equality rights.

§ About the Court Challenges Program www.ccppcj.ca/e/rights/rights.shtml

§ House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s Report Women and the Court Challenges Program http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/392/fewo/reports/rp3274072/392_FEWO_Rpt02/392_FEWO_Rpt02-e.pdf



Make equality a priority in the federal budget, through consultations and gender budgeting projects. Implement the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s recommendations on gender budgeting.

§ Equity Analysis Guide www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/analysis.pdf

§ House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s Report Towards Gender Responsive Budgeting: Rising to the Challenge of Achieving Gender Equality http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/392/fewo/reports/rp3551119/feworp11/feworp11-e.pdf

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Culturally Relevant Gender Based Analysis. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/nwac.crgba.june1707.pdf

§ Janine Brodie & Isabella Bakker (for Status of Women Canada). Canada’s Social Policy Regime and Women: An Assessment of the Last Decade. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662450870/200703_9780662450870_e.pdf

§ Sixth and Seventh Reports of Canada regarding the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). www.pch.gc.ca/progs/pdp-hrp/docs/cedaw7/cedaw7_e.pdf

§ Pavla Selepova (for Status of Women Canada). Report on Status of Women Canada’s On-Line Consultation on Gender Equality (fall 2005). www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/resources/consultations/ges09-2005/finalreport_e.pdf



Reinstate research and advocacy as projects eligible for support through Status of Women Canada. Increase Status of Women Canada’s funding for equality-seeking work.

§ House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s Report The Impacts of Funding and Program Changes at Status of Women Canada http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/fewo/reports/rp2876038/feworp18/feworp18-e.pdf

§ Ginette Petitpas-Taylor. Federal Funding Changes Hobble Advocacy Efforts. www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/federal%20funding%20fallout.pdf



Ensure the safety and autonomy of immigrant and refugee women - review laws, policies and practices that increase the vulnerability and dependency of immigrant and refugee women, including the refugee determination process, sponsorship rules etc.

§ Catherine Dauvergne, Leonora C. Angeles & Agnes Huang (for Status of Women Canada). Gendering Canada’s Refugee Process. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662435621/200607_0662435621_e.pdf

§ Report from the First National Conference “Responding to Diversity in the Metropolis: Building an Inclusive Research Agenda”. Gendering Immigration/Integration: Policy Research Workshop Proceedings and A Selective Review of Policy Research Literature 1987-1996. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/gendering/gendering_e.pdf





2. ENSURE EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ABORIGINAL WOMEN


Ensure that Aboriginal women’s rights keep pace with the rights of non-Aboriginal women, and that changes respond to the priorities specific to Aboriginal women.

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Aboriginal Women in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Aboriginal%20Women%20in%20New%20BrunswickEN%20May2008.pdf

§ Aboriginal Women’s Roundtable on Gender Equality. Roundtable Report. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/abwomenroundtable/010914_e.pdf

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada’s Submission to the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Social Determinants of Health and Canada’s Aboriginal Women. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/NWAC_WHO-CSDH_Submission2007-06-04.pdf



Ensure matrimonial property rights protect Aboriginal women’s interests.

§ Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act. www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/wige/mrp/fam_e.html

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Matrimonial Real Property Consultations: An Information Kit. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/InformationKit.pdf

§ House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s Report Matrimonial Real Property Rights on Reserve. http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/fewo/reports/rp2311018/FEWO_Rpt07/FEWO_Rpt07-e.pdf

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Reclaiming Our Way of Being: Matrimonial Real Property Solutions Position Paper. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/NWACMRP.pdf

§ Wendy Grant John. Report of the Ministerial Representative on Matrimonial Real Property Issues on Reserves. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/rmr_e.pdf

§ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Consultation Report on Matrimonial Real Property. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/CR_English.pdf

§ Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. After Marriage Breakdown: Information on the on-reserve matrimonial home. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/AfterMarriageBreakdown.pdf



Correct the sexism perpetuated by the Indian Act against Aboriginal women who “married out” in the past.

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Implementing Bill C-31: A Summary of the Issues. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/ImplementingBill-31_ASummaryofIssues.pdf

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Equality in the 21st Century: Report of the 2nd National Conference on Bill C-31. www.nwac-hq.org/documents/Equalityinthe21stCentury.pdf

§ Ginette Petitpas-Taylor. How Sharon MacIvor is Taking on the Indian Act. www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Indian%20women.pdf



Support Aboriginal women’s role in Aboriginal self-government.

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Aboriginal Women, Self-Government, & the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/AboriginalWomenSelfGovCndnChtrofRightsandFreedoms.pdf

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Aboriginal Women and Self-Determination. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/nwac.self-determination.jun1907.pdf







3. FUND QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE & EDUCATION


When three-quarters of Canadian women with children under 6 work outside the home, a national childcare system is critical, for children and the economy.



Invest in a nationwide system for early childhood care and education, built on principles of quality, universal access, affordability, and focus on children’s development.

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Childcare Services in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Child%20care%20in%20New%20BrunswickEN%20%20Feb2008.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Population & Families in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Population%20Families%20etc%20EN%20June2008%20.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Population of NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/1%20Population%20E%20Jan23.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Hours Spent on Housework, Child Care, and Care to Seniors (by Sex) www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Family%20Responsible%20Flyer%20E.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Women and Family Responsibilities in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/New%20Brunswick%20Women%20and%20Family%20ResponsibilitiesENG%20June2008.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Women and Family Responsibilities in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/5%20Family%20E%20Jan18.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Education in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Education%20Flyer%20E.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Education in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/2%20Education%20E%20Jan10.pdf



Recognize that the current Universal Child Care Benefit does not provide equitable access to childcare for families.

§ About the Universal Childcare Benefit. www.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/goc/universal_child_care.shtml

§ Childcare Research and Resource Unit. Early Childhood Education and Care in the 2008 Federal Election: Updates. http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=121428&AA_EX_Session=64a2f3eced6b1e69d693ff9346c05024

§ Childcare Research and Resource Unit. Canadian early learning and child care and the

§ Convention on the Rights of the Child. www.childcarecanada.org/pubs/op22/op22.pdf

§ Taking Responsibility for Childcare www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/childcare.pdf

§ Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada. What Do We Mean By Universality and Accessibility? www.ccaac.ca/pdf/resources/factsheets/universality.pdf







4. LIVABLE INCOME


The most important social determinant of health is income; it is how communities will retain its young people, how families can support themselves and how support networks can be maintained.



Set a livable income.

§ Monica Townson (for Status of Women Canada). Background Paper: Poverty Issues for Canadian Women. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/resources/consultations/ges09-2005/poverty_e.pdf

§ Canadian Council on Social Development. The Dynamics of Women’s Poverty in Canada. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662281594/200003_0662281594_e.pdf

§ Canadian average earnings by province, job type, and gender. www.ccsd.ca/factsheets/labour_market/earnings/index.htm

§ Guide to 2008 Before- and After-Tax Low Income Cut-Offs (LICOs). www.ccsd.ca/factsheets/economic_security/poverty/lico_06.htm

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Labour Force in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/NB%20Women%20and%20Paid%20WorkEN%20June2008.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Labour Force in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/NB%20Women%20and%20Paid%20WorkEN%20June2008.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Income & Poverty in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Income%20and%20Poverty%20in%20NB%20EN%20June2008.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Income & Poverty in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/4%20Income%20E%20Jan29.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Total Incomes of Women & Men in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Income%20Poverty%20Flyer%20E.pdf



Adopt economic development that benefits both women and men.

§ Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women’s Report Women’s Economic Independence and Security: A Federal/Provincial/Territorial Strategic Framework. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/0662655427/200103_0662655427_e.pdf

§ House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women’s Report Improving the Economic Security of Women: Time to Act. http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/fewo/reports/rp3034875/feworp21/feworp21-e.pdf

§ Ginette Petitpas-Taylor. Shouldn’t We Have a Plan to Reduce Poverty? www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/poverty%202008.pdf

§ Adil Sayeed. The 1997 Canada Pension Plan Changes: Implications for Women and Men. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662324315/200208_0662324315_e.pdf



Enact pay equity legislation for the private sector regulated by the federal government.

§ Margot E. Young (for Status of Women Canada). “Pay Equity: A Fundamental Human Right” www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/0662327535/200209_0662327535_e.pdf

§ Abigail B. Bakan and Audrey Kobayashi. Employment Equity Policy in Canada: An Interprovincial Comparison. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662281608/200003_0662281608_e.pdf

§ The Gender Wage Gap in New Brunswick www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/GENDER_WAGE_GAP_NB_FINAL_REPORT_EN.pdf

§ Samples Demonstration on the Value of Occupational Equivalents. www.genderwork.ca/cms/displayarticle.php?sid=18&aid=56&partid=1037



Recognize the diversity of work that contributes to society, including women’s non-paid work.

§ Conceptual Guide to Unpaid Work. www.genderwork.ca/cms/displayarticle.php?sid=18&aid=56

§ Women and Unpaid Work. http://unpac.ca/economy/unpaidwork.html

§ Valuing Unpaid Work. http://unpac.ca/economy/valuingunpaidwork.html

§ Alternative Economic Measures. http://unpac.ca/economy/altmeasures.html

§ Isabella Bakker. Unpaid Work and Macroeconomics: New Discussions, New Tools for Action. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662636074/199808_0662636074_e.pdf

§ Statistics Canada. The 1996 Census Unpaid Work Data Evaluation Study. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662280180/200003_0662280180_e.pdf

§ Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW). The Changing Nature of Home Care and Its Impact on Women's Vulnerability to Poverty.

§ Pt. 1: www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662280857/199911_0662280857_1_e.pdf

§ Pt. 2 (Survey & Findings): www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662280857/199911_0662280857_2_e.pdf

§ Pt. 3 (Conclusion & Recommendations): www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662280857/199911_0662280857_3_e.pdf



Set and fund national standards for social programs.

§ Scott Gilbreath. Low Income Cut-Offs Versus Poverty Measures. www.irpp.org/po/archive/nov97/gilbreat.pdf

§ Ginette Petitpas-Taylor. Costly Welfare Policy is Counterproductive. www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/economic%20unit%20Jan%2010%202008.pdf

§ Christa Freiler and Judy Cerny (for the Child Poverty Action Group). Benefiting Canada’s Children: Perspectives on Gender and Social Responsibility. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662634691/199803_0662634691_e.pdf

§ Tanis Doe and Sally Kimpson. Enabling Income: CPP Disability Benefits and Women with Disabilities. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662279247/199910_0662279247_e.pdf

§ Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW). Women’s Experiences of Social Programs for People with Low Incomes – Fact Sheet. www.criaw-icref.ca/indexFrame_e.htm

§ Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW). Integrating the Voices of Low-Income Women Into Policy Discussions on the Canada Social Transfer. www.criaw-icref.ca/CST_FINAL_REPORT.pdf







5. COMMIT TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING


Meet basic housing needs by extending affordable housing programs and anti-homelessness programs.



Implement a comprehensive national housing strategy, coordinated across all provinces and territories, with goals to build universally accessible social housing units, increase housing subsidies, and meet Aboriginal people’s needs both on- and off-reserve.

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Income & Poverty in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Income%20and%20Poverty%20in%20NB%20EN%20June2008.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Income & Poverty in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/4%20Income%20E%20Jan29.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Population, Families, and Living Arrangements in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Population%20Families%20etc%20EN%20June2008%20.pdf

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada. Background Document on Aboriginal Women and Housing for the Canada-Aboriginal Peoples Roundtable Sectoral Follow-Up Session on Housing. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/NWAC_BgPaper_e.pdf



Acknowledge women's specific, gendered housing needs, especially in cases where violence and abuse have compromised the safety of their homes.

§ Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. On Her Own: Young Women and Homelessness in Canada. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662318986/200303_0662318986_e.pdf

§ Marge Reitsma-Street, Josie Schofield, Brishkai Lund, & Colleen Kasting. Housing Policy Options for Women Living in Urban Poverty: An Action Research Project in Three Canadian Cities. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0660613417/200102_0660613417_e.pdf

§ Darlene Rude & Kathleen Thompson. Left in the Cold: Women, Health, and the Demise of Social Housing Polices. www.pwhce.ca/pdf/leftInTheCold.pdf

§ Canadian Housing and Renewal Association. Building Capacity: Enhancing Women’s Economic Participation Through Housing. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662286154/200009_0662286154_e.pdf



Integrate housing policy with other social policy.





6. ELIMINATE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN


Recognize the link between violence and the inequality of women and girls.



Invest in violence prevention.



Include in decision-making workers, and especially front-line workers, in women’s centres, shelters, and transition houses. Support funding increases for the equality-seeking organizations that are experts in eliminating violence in our communities.

§ Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women. Assessing Violence Against Women: A Statistical Profile. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/0662331664/200212_0662331664_e.pdf

§ Public Health Agency of Canada. The Family Violence Initiative Performance Report 2002-2003 and 2003-2004. www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/pdfs/2004-Family-Violence-Initiative_E.pdf

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Violence Against Women in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Violence%20Against%20Women%20in%20New%20BrunswickEN%20August2008%20.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Violence Against Women in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/9%20Violence%20Jan22.pdf

§ Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Protection%20against%20violence%20legislation%20April%202004.pdf

§ Ginette Petitpas-Taylor. Violence by the Numbers. www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Violence%202008%20RC%20FINAL.pdf

§ Maria Rosa Pinedo & Ana Maria Santinoli. Immigrant Women and Wife Assault. www.womanabuseprevention.com/html/immigrant_women.html





7. ACCESS TO JUSTICE


Criminal law legal aid, accessed mostly by men, is cost-shared by federal and provincial governments, but not civil legal aid.



Fund access to civil legal aid.

Hold provinces and territories to national standards of access to legal aid and courts.

§ Civil Legal Aid and Women www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/LEGAL%20AID%20FINAL.pdf

§ Lisa Addario. Getting a Foot in the Door: Women, Civil Legal Aid and Access to Justice. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/footinthedoor/footinthedoor_e.pdf





8. IMPROVE MATERNITY & PARENTAL BENEFITS


Improve the current Employment Insurance–based system for maternity and parental benefits by increasing access to benefits for parents who are self-employed or in non-standard work arrangements.

§ Service Canada Online Maternity and Parental Benefits Page. www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/ei/types/special.shtml

§ Improving Maternity and Parental Benefits for Canadians, Women’s Network PEI, www.wnpei.org/improvingparben.html

§ Rachel Cox, with Ruth Rose, Improving Maternity and Parental Benefits for Women outside of Québec: Proposals for Law Reform, August 2007. www.nawl.ca/ns/en/publications.html#research

§ Christa Freiler, Felicite Stairs and Brigitte Kitchen, with Judy Cerny. Mothers as Earners, Mothers as Carers: Responsibility for Children, Social Policy and the Tax System. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662655206/200103_0662655206_e.pdf

§ Tanis Doe & Doris Rajan. Re/Working Benefits: Continuation of Non-Cash Benefits and Support for Single Mothers and Disabled Women. www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/pubs/pubspr/0662670515/200302_0662670515_e.pdf



Improve the value and duration of benefits for families that give birth to or adopt a child.



Implement the recommendations on parental benefits of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

§ House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Interim Report on the Maternity and Parental Benefits Under Employment Insurance: The Exclusion of Self-Employed Workers. http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/381/fewo/reports/rp2148183/FEWO_Rpt05/FEWO_Rpt05-e.pdf





9. ACT FOR WOMEN’S HEALTH


Ensure that women in all regions of Canada have access to medical care, as promised in the Canada Health Act. That includes providing access to abortions.

§ Native Women’s Association of Canada’s Submission to the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Social Determinants of Health and Canada’s Aboriginal Women. www.nwac-hq.org/en/documents/NWAC_WHO-CSDH_Submission2007-06-04.pdf

§ Women and Charter of Health Rights & Responsibilities www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Health_Charter_2005ENG.pdf

§ Women and the Future of Health Care in Canada www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/healthcareenglish.pdf

§ Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence. Living Well: Aboriginal Women, Cultural Identity and Wellness. www.pwhce.ca/pdf/livingWell.pdf

§ Jan Roberts & Marcelle Falk. Women and Health: Experiences in Rural Regional Health Authority. www.pwhce.ca/pdf/rha.pdf

§ Abortion Access in Canada – Abortion Coverage by Region. www.prochoice.org/canada/regional.html

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – New Brunswick Women and Health www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/New%20Brunswick%20Women%20and%20HealthENJune%202008.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Health in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/3%20Health%20E%20Jan29.pdf



Require gender analysis in government’s planning for the healthcare system.

§ The CIHR Institute of Gender and Health. What’s Sex and Gender Got to Do With It? Integrating Sex and Gender into Health Research. www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/pdf_25530.htm

§ Lorraine Greaves (for the Canadian Institute of Health Research). CIHR 2000: Sex, Gender and Women’s Health. www.bccewh.bc.ca/publications-resources/documents/cihrreport.pdf

§ Colleen Reid (for the BC Center of Excellence for Women’s Health). A Full Measure: Towards a Comprehensive Model for the Measurement of Women’s Health. www.bccewh.bc.ca/publications-resources/documents/afullmeasure.pdf

§ The National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women. Reading Romanow: The Implications of the Final Report of The Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada for Women. www.womenandhealthcarereform.ca/publications/reading-romanow.pdf

§ Just the facts, ma’am… A Women’s Guide for Understanding Evidence about Health and Health Care. www.womenandhealthcarereform.ca/publications/evidenceen.pdf

§ Kay Wilson & Beth Jackson (for the National Coordinating Group on Health Care Reform and Women). Bringing Women and Gender Into “Healthy Canadians: A Federal Report on Comprehensive Health Indicators 2004”. www.womenandhealthcarereform.ca/publications/womengenderhealthindicators.pdf





10. INCREASE FEMALE POLITICAL REPRESENTATION


Take measures to support women to run for and serve in elected office.

§ Women in Canadian Federal Politics – Fast Facts. www.equalvoice.ca/uploads/392_479c9e5aab17b.pdf

§ International Database of Women’s Representation in National Governments. www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm

§ Report Card Fact Sheet (2008) – Women and Positions of Influence in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/Women%20and%20Positions%20of%20Influence%20in%20New%20BrunswickEN%20June2008.pdf

§ Report Card Chapter (2008) – Women and Positions of Influence in NB www.acswcccf.nb.ca/english/documents/7%20Influence%20E%20Jan18B.pdf



Take measures to ensure political parties are making progress towards a fair representation of women among its candidates. Ensure women are fairly represented in the most influential Cabinet portfolios.

§ The Canada Challenge – Tracking 2008 Federal Nominations by Gender www.equalvoice.ca/uploads/390_479a3973d1cf1.pdf

§ Julie Cool (for the Library of Parliament, Political & Social Affairs Division). Women in Parliament. www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0562-e.pdf

§ Ann Wicks and Raylene Lang-Dion. Women in Politics: Still Searching for an Equal Voice. www.parl.gc.ca/Infoparl/31/1/31n1_08e_Wicks-Lang-Dion.pdf

§ Ann Wicks and Raylene Lang-Dion. Equal Voice: Electing More Women in Canada. www.parl.gc.ca/Infoparl/30/1/30n1_07e_Wicks-Lang-Dion.pdf



Examine democratic and legislative processes to eliminate barriers to women. Undertake electoral and democratic reform.

§ Fair Vote Canada. Voting Systems: We Have Choices! www.fairvotecanada.org/files/Make%20Every%20Vote%20Count%20-%20Pt%202%20-%20jan%2005_0.pdf

§ Michael Pal and Sujit Choudhry. Is Every Ballot Equal? Visible-Minority Vote Dilution in Canada. www.fireweeddemocracyproject.ca/media/IsEveryBallotEqual.pdf

§ Law Commission of Canada. Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for Canada. www.fireweeddemocracyproject.ca/media/Voting%20Counts.pdf

§ Thérèse Arseneau. The Representation of Women and Aboriginal Peoples Under PR. www.irpp.org/po/archive/nov97/arseneau.pdf