dear ladies: michael ignatieff is on your side and he will make everything alright again.

i actually laughed out loud when i read this today:

"liberal leader michael ignatieff is committing his party, if elected, to improve equal pay for women, launch a full-scale investigation of missing aboriginal women and establish a national program of day-care and early learning."

so if michael ignatieff is elected prime minister of canada in the next election he is going to just snap his fingers and do everything that feminist activists and politicians have been trying to do for decades? he's going to reverse the damage that stephen harper's conservatives have inflicted?

he's going to save the world yo!!!

maybe he realized that his charm isn't going to work on the ladies this time around.

call me a skeptic, but where was ignatieff when all of things he proposes to fix were implemented?

where was ignatieff's demand of a public apology when harper denied the existence of colonialism in canada? because, in case you didn't know, that has a hell of a lot to do with the "missing aboriginal women" ignatieff plans on investigating.

where was he when the conservatives tried to make it impossible for women to access the human rights commission to address pay equity concerns?

a national program of day care? so ignatieff is going to single handedly fix the day care problem? a problem that is still one of the biggest barriers for women with children who want to access education or employment?

when michael ignatieff criticized israeli apartheid week and didn't challenge jason kenney's decision to not allow george galloway to come into canada, did he realize that a lot of the organizers of the events were young women? did he realize that by participating in the attack on israeli apartheid events he was condoning the subsequent harassment of such women?? did he even think about how his actions affected women in both israel and palestine?

does he think women are stupid? that all he has to do to win is say "don't worry baby, ima fix these problems for you"? i don't know anybody who is that stupid.

here's what i think, i think that ignatieff should start pushing for these changes NOW. he doesn't need to be the prime minister of the country to stand for aboriginal women's rights or national day care. he doesn't need to be the prime minister to support pay equity.

so instead of holding all of these issues over women's heads to obtain their vote, why doesn't ignatieff prove to us now that he's worth our vote.

stephen harper to canadian women: take one for the team!

honestly, we all saw this coming. did we expect the conservatives to drop a budget that did anything but suggest bandaid solutions? they prorogued parliament rather than take responsibility for bolstering the rapidly crumbling economy with the coalition government back in december when they had the chance.

Considering the back-to-work legislation for CUPE 3903 at YorkU (introduced and supported by the liberals and conservatives) nothing this government does will ever surprise us.

Instead of focusing on our own budget and its implications, Canadians seem transfixed on the American election afterglow and the drama of the American stimulus package. Obama-rama shouldn't be an excuse to allow our government to sneakily slip such regressive policy into a budget that they know is going to fly under the radar.



WOMEN NOT INCLUDED IN CONSERVATIVE BUDGET
Statement from Irene Mathyssen, NDP Critic for the Status of Women

OTTAWA - The Conservative budget is totally inadequate when it comes to
funding for Status of Women and for issues that directly affect women.
Women are not considered at all in this budget. There is not a single
mention of women in the entire document.

In tough economic times it is crucial that the government invests in
protecting the most vulnerable in society. No affordable housing
programs were introduced that would target vulnerable women. Housing is
key to fighting poverty and the first step needed for many looking to
get into the workforce.

The budget contains no mention of childcare spaces. An investment in
childcare would have been an investment in the economy. No national
child care program will significantly reduce women's ability to
contribute to the labour market. The increase to the Child tax benefit
is helpful, it does not go far enough no create any new childcare
spaces.

It maintains the attack on women's ability to pursue pay equity
complaints. The NDP has called repeatedly for a pay equity
commissioner to ensure that pay equity complaints are dealt with
effectively and efficiently.

The job creation programs announced are aimed at infrastructure and
construction programs which are male dominated industries. This again
leaves more women vulnerable to the effects of the economic downturn.

An expert panel will be established to consult Canadians on extending EI
to self employed workers. While this is a positive move, it will not
help those who may be impacted in the short term. With two thirds of
women not qualifying for EI, changes to the system are crucial.
Unfortunately, the Conservatives did not make any further changes to
E.I. leaving many part-time workers, and seasonal workers without any
support despite paying into the fund.

There was no attempt at incorporating gender responsive budgeting as
recommended by the June 2008 Status of Women Committee report. This was
a failed opportunity for the Conservative Government to show that it
would address issues raised and passed by the other parties in the House
of Commons.

Tax cuts have historically not benefited women. The focus on tax cuts
in this budget will only decrease the government dollars available to
invest in promoting women's equality in Canada. The tax cuts in this
budget will be of no benefit to 40% of women who fall below the lowest
income bracket. It will have minimal impact on the 38% of women who fall
in lowest tax bracket leaving the most vulnerable 68% of women receiving
little or no benefit from the tax cuts.



For more information, please contact:
Office of Irene Mathyssen, MP - Miriam Rycroft, 613-995-2901


Miriam Rycroft
Member's Assistant
Irene Mathyssen, MP
London-Fanshawe
NDP Status of Women Critic
P: 613-995-2901 F: 613-943-8717
mathyssen.i@parl.gc.ca
www.irenemathyssen.ca
CEP 232/SCEP 232