Mr. Chairperson (Ben Sveinson): The next set of Estimates that will be considered by this section of the Committee of Supply is the Estimates of the Status of Women. Will the Committee of Supply please come to order. Does the honourable Minister responsible for the Status of Women have an opening statement?
Hon. Rosemary Vodrey (Minister responsible for the Status of Women): I am pleased today to present the working Estimates of the Manitoba Status of Women ministry for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1999. As a department of government, the Women's Directorate envisions a society committed to the true equality for women and men in our country. To that end, we are focusing our efforts on five major areas. They are enhancing the capacity for Manitoba women to attain economic self-sufficiency; facilitating strategic education choices and enhancing employment opportunities in high-growth, well-paid fields for women; eliminating violence against women; facilitating opportunities that promote healthy lifestyle choices for youth; raising awareness of women's health issues.
The Women's Directorate works to further the achievement of equality for women directly by working to influence government decision making through research support, policy development and evaluation of government programs, policies and legislation, and by generating government initiatives which reflect specific priorities or concerns of women, and indirectly, by interacting with the community, the business sector, and the various departments of government to raise awareness of the reality of women's lives.
Through its ongoing participation in federal, provincial and territorial working groups on economic equality, education and training, gender equality in the justice system and violence against women, the Manitoba Women's Directorate has worked with its counterparts across the country to address issues of common concern such as the need for more effective maintenance enforcement legislation, strategies to better protect women from violence, researching and developing with Statistics Canada a study that monitors more completely the economic status of all Canadian women. The study identifies areas where women's economic self-sufficiency can be addressed, developing a resource for use in schools to educate young women on becoming money-wise and on the importance of taking charge of their own financial futures.
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Our government believes that the most effective guarantee of economic security for all Manitobans is having the means to obtain employment. To that end, we have undertaken a number of initiatives. Labour market forecasters tell us that small business is the engine of economic growth and the major source of new job creation. They also predict that in the not-too-distant future a majority of Canadians will be self-employed. Increasingly, this is true for women, as a growing number of women are starting their own businesses. Women now start more small businesses than men and more women than men are still successful in that business after five years.
Both the departments of Industry, Trade and Tourism and Rural Development recognize the potential of the entrepreneurial sector and the vital contribution that women can make and offer programs which assist women to start their own businesses. The Business Start Program, through I, T and T, has been extended for another two years. It is a loan guarantee program which allows entrepreneurs to borrow up to $10,000 to match their equity contributions. This program has provided a total of 220 loans to women as of January 1998. Similarly, Rural Development offers the Rural Entrepreneur Assistance program which provides loan guarantees to participating lenders for rural businesses. The amounts range from $10,000 to $100,000, 80 percent of which is guaranteed by the provincial government. To date, 48 loans totalling more than $1 million have been granted to women by credit unions and CIBC.
I, T and T and Rural Development also offer services such as business start-up seminars, training in the development of business plans, how to conduct market analysis and mentorship. The Business Resource Centre of I, T and T has recently joined with the Women's Enterprise Centre of the federal government to provide a single-window access to government entrepreneurial programs. Manitoba Industry, Trade and Tourism women's consultant is now at this joint facility and offers services to women who are looking to develop their own businesses.
Promoting economic self-sufficiency and breaking the cycle of dependence among social assistance recipients is also a priority of this government. We have refocused training and social assistance dollars to help those on social assistance make the move to employment.
Manitoba Education and Training and Family Services work together to offer job readiness training, specific skills training and job placement supports to clients on social assistance. This maximizes opportunities for women to participate in and benefit from our growing economy.
Since the introduction of welfare reform, there has been a reduction of almost 1,500 in the caseload of single parents, almost 95 percent of whom are women. Since the inception of Making Welfare Work, 40 percent or more than 5,000 social assistance recipients are now reporting income. Making Welfare Work initiatives will help more people achieve self-reliance. We are building on the successes of these programs through the investment of $9.3 million in this year's budget dedicated to Making Welfare Work.
Another important key to self-sufficiency is training and education. The Women's Directorate has developed and administers the very successful Training for Tomorrow Scholarship Awards Program. A total of 191 $1,000 scholarships have now been awarded to women entering two-year diploma courses in math, science and technology-related programs at the province's community colleges. The training offered in these programs equips women to obtain employment in high-skill, high-demand and well-paid career-oriented jobs available in today's high tech labour market.
A high priority for our government has been increasing access to computers in schools and providing distance education throughout the province. Distance education is particularly important for women due to the demands of family. Last year, our government provided $10.7 million through the infrastructure program to assist with distance education for schools. We will continue to expand these capabilities. We are also expanding the first year by distance education program into more communities.
Our government introduced Manitoba's Learning Tax Credit in our 1996 budget. In 1998-99, the Manitoba Learning Tax Credit will provide $15 million as direct support to students and their families. This direct support will be important for women who often have difficulty in finding high-paying summer jobs to finance their studies. We are also increasing funding by $4 million to provide $5 million of scholarships and bursaries for post-secondary education, I am informed by Education. We will add $1 to every $2 raised by universities and colleges for their scholarship and bursary funds. We recognize the importance of preparing all of our young people for jobs. Therefore, we are offering, along with the federal government, the program Partners for Careers, a $1.4-million initiative to help place aboriginal high school, college and university graduates into positions in the private and public sectors.
Recognizing the importance of providing well-trained tradespeople, we are providing $3 million to the Apprenticeship Branch of Manitoba Education and Training and of this, 1.4 is earmarked for the expansion of the program.
The Women's Directorate is working with the Apprenticeship Branch to ensure that strategies to attract and support women in trades training are included in the expansion. Of course, key to women's participation in the labour market is the availability of accessible child care. This year's budget includes an additional $4.8 million to deliver more accessible, portable and flexible child care options for Manitoba families, including services for children with disabilities. In addition, 1,000 new subsidized spaces will be available to support lower income parents, and the subsidy will now move with the child. There will now be a single funding rate for eligible infant and preschool spaces to simplify and equalize funding for centres in family daycare homes and full funding will be provided to approximately 2,000 infant and preschool spaces in centres and family daycare homes. Operating grants will also be increased by 2 percent for infant and preschool spaces in centres and family daycare homes. Of particular interest to shift workers and rural families will be the $200,000 provided for the development of new flexible child care arrangements that recognize changing work patterns.
This government is committed to promoting the well-being of families and children. The economic security of Manitoba's single parent families is all too frequently jeopardized by the failure of noncustodial parents to pay their maintenance. Maintenance enforcement has been and continues to be a primary focus for our government. Our government remains firm in its commitment to the women of our province to address violence against women and to work towards providing for women and their children a violence-free environment. Manitoba has the most comprehensive approach in the country for addressing violence against women: crisis intervention, services to the victim, follow-up and after-care, as well as prevention and deterrent strategies. Our continuing dedication to working toward the goal of eliminating violence against women has once again been demonstrated through our response to the recommendations put forward in the Honourable Mr. Justice Perry Schulman's report on the deaths of Rhonda and Roy Lavoie, a study of domestic violence and the justice system in Manitoba.
This government views the Lavoie inquiry as a concrete starting place, not a resting point, for initiatives that deal with the serious problem of domestic violence. In September of 1997, our Justice minister and Family Services minister announced an additional $1.9 million in funding to help Manitoba families caught in the web of violence. Dr. Jane Ursel is chairing the implementation committee. This committee is working with community groups to co-ordinate the implementation of a short- and a long-term plan of action.
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Our government is also working to establish safe and secure environments in which to live, work and raise our families. To help employers and employees identify ways of making their workplaces safer, making crimes more difficult to commit and increasing personal safety, the Manitoba Women's Directorate, in partnership with CIBC, Workers Compensation, the RCMP and the province's police services, launched Keeping Safe at Work in September of 1996. Mr. Chair, I have some Keeping Safe at Work pamphlets which I am pleased to table at this time.
This province-wide initiative focuses on the safety of those who work alone, travel to work alone and provides tips on awareness of potentially threatening situations. Staff from the directorate and CIBC's Employment Development Centre offer information sessions on site at workplaces and the CIBC's Employment Development Centre, as well, Train the Trainer workshops, and approximately 50 workshops and public information sessions have been conducted for participants from Flin Flon, Thompson and The Pas, Portage la Prairie, Brandon, Dauphin, and Swan River, as well as in Winnipeg. There have been approximately 400 hits on the Internet through the Workplace Safety and Health's home page; 43,000 pamphlets have been distributed across the province and a number of TV and radio information sessions have been aired. Two sessions of Keeping Safe at Work were held at the Civil Service Commission and the workshop will now be offered as one of the commission's ongoing training programs.
Recognizing that hopes for a prosperous future for young Manitobans is based in part on equipping our children with the skills they need to be productive and healthy citizens in the future, the Women's Directorate has sharpened its focus on fostering the healthy development of young women. Our efforts are targeted towards encouraging girls and teens to stay active in sports or recreational activity, stop smoking, refrain from early sexual activity, and recognize the importance of staying in school. Our aim is to encourage young women to replace unhealthy behaviours with healthy ones. Toward that end, Manitoba Status of Women launched the Take the Challenge, a comprehensive initiative designed to address challenges facing today's teenage girls. The directorate has established partnerships with other government departments, service deliverers and community organizations to maximize the effectiveness of a major campaign to encourage personal responsibility and attitudinal change.
The first part of Take the Challenge focused on the benefits of physical activity for girls. The directorate partnered with several agencies to bring this initiative to Manitobans. The directorate developed a poster called Do It For You, introduced On the Move, an initiative designed to encourage nonactive teenage girls to participate in fun-filled, supportive recreational activity and worked to have On the Move incorporated into the Urban Sports Camp model so that the inner city community groups are better able to consider the unique needs of teenage girls when developing their programs.
The directorate partnered with the Recreation and Wellness branch of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship to distribute On the Move manuals to all the recreation directors in Manitoba. The directorate is currently developing a website that will provide the latest information on programs important to women. The website will feature the latest publication of About Women, as well as information on the Training for Tomorrow Scholarship Program, Keeping Safe at Work and the Stop the Violence resource guide.
In addition to research and analysis, the directorate also provides an outreach function. The Women's Directorate has developed a new method to enhance outreach liaison and referral service delivery to much of northern and rural Manitoba. Women employees in the departments of Housing or Labour who live in rural and northern communities will participate in the work of the directorate on a part-time or casual basis. These women will create a link between their community and the Women's Directorate, providing consultation on issues of concern to women. This approach facilitates enhanced collaboration between Winnipeg and rural communities, more effective service delivery and more efficient use of resources. A toll-free women's information line provides women from any part of the province with easily accessible information on programs and services within government and the community.
Women have made and continue to make a significant contribution to the cultural life of our province. This fact was recognized as the theme of Women's History Month in October 1997. As Minister responsible for the Status of Women and Minister of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship, I am particularly pleased that the staff of the Women's Directorate and the Cultural Resources branch of Culture, Heritage and Citizenship worked together to develop a curated exhibit of women's art entitled The Light Within: Manitoba Women and Art. The exhibition premiered in the Pool of the Black Star in October in celebration of Women's History Month and remained there until the end of November 1997. Approximately 1,300 people reviewed the exhibition during these two months. In January of 1998, The Light Within: Manitoba Women and Art began a year-long tour to several communities in rural Manitoba. The tour will allow many more people to share in our celebration of Women's History Month. The project also involved Manitoba Education and Training, which together with culture officials, compiled an education art curriculum supplement based on the exhibition for Senior 1 through Senior 4. Mr. Chair, I am pleased to table a copy of the program for the benefit of the member.
The directorate has also worked with the Child and Youth Secretariat as a member of the teen pregnancy working group and the child prostitution working group as it considered these difficult issues. I look forward to more collaborative opportunities that will both recognize and provide opportunities for the women of Manitoba.
The Manitoba Women's Advisory Council is an arm's-length advisory appointed by government to enhance the Status of Women by promoting change in social, legal and economic structures. In appointing members to the council, the government ensures representation that reflects Manitoba's multicultural heritage and also geographic diversity. There are currently 14 council members and council is chaired by Sandra Hasenack.
The goal of council is to ensure the equal participation of women in society and also to address the equality issues. To accomplish this, council serves as a provincial resource by sharing information on events and programs of interest to women, acts as a facilitator in building effective and collaborative partnerships among women, community organizations, researchers and other government departments. Council's present priorities are women's health and wellness, child care, teen pregnancy and violence against women. As well as giving voice to women's concerns, it continues its overall focus on community liaison and outreach to Manitoba women.
In the last year, council has provided support services such as faxing, photocopying and mailing to the women's community at no cost, reprinted a fourth edition of council's Parenting on Your Own, a handbook for one-parent families, compiled and maintained a listing of community events and information of interest to women which is sent weekly over the fax to 85 individuals and organizations, maintained a mailing list of over 2,100 individuals, as well as relevant community organizations and government offices, provided a one-stop library resource with Internet access and provided expertise and consultation, as well as participation on planning committees for community events.
Council broke new ground this year on a number of fronts. For example, council travelled to Swan River, Flin Flon and Beausejour to hear from these communities on a number of issues such as violence against women, unemployment issues in rural areas, rural child care and women's education and training needs. They held a Wellness Day for over 30 residents and staff of the Portage Correctional Institution for women to address their informational needs on women's health, nutrition and general wellness. They played a role in the implementation of the Victims First emergency cellular telephone program, a program to enhance the short-term safety of high-risk domestic abuse and stalking victims. They also toured a working farm to identify issues relating to the agricultural community.
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To demonstrate its support to the women's community, council provided the following sponsorship: coffee to Elizabeth Fry support groups, 10 Filipino community members to a meeting called Living Without Fear, a conference, as well as the buttons and brochures, three community members to the YM-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards in Brandon, provision of coffee for the Alice in Cyberland conference, donation of Caring Together, an aboriginal game about health, life and relationships to Elizabeth Fry, the Portage Correctional Institution for women and the Winnipeg Native Alliance, food for youth attending the special matinee of Hectic, a play about street life. This past year council attended many conferences throughout the province. Two examples are the Farm Women's Conference and the Crime Prevention Conference in Brandon.
As part of its community networking and information sharing, council continued to hold onsite information sessions and events on a number of topics, including breast cancer, osteoporosis, elder abuse, financial and retirement issues and a sunrise breakfast to commemorate the events surrounding the Montreal massacre. Council also worked in co-operation with several government departments and organizations on the following: the generation of the principles of the National Framework on Aging, development of a public awareness program on teen pregnancy, the planning and implementation of public awareness program on domestic violence, an information session on child prostitution, a strategy for collaboration to promote awareness of osteoporosis. On women's health and wellness, women's health and wellness continues to be a priority for council. In the past year, it has focused on diseases such diabetes, breast cancer, osteoporosis, fetal alcohol syndrome, menopause.
Through the sharing of best practices with other women's advisory councils across Canada, council was able to access a variety of successful programs to address teen pregnancies in other jurisdictions as well, and that information is shared then. In terms of violence against women, another issue of concern to council is violence against women, and some examples of council's work in this area are representation on the Lavoie implementation committee, public awareness working group.
They also provide a referral service to individual women accessing council's office because they are victims of family violence, and they participated and supported the Living Without Fear Conference put on by the Coalition of Filipino-Canadians on Violence Prevention.
In the area of child care, council has prioritized the issue of child care, for example, in participating on the child care recommendation committee that resulted from the child care review, met with the Children and Youth Secretariat, as well as rural child care professionals to strategize on funding for the development of child care family access program.
Council has also had consultation with rural women, and that consultation continues as council recently held outreach meetings in Swan River and Flin Flon, will hold an upcoming meeting in Beausejour to complete council's province-wide consultation on issues of concern for women. Council will continue to work with the community on issues of concern to women by providing the onsite informational sessions and events of interest to women, providing the one-stop library resource and Internet access to the public, support services to individuals and nonprofit women's organizations, information and referral services to women accessing council's office for assistance, consultation expertise and participation on planning committees for community evens of interest to women, and a weekly fax list of information and upcoming events to women's organizations and interested community members.
In conclusion, council is looking forward to another productive year working to enhance the status of women in Manitoba. By advising government on issues of concern to women and participating in the women's community, council will continue to play a pivotal role in the advancement of women's equality.
I am very proud, Mr. Chair, of the successes of both the Manitoba Women's Advisory Council and the Manitoba Women's Directorate. During the coming year, I am confident that both organizations will continue their work to ensure equal opportunities and equal participation for Manitoba women in all aspects of our society. Thank you.
Mr. Chairperson: We thank the honourable minister for those comments. Does the official opposition critic, the honourable member for Osborne, have an opening statement?
Ms. Diane McGifford (Osborne): Yes, I am just having a bit of trouble with this microphone. I do have a few remarks. I would like to thank the minister for her comments, and begin with something that we have discussed before, and that is, last year we discussed the possibility that this government might consider a different model for the Ministry for the Status of Women. I am referring here to a model where the Minister for the Status of Women would have more direct control over the issues directly impinging on the lives and rights of women, for example, child care, women's program, policies on violence against women.
I start here because it seems to me that many of the problems that continue to influence and influence negatively Manitoba women are beyond the purview of the Minister for the Status of Women. I think here of poverty, economic equality, child care and maintenance, women's health issues, violence against women. Those same old bug-a-bears, Mr. Chair, with which we have been dealing, generally speaking, for centuries and more specifically since the new wave of feminism launched in the 1960s.
I regret today that 30 years after the publication of The Female Eunuch and The Feminine Mystique, the first issues discussed at just about any women's meeting remain child care and violence against women. Sometimes it feels that we are not making progress, though of course I do know that we are making progress. This is clear in the fact that we now have shelters, that we now have programs for women, that we see more women in university, and that we see some more women in managerial positions and even in the Legislature of Manitoba.
Perhaps one of the reasons that we have not been as successful as we might like to be in solving the problems of women is that only rarely have women been the decision makers. Far too often I think that women remain the recipients of social policy, rather than those who make policy and implement it. Because of this dilemma, I suggested last year that a stronger ministry for the Status of Women might be in order, and I flag this idea once more. Again, I make the point that with more direct influence and control, the minister might expedite changes which would alleviate the inequalities afflicting Manitoba women.
I will elaborate on some of these in my introductory remarks, though more of them will be raised in the question part of the Estimates process.
First of all, child poverty--and I mention it here as we all know that poor children have poor parents, that single-parent families tend to be poorer than two-parent families. Indeed, 59 percent of all single-parent families live in poverty, and 85 percent of single-parent families have a mom as the sole parent. I know that poverty afflicting 59 percent of our single-parent families is an extremely complex social issue, and the eradication of this poverty would require complex and carefully planned solutions. I know, too, that all of us are dedicated to finding workable solutions, that nobody in the House today, the Manitoba Legislature, is satisfied with the status quo.
But the fact remains, Mr. Chair, that there are some 69,000 poor children in Manitoba and that the programs of this government are woefully inadequate in dealing with this problem. This is especially true among aboriginal people, especially among aboriginal women. The fact remains, as well, that 25.4 percent of all Manitoba children live in poverty, while the national rate is 20.9, and despite the employment record of this government, there has not really been any progress in eradicating child poverty; in fact, we have seen backsliding in this matter. Of course, I do not believe for a minute that the main reason for overcoming female poverty is to overcome child poverty. Clearly, women have a right to economically viable lives, women with and women without children, but I do make the point that poor mothers mean poor children and often the social, educational and health handicaps that unfortunately tend to accompany poverty.
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Last year, I spoke to the minister about using her influence to promote women's economic equality. I suggested the extension of pay equity and particularly prorated benefits for part-time workers. I asked the minister last year to work with her colleague the Minister of Labour (Mr. Gilleshammer). She did not seem very enthusiastic, and judging from the legislation we have seen this year, neither was her government. But I remain convinced that prorated benefits for part-time workers, many of whom are women, and the extension of pay equity would be excellent ideas in alleviating both child and female poverty.
I wish to say a few words about child care, because we all know that child care is a family issue and not just a women's issue, but the reality remains. Despite the fact that more and more men are taking serious interest in child care arrangements, the fact remains that women are still largely responsible for child care and arrangements for child care out of the house. Women are still accepting the lion's share of responsibility for their children.
Now I know that this government has put $4.8 million back into child care--the minister mentioned this in her introductory remarks--and I know that this money is designated for several specific purposes, including subsidies to approximately 1,000 additional spaces, but this money does not really atone for the government's past cuts to child care and there are several serious problems in the system. Before flagging those problems, I want to say that I know the minister talked about one of the progressive changes being the fact that the subsidy will now accompany the child or, to put it another way, the change from the case system to the space system, but of course the space system was something that we had for many years until this government introduced the case system, which, of course, never did work for the good of parents and children in Manitoba.
I did want to return and flag a couple of the problems in our child care system, and there are many. I have been told by people who work in child care that it would take millions and millions of dollars to solve the problems in our child care system, but here I flag the additional $2.40 per day that subsidized families can be charged by child care centres. This is obviously a hardship for people, for the working poor. Mr. Chairperson, $2.40 may not seem a lot, but I think it works out to somewhere around $40 a month; in fact, it would be a little bit more than $40 a month. For a family that is already near the poverty line, that is indeed a financial hardship and means that they need to cut elsewhere.
I also want to mention the cut from a six-week to a two-week job search period for students. I do not know anybody who finds a job in two weeks. I want to talk about the need for new child care centres in the face of huge waiting lists, and this government's abandonment of the NDP's initiative to create child care centres in new schools. I regret that the only school that has recently acquired a child care centre is in the River Heights constituency of the Minister of Corporate and Consumer Affairs (Mr. Radcliffe).
I know that all children deserve quality child care, even those living in NDP and Liberal constituencies, but I do notice that it was only this particular school. I think it was Montrose School that did receive a child care centre when it was rebuilt. We all know that latchkey kids often seek families on the streets. We know that latchkey kids have anxious and unhappy mothers and, of course, we all want, I know, to work seriously to alleviate these problems.
I want to say, too, a few words about services and programs for women. This year I believe that most agencies funded by family disputes have received small increases which they certainly needed, having been cut 2 percent twice since 1993, and I believe the other year was 1996-97, and having to cope in the face of what would have been a 4 percent cut, having to cope with increased operational costs and lengthy waiting lists. A quick phone-around for me, for example, revealed that staff have not had wage increases for years and that waiting lists for services are about nine months to a year, which is telling me that a woman can conceive, carry and deliver a baby more quickly than she can get a counselling appointment at some of our funded women's resource centres, for example.
I also regret that more attention was not given to services for rural women. Both the Evergreen Women's Resource Centre and Lakeshore Women's Resource Centre have been struggling for years to obtain the financial resources necessary to provide proper services to women in their areas. I regret that again this year their work has not been properly funded, at least if they are to provide a range of needed services.
Now I did hear from the minister in the Estimates of Family Services that there may be the possibility of a new contract with the Evergreen Women's Resource Centre. I think that she mentioned this may take place in September or there may be a meeting in September, so I will certainly be looking forward to hearing that there has been a change there.
I know that the Lavoie report indicated many gaps in services and that Justice Schulman recommended increased funding to women's counselling agencies. I know that the Premier (Mr. Filmon) promised last December 6 that the recommendations from the Lavoie report would be implemented by October 1998. So we certainly await developments, and we will certainly be interested in progress. I know the minister, in her remarks today, did talk about some of the Lavoie work, and I certainly applaud that. There has been some progress, but there is some distance to go yet as far as implementing the recommendations.
I am certainly pleased that Family Violence Court is now receiving extra resources, though I do not know how long abusers wait for their court dates and how long women wait for justice. Presumably the wait is now shorter, and this is as it should be, because this was the recommendation from Justice Schulman.
The payment of maintenance remains a serious issue and a serious threat to women's economic stability. I know that women in Dauphin are upset by the closure of the maintenance office there and say that they make endless phone calls to a telephone answering machine, calls which are now long distance and which they can ill afford. So women continue to face serious problems here.
I know that I was reading a document produced by the Provincial Auditor called Value for Money Audits, and within one of the areas audited was the Maintenance Enforcement Program. I was quite shocked to realize that the arrears in maintenance for 1996, the total arrears were $39,057,000, that the total arrears are almost equal to the actual funds collected, the total funds collected. The funds collected are $39,164,000, so we may have made progress but we have a long way to go; $39 million into the pockets of Manitoba women would be greatly appreciated.
Women's health issues. I want to indicate here, and perhaps we will get into detailed discussion later, that women across Manitoba are concerned about the dismantling of the Breast Care Clinic at Misericordia. This clinic, which adopts a holistic approach and which consequently offers a range of services including counselling, physiotherapy, nutritional and dietary information, complete medical services--and this is actually only a partial list--is valued by women all over our province. After a difficult bout of radiation or chemotherapy, rural woman can stay overnight, urban women can receive all services at one place so that a woman is able to be comfortable and secure.
In the current Misericordia Breast Care Clinic, a woman can learn her way around. She bonds with service providers, she is confident in her surroundings, confident of her service givers, and it seems to me that the closing of Misericordia threatens these services. Perhaps the minister and I can talk about that later too.
As well, I would like to ask the minister for support in ensuring the expeditious establishment of a cervical cancer registry. This type of cancer is among the most preventable, and yet women continue to die from it. Clearly, more vigilance is required, and perhaps the minister can influence or persuade the Minister of Health (Mr. Praznik) that these lives are worth saving.
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Lastly--I think it is last--a quick comment on pornography. In our discussions, I would like to bring up, and perhaps I can just end with this, the question of pornography. I know that last June, the Manitoba Women's Advisory Council arranged a session on pornography that I was not able to attend. I believe it was at Kelvin School. I wrote the minister a letter asking if she could arrange a similar session in the Legislative Building because I believe that all MLAs would be well served by more education and information on this topic. Now, to the best of my knowledge, the arrangement was not made. Maybe it cannot be made, so perhaps I could end by asking the minister here today, on the record, if she could arrange such a session, and then each of us could encourage our colleagues to attend.
I am now completed. I hope it is not procedurally unsound to end with a question.
Mr. Chairperson: Since there is no ministerial salary for the Status of Women, we will proceed to questioning. However, before we do that, we invite the minister's staff to join us at the table, and we request that the minister introduce her staff present.
Mrs. Vodrey: Mr. Chair, I would just like to take a moment to introduce everyone who is at the table. I think just about everyone knows Theresa Harvey is the assistant deputy minister for the Status of Women; Ruth Mitchell, who is the manager of the Policy Unit, again from the Women's Directorate; and then I believe members also know Sandy Hasenack, who is the chair of the Advisory Council, and Sue Barnsley, who is the executive director of the Women's Advisory Council.
Mr. Chairperson: Thank you. We are now on line 22.1. Status of Women (a) Manitoba Women's Advisory Council (1) Salaries and Employee Benefits on page 127 of the Main Estimates book.
Ms. McGifford: Mr. Chair, our practice in the Status of Women has been, since the ministry is quite small, to proceed in a less orthodox manner and to ask more general questions, and I wonder if that would be satisfactory to the minister. If I could perhaps outline my intention, I wanted to ask one or two questions about annual reports; then I wanted to ask some questions arising from last year, and then I have a few other questions still.
Mrs. Vodrey: Mr. Chair, that is fine. That is the way it has been done in the past, and I think it works quite well.
Mr. Chairperson: It is agreed then by the committee. Agreed? [agreed]
Ms. McGifford: I wanted to ask a question based on information in the annual report on the Status of Women, and under Role and Mission of the Women's Directorate I read: "The Manitoba Women's Directorate works to influence government decision-making through research support, policy development and evaluation of government programs, policies and legislation in order to promote women's equal participation in our society and the workplace."
Mr. Chair, one of the things that I have become very interested in lately is gender analysis, and I am sure that the minister and her staff are familiar with the federal document, Setting the Stage for the Next Century: The Federal Plan for Gender Analysis, and I wanted to ask the minister if she had considered implementing gender analysis or gender-based analysis in evaluating our policies--
Mr. Chairperson: We will recess and proceed to the Chamber for a vote.