On Feb 11, Ken Dryden, the federal Minister of Social Development, will meet in Vancouver with his provincial and territorial counterparts to finalize the agreement for a new national child care program.
Minister Dryden is optimistic and said recently in Regina that “Canadians are one step closer to having a national early learning and child care system.”
Gender equality
(Vancouver) The combination of cuts to public services and weakened employment standards in BC has hit women especially hard, according to a new study that examines the impact of recent government restructuring on women’s economic equality.
Because women make up both the majority of public sector workers and those who rely on public services, cutbacks disproportionately affect women’s employment opportunities and the conditions under which they participate in the labour market.
“After being denied Legal Aid in 2002, I represented myself twice in court. My ex-partner’s lawyer was brutal towards me. I had practiced going to court and representing myself, but this did not matter because I cannot argue with a lawyer. I am not a lawyer. I am just a mother.”
The idea that everyone is equal under the law is a fundamental principle that most Canadians take for granted. Our constitution guarantees equal access to justice for men and women. But when it comes to legal services in BC, it seems the constitution doesn’t hold much weight.
(Vancouver) As a result of legal aid cuts women are losing custody of their children, giving up valid legal rights to support, and being subjected to litigation harassment, according to a new report. It finds that women are paying a greater price for BC’s deep cuts to legal services because it is primarily family and poverty law legal aid that have been affected. Women’s need for legal services is overwhelmingly in these areas, not in criminal law (where almost no cuts were made).