CAUT | ACPPU
Canadian Association of University Teachers
| An Open Letter to the Prime Minister on International Women’s Day |
| (Tuesday, March 08, 2011)
- March 8, 2011 Dear Prime Minister Harper, Today is the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. One hundred years ago, women walked out of factories and into the streets to protest low wages and unsafe, inhumane working conditions. One hundred years later in Canada, women continue to earn an average hourly wage that is substantially lower than men’s and there is still no national childcare program. Canada also has tax policies that protect the wealth of the already wealthy and regressive immigration policies that disproportionately affect immigrant women caring for children and families. We call on you, Prime Minister, to take immediate actions to: • Ensure that the upcoming federal budget provides measures that will ensure women’s economic equality; • Support legislation currently in parliament that will benefit the economic and social lives of women – Bills C-471 (An Act respecting the implementation of the recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force), C-581 (An Act respecting Status of Women Canada), and C-389 (An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code); and • End your government’s attack on women’s and other advocacy organizations and initiatives by restoring their funding and returning ‘advocacy’ to the Status of Women Canada mandate. It is time to change the course that Canada is on. It is time for equality. |
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