Olivia Chow, MP

Olivia Chow and the New Democrats: putting women and children first

Olivia Chow and the New Democrat team are urging other party leaders to put partisan politics aside and make the welfare of Canadian women and children a priority in the next session of Parliament. 

New Democrat Leader Jack Layton invited Stephen Harper, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe, to adopt the spirit of cooperation in 2010 and work together to improve the lives of Canadian women and children.  Layton and Chow outlined concrete New Democrat proposals that, if embraced by the other parties, would mean real progress for women and children. These proposals include:

• creating a universally acessible and affordable child care program; 
• launching a federal initiative to ensure every child has daily access to healthy food;
• fixing Employment Insurance rules that deny eligibility to six in ten women;
• adopting key recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force;
• increasing support for women’s groups working to prevent violence;
• launching an inquiry into 520 missing or murdered Aboriginal women; and
• boosting the Guaranteed Income Supplement to end poverty among seniors (overwhelmingly women).

According to the Global Gender Gap Index, Canada now ranks behind Mongolia, Latvia and Sri Lanka on gender equality. The Conference Board of Canada found that one in seven Canadian children lives in poverty. And just last week, Northern leaders reported that mortality rates among Inuit babies are three times the national average.  This is unacceptable.  Let’s work together and do more for Canadian women and children.