Women's Equality Branch
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All Issues | 2014 Issues

WOMEN FEMMES NB

IN THIS ISSUE:

• FORTY WOMEN APPOINTED TO AGENCIES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SINCE APRIL
• NOTICES
• DID YOU KNOW?
• SEX-TRAFFICKING ROUNDTABLE: A FIRST FOR ATLANTIC CANADA
• YES, WOMEN'S EQUALITY IS STILL A POLITICAL ISSUE
• VICTOR BOUDREAU TO MEET WITH N.B. GROUP TO DISCUSS TRANSGENDER HEALTH CARE

______________________________________________________________________________

FORTY WOMEN APPOINTED TO AGENCIES, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS SINCE APRIL

Forty women have been appointed by the provincial government to serve on agencies, boards and commissions since April.

"Some of the world’s top-performing economies and businesses enjoy the highest proportion of women on decision-making bodies,” said Premier Brian Gallant. “More women becoming involved and taking on decision-making roles across our province will help drive job creation. These women are showing leadership in their commitment to help grow our economy and move our province forward."

Of the appointments made to agencies, boards and commissions since Oct. 1, 2014, a total of 71 (56.35 per cent) have been women. Of that number, 40 were appointed since April 2015.

The increase is in keeping with the government’s commitment to appoint more women to these organizations.

The number of women appointed by the provincial government has hovered around 30 per cent for the last 20 years.

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2015.08.0753.html

NOTICES

In its 30th year, the annual Take Back the Night March in Fredericton is a night for all those in our community to come out against sexual violence. While we ask that only (trans/cis) women and children march, we welcome all genders to come out to celebrate 30 years of Take Back the Night. White Ribbon Fredericton will also be onsite to lead a discussion on how to get involved in ending sexual violence. All are welcome! Friday, September 25 at 8:00 pm in front of Fredericton City Hall (397 Queen St.) https://www.facebook.com/events/1688574521372277/. This year's theme, ‪#‎30YearsofLight means we want YOU to bring YOUR light! Come to the march with a flashlight (or use your phone!), a safe candle, or glowsticks to shine light on sexual violence in Fredericton!!

Ending Cyberviolence: Request for Proposals. YWCA Canada is accepting proposals for small grants ranging from $3,000 to a maximum of $8,000 from organizations interested in collaborating to address issues related to ending cyberviolence against young women and girls. YWCA Canada aims to support up to four projects. Projects scope can be local, regional or national. The time frame for this phase of the project is from October 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. RFP closing date: September 18, 2015 (11:59pm EST). Project start date: October 1, 2015. For more details: http://bit.ly/1O0MAOH

The Kennebecasis Valley Regional Police department will be coordinating a Milk and Cookies Fun Run in memory of Tanya Shand on September 26 at 9 am, Quispamsis. Tanya’s silhouette was unveiled and inducted as a New Brunswick Silent Witness on September 20, 2014. While the event is in memory of Tanya, each kilometre of this event will be dedicated to women in the area who have lost their lives as a result of domestic violence. Registration can be done at the Kennebecasis Regional Police Station or online at https://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=12463. 100 % of the proceeds from this race will go directly back into this community.

Support to Single Parents - Educational Programs:
·  S.T.E.P. Parenting - Tuesdays, 9:30-11:30 am, starting September 15, Moncton.
·  Assertiveness - Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm, starting September 16, Moncton.
·  Self Esteem - Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 pm, starting September 16, Moncton.
No one will be refused service if they are unable to pay. Facilitator: Debbie Melanson-Hebert. Registration begins 3 weeks before start date. Call Nathalie at 506-858-1303 ext. 3301, Email: [email protected] For more information on programs: www.supporttosingleparents.ca

In support of and hosted by: Family Enrichment and Counselling Service - An evening of fun that will delight your palate! September 24, 7 – 9 pm. The Station (Historic Fredericton Union Railway Station) 380 York Street, $45 per person. Six varieties of red and white wine to sample. Live music by Tom McAvity.  Locally sourced refreshments.  Live auction and door prizes. To purchase tickets, sponsor or donate items for this event: 356 Queen Street Tel: 506.458.8211 Website: www.familyenrichment.ca  Email: [email protected]

Yoga for Caregivers - A Workshop for those who work with their heart & soul is being offered at Lokamotion Complementary Health Studio on September 18, from 1pm – 4pm. 151 Main Street, Fredericton. The instructor is Janet McGeachy. Please bring: 2 blankets, yoga mat, and two firm pillows.  If you REQUIRE props, please reserve at time of registration (limited sets).  Cost: $25 (donated to non-profit). For more information or to register please call 506-458-8211.

Cell Phone Collection - The Muriel McQueen Ferguson Centre for Family Violence Research is collecting previously used cell phones to give to women in transition houses who currently do not have a cell phone. This initiative will give women who have left abusive relationships more confidence as they will know that help is only a phone call away, if they need it. Digital cell phones will call 911, even if the phone is not connected to a cell plan. Help support the transition houses by giving your old cell phone new life. Previously used digital cell phones can be dropped off at the Muriel McQueen Ferguson Centre at 678 Windsor St., Fredericton, for more information: (506) 453-3595 http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/arts/centres/mmfc/ (Please no analog phones as this system is no longer operational.)

Cinema Politica Fredericton screening of Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada. A sweeping, invigorating and disconcerting doc on the state of feminism, the herstory of the women's movement, & the status of women in Canada. Conserver House,180 St John Street, Fredericton. Friday, September 18, 7 pm. http://bit.ly/1iwIUYj

Study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reveals the best and worst cities to be a woman in Canada. According to the study, Victoria is the best city to be a woman and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo is the worst. Report / News Article by Global News

Missing & Murdered: Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women & Girls.  CBC needs your help to expand this database and add more information.  These are the stories of about 230 women, including comments from more than 100 family members. http://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/

FREE Public Talks: Work Shouldn’t Hurt: Cultivating a Culture of Respect at Work. September 6-12, 2015 has been declared Respectful Workplace Week by the City of Fredericton and the Province of New Brunswick. To highlight this, the Workplace Violence and Abuse Team of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research is hosting a series of FREE public talks on September 10 in Chickadee Hall at the Fredericton Public Library. Topics include:
·  How to build a respectful workplace one employee at a time
·  Workplace incivility: Did you say what I think you said, or am I hearing things?
·  What does a positive workplace look like?
·  Stronger together: Recognizing and celebrating diversity in the workplace.
·  How do workplace resources help bullied men?
For more information and to register visit: http://bit.ly/1helUw1

Save the date! Did you know that many victims of family violence disclose their abuse to their cosmetologist before anyone else? The Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research will be holding a training session for cosmetologists on how to respond to Intimate Partner Violence. This training will take place on November 2 from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM at the Community Room at 1 Peel Plaza, Saint John, NB. For more information contact the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre or watch their website for registration information.
http://on.fb.me/1QnKW88            http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/arts/centres/mmfc/

The Coalition Against Abuse in Relationships, Inc.  1^st annual golf tournament, Moncton Golf & Country Club Thursday, September 24.  Registration at 11:00 am. Gun Shot tee-off at 12:30 pm.  Wine & Food Pairing event at the Chocolate River Station, Cocoa Room, Wednesday, September 23. Cocktail Reception will start at 6:00pm.  Registration fee: $200 per golfer. Wine & Food only - $100 per person. To register, please forward registrations to [email protected].  Cheques should be payable to Coalition Against Abuse in Relationships and mailed to: CAAR, 118 Mountain Rd, Moncton NGB, E1C 2K7. For more information please call 506.853.3584. http://www.coalitionagainstabuse.com/

The Voter’s Guide is now available for the 2015 Federal Election! This guide has been written for International Women's Rights Project (IWRP) by Michael McDonald from the University of Victoria and is available to be adapted and used by individuals and organizations during the federal election. Please share it widely! View the guide here: http://bit.ly/1OFa9tu

Up For Debate is calling for all political parties to commit to raising gender equality and women’s rights issues on every step of the campaign trail, including proactively raising these issues during every election debate.  To sign the petition or for more information: http://upfordebate.ca/

Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Training (SACIT):  SACIT is a 5-day training for any service provider who may encounter a disclosure of sexual assault, and wants to learn how to better respond and how to better support victims.  Participants learn the myths and realities of sexual violence, medical and legal aspects, information on childhood sexual abuse, and how to crisis intervene and support a survivor of sexual violence.  SACIT will be offered in Fredericton on September 28 - October 2.  Cost is $300 for government and private organizations, and $200 for non-profit organizations.  For more information, or to register, please contact Jenn Richard by email at [email protected] or by phone at 506.452.6986.

Family Enrichment and Counselling Service offers personal and professional development programs. Check out their Fall Schedule for programs and Lunch and Learn presentations. Download Fall 2015 Schedule / Download Schedule of Fall 2015 Lunch & Learn presentations. For more information call Family Enrichment at 506-458-8211, 1-888-829-6777 or email [email protected]  http://familyenrichment.ca/index.php/en/page/home

Walk A Mile in Her Shoes in support of the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation and the Women in Transition House in Fredericton, September 13. Start line is Fredericton's City Hall on Queen Street.  Registration opens at 12 noon with the walk beginning at 1:00 pm. BBQ lunch by donation will be available courtesy of Investors Group of Fredericton! http://bit.ly/1L1gjFw

New Brunswick Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs): Qualified women and men having the highest personal and professional integrity are invited to serve on New Brunswick agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs).   Vacancy for appointments: New Brunswick Mental Health Act Tribunals and Review Boards chairpersons and alternate chairpersons who are in good standing of the Law Society of New Brunswick. The Tribunals and the Review Boards offer challenging and rewarding opportunities to individuals interested in mental health issues and the law. Selected individuals ensure protection of Charter rights and equal access to necessary treatment for those whose mental illness puts them or others at substantial risk of imminent physical or psychological harm.
For additional information on current openings with the New Brunswick Mental Health Act Tribunals and Review Boards, check out the following link:  ABC current opportunities

Voices of New Brunswick Women Consensus-Building Forum – Contact Us: Sartain MacDonald Building, 551 King Street, Suite 103, Fredericton NB E3B 1E7, T. 506.462.5179, 1-844-462-5179, F. 506.462.5069, E. [email protected], www.voixfemmesnb-voiceswomennb.ca.

SEX-TRAFFICKING ROUNDTABLE: A FIRST FOR ATLANTIC CANADA

Windsor, Nova Scotia, is known as the “birthplace of hockey” and is famous for its giant pumpkins. The population of the town, which is an hour from Halifax, is around 3,700.

When veteran officer Luc Côté got stationed at the Windsor RCMP detachment in April, it was “a bit shocking” to learn his colleagues were working on a sex-trafficking case.

“If you don’t think this is happening in your small town, you’re kidding yourself,” Côté said during a presentation at the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s recent roundtable discussion on sex trafficking in Halifax, NS.

Participants from all over Atlantic Canada

The event drew about 60 stakeholders from every province in Atlantic Canada, including survivors, social service workers, government policy-makers, and law enforcement. It was the second in a series of regional discussions the Foundation is holding as part of its five-year strategy to end sex trafficking. (…)

We need to hear survivors’ voices

Though public awareness of the issue is increasing, there are still misconceptions. Melendy, a survivor of sex trafficking who now works with the Coalition Against the Sexual Exploitation of Youth (CASEY) in St. John’s, NFLD, said one of the common myths about sex trafficking is girls and women do it for the money, of their own free will.

By definition, sex trafficking is forced prostitution; girls, women and some men are lured and sexually exploited. The traffickers pocket the money, often using threats, isolation, force or drugs to control their victims.

To fully understand sex trafficking, the voices of survivors must be heard. “Until you actually sit down with someone and hear what they’ve gone through, I don’t know if you can understand it,” Melendy says. (…)

Provinces working on policy

Martine Stewart, with the Women’s Equality Branch of the Government of New Brunswick, presented the work of the New Brunswick Working Group on Human Trafficking. The group aims to raise awareness among service providers and the public, as well as look at best practices when it comes to supporting service providers and helping victims. (…)

Continued: http://bit.ly/1SP7E8Z

YES, WOMEN'S EQUALITY IS STILL A POLITICAL ISSUE

A fearless attempt by the Up For Debate campaign to bring Canada's political leaders to the table to talk about women's rights and gender equality has had to shift. It's a good thing they have, because we can't let another 30 years slip by without this conversation.

The trouble we're seeing is that with a phrase like "women's issues" a lot of Canadians, even women, aren't sure what it means. They'd argue -- as many of our politicians have on various occasions -- that efforts to improve things like the economy, health care, public safety, social security and so on provide benefits to all Canadians, and that there's no need to divide us up by gender. They'd argue that women have already won full equality in Canada.

If only that were so. You can't take a group that has been profoundly affected by inequality for centuries and presume that declaring them equal fixes everything. Or "equal enough" as we have hysterically heard lately; as though equal is some kind of a relative measure.

When we ask our political leaders to talk about issues affecting women what we're asking for is a conversation about the unseen and largely unacknowledged inequalities that affect girls and women throughout their lives. We're talking about all the things that still impede the progress of half of Canada's population solely because they're born female. I've lived across this planet, and while that reality of discrimination may seem more blatant elsewhere, it remains devastatingly true in my own country. (…)

Nearly 70 per cent of part-time workers in Canada are women, a statistic that hasn't changed in three decades. Average annual earnings for women are 28 per cent less than for men -- and that hasn't changed much over the years, either.

Continued: http://huff.to/1XKQ3nS

VICTOR BOUDREAU TO MEET WITH N.B. GROUP TO DISCUSS TRANSGENDER HEALTH CARE

New Brunswick’s Health Minister has agreed to meet with the New Brunswick Transgender Health Network to discuss funding for gender re-assignment surgery.

Moncton transgender rights activist, Michelle Leard, says this meeting is a step in the right direction. Leard heads up a transgender support group in Moncton known as UBU.

“The rates of suicide or attempted suicide with this segment are huge,” she said. “Seventy per cent of the transgender population is known to have thoughts about suicide and 41 per cent of that 70 per cent has attempted suicide.”

Leard says Health Minister Victor Boudreau has agreed to meet with her and the New Brunswick Transgender Health Network on September 10 to discuss the issue.

“Ideally we’d walk out of there, you know, with the health minister saying, ‘yeah great let’s do this thing.’ I think that is unrealistic. I think that we are going to have a good conversation. I think we are going to talk about the reality of their situation and the reality of ours.”

Leard says she knows the province’s health care system is financially strained, but that N.B. is the only province in Canada not funding at least some of the required surgeries.

“If other people in Canada can have surgeries and we can’t there becomes a human right and right to health care.”

The province’s Department of Health confirms that a meeting is planned for mid-September, but won’t comment further, spokesperson Bruce MacFarlane said.

“We believe it is important to meet with the stakeholders to hear their concerns, so we won’t be commenting on those pending discussions at this time,” he said.

Leard says this meeting is offering hope to transgender people in the province.

Continued: http://bit.ly/1OcJaHQ

IN PARTING

“Hiring and promoting talented women is the right thing to do for society –
and it’s an economic imperative.”

-Carlos Ghosn
Chairman, Renault – Nissan Alliance

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Women's Equality Branch | 551 King Street, Suite A | Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1