Reinstate federal minister for women, gender equality and youth, say northern organizations

Northern women's organizations are calling on the prime minister to reinstate the federal minister for women and gender equality and youth (WAGE). 

Since March 14, a letter asking Prime Minister Mark Carney to reinstate the minister has been signed by nearly 400 organizations from across the country, including YWCA N.W.T., YWCA  Agvik Nunavut, the Yukon Status of Women Council, and the Yukon Women's Transition Home Society.

Some northern women's organizations were at the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women in New York City advocating to former WAGE minister Marci Ien this month when they first learned the prime minister had eliminated her position in his cabinet shuffle.

The portfolio was added to Minister Steven Guilbeault's role as minister of Canadian culture and identity, and Parks Canada.

Rae Lamache, executive director of the Yukon Status of Women Council, said it sent "shockwaves" through their sector, and left Yukon groups' advocacy to Ien in limbo.

"It would have been inconceivable to me that the new prime minister would cut the minister. It does send quite a message, especially in these uncertain times," said Lamache, pointing to the gutting of ministries, programs and organizations focused on equity in the U.S.

WAGE is among several priorities now without dedicated cabinet positions, including official languages, diversity, inclusion, persons with disabilities and seniors.

"It does raise eyebrows, to put it mildly," Lamache said.

"This is not a symbolic loss. This is not simply a reshuffling of ministerial responsibilities. There was really important work in relationship building and advocacy being done at this level and it does feel very disheartening," she said.  

WAGE funded education on intimate partner violence for lawyers and family violence professionals, and a manual to assist people navigating family court, said Lamache.

Minister Ien personally visited the Yukon in December to encourage organizations to apply for underused funding, which led to a peer support, education, research and outreach program for sex workers, she said.

Thirteen feminist organizations forming the Yukon Women's Coalition are tackling systemic issues of intimate partner violence in the territory, which has one of the highest levels of reported gender-based violence in Canada, said Lamache.

They run a sexual education hub, a young feminist club and a mentorship program for men and boys to be allied against domestic violence — all funded by WAGE, she said. 

"It's work that we are very proud of. We don't think projects like this will be as fundable without somebody advocating for them at the table," said Lamache.

Jackie Neapole, executive director of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, said WAGE is a key funder. 

Since 2018, it backed major investments in childcare, the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence — all the "beginnings of very, very important feminist policies that have a large impact on women across the country," said Neapole.

"It's such a big job that you need somebody specifically dedicated to that," she said.

Nunavut's YWCA Agvik executive director, Sherri Robertson, said that during the pandemic former WAGE minister Maryam Monsef's advocacy ensured efficient crisis response and funding. 

"Given the increase in femicides and the increased danger women are in when economies suffer, now is the time to increase not decrease resources," she said. 

In Canada, a woman or girl is killed every 48 hours, according to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability's 2022 report. That year, the organization documented 184 women and girls who were killed by violence.

In 2018, 44 per cent of women reported experiencing some form of psychological, physical, or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes, according to the Canadian Women's Foundation.

More than half of Nunavut's population is under 18, and children are often raised in single-parent homes and face food insecurity, overcrowding and a housing crisis. Robertson says this exposes northern women to "all types of risk for exploitation." 

Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, executive director for YWCA N.W.T., said "the message it's sending to us is that the federal government does not prioritize the issues and health and well-being of women and families.

"Equality is not yet achieved in any way, shape or form," she said. "Survivors continue to face a lot of challenges and barriers when it comes to getting adequate support."

Dumbuya-Sesay is skeptical that civil servants in the federal department for women and gender equality will sustain the work the former minister did to elevate frontline workers' concerns on childcare, reproductive rights, violence against women, and housing insecurity.

"Many things are going to be ignored. Funding is not going to be allocated to issues. The voices and concerns of service providers that are working with women that are facing these challenges are not going to be heard or communicated," she said. 

Through WAGE, YWCA N.W.T. secured funding for safe homes, and saw federal funds of $16 million over four years disbursed to the N.W.T.

"It's not just when a woman faces violence, that she's the only one who suffers. The children also suffer as a result of that violence," Dumbuya-Sesay said.

Lucy Kuptana, N.W.T.'s minister responsible for the status of women, said in a statement that WAGE offers "critical" funding for women's shelters and community initiatives. The N.W.T.'s gender equity division will "continue to work closely with their federal colleagues from the department of women and gender equality," she said.

"We have been assured that the work undertaken by WAGE will continue, and that federally, Minister Guilbeault has responsibility for the file until the next government is formed."