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Below
is a statement on International Women's Day made
by Jenny W. C. Kwan (Opposition MLA) on March 4, in the BC legislature,
in honour of March 8th.
Please note that Jenny
is inviting feedback on
how activist women can work together to create a stronger, safer, more
progressive province.
To read more about
what Joy and Jenny have said about the issues that matter in British Columbia,
please visit their website at www.opposition.bc.ca
A little about Jenny
Kwan and Joy MacPhail for anyone outside BC who may not be
as familiar with these two incredible Women!
Jenny
Kwan
MLA for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant
 Jenny
Wai Ching Kwan and her family immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong
in 1975 when she was nine. After graduating from the Criminology department
of Simon Fraser University, Jenny worked as a community activist in Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside.
At the age of
28, Jenny was elected to Vancouver City Council, becoming the youngest
city councillor in Vancouver's history.
[Read More: http://www.opposition.bc.ca/ab_jenbio.html]
Joy
MacPhail
Leader of the Opposition, MLA for Vancouver–Hastings
Joy MacPhail was elected Leader of the BC New Democrats in June
2001. Joy is the Leader of the Opposition in the BC Legislature under
the government of Premier Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberal Party.
A New Democrat for
over two decades, Joy has a solid record of commitment to fairness for
working people and social and economic equality for all.
[Read More: http://www.opposition.bc.ca/ab_joybio.html]
Jenny
Kwan's Statement on International Women's Day
Mr. Speaker:
This Saturday millions
around the world will join together to mark International Women's Day.
As history teaches
us, women pay a heavy price in times of war.
And with a new war
looming in the Middle-East, this International Women's Day will be invested
with a particular urgency.
That urgency is
also felt here at home in British Columbia.
Recently, the United
Nations singled out our government for very specific criticism for its
policies and the effect they are having on the lives of women in BC.
The UN Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women pointed to changes
in the way the Liberals are prosecuting domestic violence.
It pointed to cuts
in legal aid and welfare assistance.
It pointed to the
elimination of the Human Rights Commission
And it pointed to
cuts in support programs for victims of domestic violence.
Taken together,
the Committee said these changes are having a disproportionately negative
impact on women, in particular Aboriginal Women.
And the committee
urged this government to undertake an analysis of its changes and to
amend them.
Mr. Speaker:
To be singled out
in this way by the world's top international body is extraordinary.
And it's a useful
measure of just how thoughtless, misguided, and discriminatory many
of its policy changes have been.
As a signatory to
the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women, signed in 1980, Canadians undertook to live up to certain standards.
This UN report says
loud and clear that in British Columbia we not meeting our obligations.
If the BC government
truly wants British Columbia to take a more prominent place on the world
stage, I trust that each and every member of its caucus will read the
UN report and will reflect long and hard on its criticisms and its recommendations
for change.
Thank-you Mr. Speaker
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