Crowbush, PEI – The Prince Edward Island Advisory Council on the Status of Women held its 83rd Council meeting at Rodd's Crowbush Resort on June 30. "With the federal election behind us, we feel very hopeful about the potential for moving forward on issues that are important to many Island women and families," says Kirstin Lund, Chair of the Council. The Council is a nine-member, government appointed group with representatives from all parts of the Island and all walks of life.
"As a Council, we are privileged to spend our meeting days talking about issues that affect Island families, and sharing with each other our ideas for how to bring about women's equality in our culture, our politics, our economy, and all aspects of our society," says Wendy MacLaren, a Council member from Morell.
One of the projects on the Advisory Council's agenda is completing a policy guide on maternity and parental benefits. "We were very pleased that during the federal election campaign, two Liberal candidates who have been re-elected as Members of Parliament made commitments around this issue," says Kirstin Lund. "One of the biggest challenges for families is that parents have to be EI-eligible to receive benefits," she notes.
Council Chair Lund quoted written statements from both Joe McGuire of Egmont and Shawn Murphy of Charlottetown that expressed their commitment "to improving benefits for mothers who do not necessarily qualify for parental benefits, such as the unemployed and students." The Council is finalizing its maternity and parental benefits policy guide for a fall release.
"Issues like child care were also front and centre in the federal election campaign," says Darcie Pike-Wilkie, a Council member and early childhood educator from Alberton. "We want to keep these ideas front and centre until governments make decisions that improve women's and families' lives."
"The fact that the new Parliament will still have only about 20% women in its seats means there's still a lot of work for ordinary, unelected women to do in making sure our voices are heard by government," says Pike-Wilkie.
The Advisory Council also used part of the day to continue its ongoing strategic planning. "We want to do a better job sharing what we know about women's equality with the wider Island community," says Council member Jackie MacNeill Doiron, "and we want Island women of all ages to know that we're open to hearing about their lives and how they have experienced positive and negative changes in women's position in our society."