Homebase Magazine Issue #51 Winter, 1997

Table of Contents

Dear Homebase - an expanded edition of letters from our readers

The remaining articles in list form: Immortalized in Print Forever; Parents We Love and Tolerate; Blowin' in the Wind; Musings; Off the Wall: Not A Storybook Granny; Focus on - USC Canada; Spring Cleaning; Awakenings - Girls, Women and Anger; Herbs 'n Stuff; Book Reviews; Old Ways Reborn; Healthy Outlook; The Hangar Lady; Power of the Pen; The Dilemma; Just Asking; I Have a Boy, and He is a Joy; Private Member's Bills

Editorial

Lisa Menard

It's March 21st, and we're having the second big snowstorm of this week - what is it with this weather, anyway? On March 26th, we're driving to Florida to see a Space Shuttle launch. At this point my main concerns are getting Homebase done before I go and the occasional pleading mantra to the Weather Goddess that tornadoes don't replace the snowstorms. As you can see, I'm in desperate need of a sunny beach and a cold beer.

My daughter, Rae, was 10 years old yesterday and I'm not too modest to say that she is a great child. A month ago, Rae had her first story published in the school newspaper. She's having a really good time. She's inquisitive, thoughtful, fair and very funny. Her birthday party invitations state, "Come to a Sizzlin" Spice Girls Sleepover..." and bring clothes to dress up as your favourite Spice Girl. Rae drew pictures of platform boots and sneakers and bell-bottom pants so her pals would get the outfits right.

Speaking of outfits, do you remember owning your first pair of flares? My mother bought Rae a pair of flared jeans with flowers embroidered on the bottoms as a special birthday surprise. Rae was so enthusiastic she was gushing (a very unusual reaction when Rae tries on clothes). When I saw her I was hit with a nostalgic memory of my own first pair of flares - cream hip-huggers with a tiny orange pin stripe - fabulous! It wasn't the memory of a flat stomach, tight butt or thinner thighs that energized me. It was the idea that it was the first time I was aware of my female energy. As they say today, I was PHAT!!

Rae is now at the cusp of girlhood and grrl-hood. She's strong, smart and self-assured and so into her life and her interests. Life doesn't get much better than this! As an aside, if any of your children is interested in seeing the Spice Girls movie, go with them. It"s fun and sassy - and brings back memories of seeing the Beatles in "Help!" - a little goofy with lots of songs to sing along with. I give it * * * * * (that's five asterisks, I don't have a star maker).

Well, on to MAW stuff. This Homebase welcomes several new writers to the fold - Sylvia Mitchell, Fiona Chevrier, Lee Ann Farruga, Andrea Perrier and Lorraine Underell-Mason. And of course, warm thanks to all the writers who continue to participate issue after issue. We couldn"t do it without all your hard work.

I sent out a plea for Homebase topics to anyone who would listen and I'm asking all of you again now if you have any ideas, let me know; all topics are considered, so let your creative juices flow. Evelyn Drescher replied with the following excellent ideas hope some of them pique your interest. Articles for the summer issue are due May 8, 1998 (see page 3 for more information).

Snappy Responses to...

"and when are you going back to work?" or

"...oh, I couldn't stay at home, I'd get so bored" or

"and what DO you Do all day?"

The Arsenic Hour and Other Scary Stories

When I Grow Up: Mothers Looking at Life After Children.

Working from Home while being at Home: or, "They didn't tell me that the baby wouldn't sleep in the ..."

Hope to see lots of you Ottawa-based members at the AGM on April 27, 1998. See the MAW Report for more details. Cheers!

Lisa

Just a quick note from the art woman, Mary Ann Pocock...
Synchronicity is the word that often comes to mind when all the artwork shows up. I am often moved to tears, always to awe and wonder. So thank you to all the wonderful women whose hearts and souls are continually present in the drawings on these pages.

MAW Report

Evelyn Drescher

I am thinking of putting forward a new motto for us all: there is no rest for the already exhausted. Can you relate? MAW has been incredibly busy. So let us, collectively, sit down. For just fifteen quiet minutes. Okay, maybe five. In a comfortable chair. With a cup of tea. Ready? Here's what has been going on.

MAW and the Federal Budget

For the first time, MAW was invited to participate in the Status of Women (SWC) post-Federal Budget Teleconference with 23 other national women's groups. The purpose of this teleconference is to provide the government with feed back about the budget and how it might affect women. It was chaired by Hedy Fry, Secretary of State Responsible for the Status of Women. The Minister was accompanied by other government and Status of Women people who listen to the comments and questions. After some e-mail discussions among the Steering Committee, two questions were drafted; one on child care and another on home care and unpaid care giving. Many of us are or have experienced the need to care for ill or elderly parents - work that is also assumed and invisible. Our two questions were:

1. Child Care

Mothers Are Women would like to acknowledge the increase in the child care deductions in the budget as something that ensures women with children who have paid employment enjoy some tax relief. We held our breaths when the Minster of Finance announced "We believe that government must recognize and support all Canadian families in their desire to provide quality care for their children." But, we were disappointed then that the equally important unpaid work of child care done by parents in the home on a full or part-time basis remained, let us say, pointedly invisible and unacknowledged. In saying that "the government's tax policy must be an essential element of its overall social and economic policy" and then discriminating against the child care option of parents caring for their own children within the tax system, the Liberal government continues to send the message that some work in Canada is more valued than others.

Question: Given that there is a human rights discrimination complaint against Canada at the UN which includes tax discrimination, what steps will you take to ensure that by next Mother's Day unpaid child care work will be treated fairly through the tax system in the next budget?

2. Unpaid Work

MAW, as a leader in the unpaid work movement, was also heartened to see the increase (however nominal) to the caregiver credit provided to caregivers of resident frail elderly or infirm dependent relatives and GST relief for respite care. While by no means comprehensive, especially in terms of the residence and definition restrictions, this demonstrates some small recognition of the critical work of informal care giving. These questions are directed at the proposed home care program flagged as something to which substantial money will be directed in the future.

Question: Given that the majority of informal care giving is done by women and that this work has an impact on their equality of opportunity and economic autonomy,

a) Will SWC work to ensure a gender analysis is done at each stage of policy development in a home care program?

b) Will SWC advocate for the tracking through statistical measurement of not only paid, but also unpaid care giving within a home care program?

c) Will SWC support calls by informal caregivers to ensure their full participation and representation in policy development and implementation of home care?

d) Will SWC fight for policies which recognize and support women who do unpaid care giving such as leave from paid employment modelled on parental leave, caregiver drop out clauses in CPP, community support services and further tax credits?

MAW was honoured to receive the invitation to participate, although we know that the effect of our (or any of the groups') participation is limited. The invitation indicates that we have a definite profile in the women's movement. We are heard. What was remarkable about the teleconference was the number of organizations that spoke about of unpaid work within their own questions. This is a reflection of how successful we (and the others in the unpaid work movement) have been in increasing awareness. Unpaid work is becoming part of the language of contemporary women's issues.

MAW, the Budget and Taxation Issues

Perhaps the most critical 1998 Budget item was the Caregivers Credit of $400.00 (CDN) per year for those caring for a resident elderly person. This was hailed as a small step forward in recognizing the unpaid care giving work of women. MAW agrees.... but it is a very small step and contrasts starkly to the $400.00 (US) per month granted to parents not using licensed day care for children under three that the Norwegian Government included in its budget released earlier the same week. The reasoning of the Norwegian Government was that they could not afford to put money into the daycare system in their country, but could afford to put the money into the hands of parents. Although MAW has not dealt directly with taxation issues for a number of years in a formal way through our policy work, we know it is important to our members. Recent correspondence and calls from our members from across the country indicate that we should perhaps revisit taxation and explore some strategies for the future.

There are various strategies for getting our motherwork acknowledged. One of those strategies has been the work that MAW has done through the unpaid work issue. The Census was part of that strategy which was to have our work made concrete, actual and unavoidable through its measurement. The second phase of that strategy is to have unpaid work integrated into all government policy as a essential variable in decision making. This includes not only taxation but a host of other policy issues from community support services to maternity and parental leave, from pensions to access to training and education. In developing our analysis about unpaid work, MAW has not stopped at motherwork, but has focused on the many forms of unpaid work that women do, including community and volunteer work. Taxation is just one component of a complex network of social and economic supports for the essential work that we do in our society - as mothers, as wives or partners, as daughters, as sisters, as volunteers, as activists and citizens.

Recently MAW was approached to support a member of parliament in a Private Member's Bill to get tax recognition for women at home. This is certainly another strategy. But MAW has some important reservations regarding how we use our name to support other groups or individuals. MAW has successfully focused our lobbying energy on three targets 1) the policy makers , 2) cabinet members and 3) the women's movement. Through a lot of hard work, we have developed credibility as feminist spokeswomen for mothers at home and the issue of unpaid work. At this juncture we need to be aware of the politics of our actions. Please read the article, Private Member's Bills, by Sonya Nigam in this issue of Homebase for an assessment of some of the potential problems we see in this strategy.

The Steering Committee would, however, like to encourage our members to take up the taxation issue either individually or in a MAW discussion group. Perhaps this would be a good place to start a new discussion group. Write down your ideas and send them to us. To provide some context for your discussions, MAW has three basic principles for our taxation policy. They are:

* That when "family" is used in MAW recommendations it includes a recognition of the diversity and multiformity of what is known as family in Canada, without prejudice.

* MAW recommendations must not limit, penalize or discriminate against women whose lives, experiences, position in life, choices and needs may be different from ours.

* That MAW supports the individual rather than the family as the basic taxation unit believing that a woman's economic, social and political rights and access to society's benefits should stem from her as an individual rather than as a result of her relationship to a man.

So start talking and let's aim for the next Federal Budget!

The Census : Release of the Data on March 17th.

On March 17th, the statistics gathered for the 1996 Census on Unpaid Household Activities (what we understand as work!) were released. And guess what? There were no real surprises. Women do more housework, child care and elder care, for longer hours whether or not they are in the paid workforce. So now we are counted. The question is will we count in ways that matter?

During the week of March 17th, MAW was interviewed by radio, TV and print media. Maybe you saw or heard us? I hope so, because we all had reason to celebrate. MAW would like to give a special mention and thanks to two gutsy MAW members : Sue Robbins, from Winnipeg, who didn't vacuum for the Winnipeg Free Press reporter (but did the dishes instead) and Andrea Adair who happened to be holding a daytime MAW meeting (otherwise know as play dates) with two other local members in Whitby and who found themselves on the Global evening news. Thank you for responding to somewhat frantic calls and e-mails on March 17th: these are important acts of political activism and do much to bring MAW and our issues to the attention of others. We would like to encourage others among our membership from across the country to step forward if you are interested in sometimes filling similiar media calls for us. Incidently, I was featured loading that dishwasher in the Ottawa Citizen and doing a craft with my daughter in the Toronto Star. Let us know of your most photogenic housework talents!

The 1996 Census and the 2001 Census of Population

On March 20th, MAW participated in a roundtable consultation with Statistics Canada in Toronto where we were able to raise our concerns about Question 30 as it appeared in the 1996 Census. MAW brought forward three main points: a) the need for more time categories for senior care, b) the absence of care giving for dependents other than children and seniors, and 3) the absence of a category for voluntary, community and political work. MAW also addressed the issue of the exclusion of unpaid work from the "Labour Force Activities" section of the Census and its marginalization as something other than "work". Finally, as a result of what we learned at the When Women Count Symposium, MAW brought forward the concerns of aboriginal women regarding their place in the census process and recommended that Statistics Canada contact aboriginal women's groups as a specific focus group in the next phase of the consultation.

More than half of the March 20th meeting was spent examining the release (as featured in The Daily) and provided the opportunity for a critique which we hope will be taken back to the decision makers at Statistics Canada. In particular, the group criticized Statistics Canada for focusing on husbands and wives, rather than men and women. Rather than providing a snapshot of the unpaid work of women, it compared the division of work between husbands and wives. Interesting... and of course, now we can prove what we have said to our partners over and over again about cleaning that toilet... but not that useful for policy analysis. One of the more interesting discussions was about the kind of "cross tabulations" that we would like to see - in other words the questions we would ask of the data, in conjunction with the other census data. These questions were, for example, did the amount of housework increase with family size? Were there age differences between the men who did child care and elder care, and the women who did these? What was the cross tabulation between income and at-home child care?

The consultation process is ongoing throughout the next two years although March 31st ends the public portion of the consultation. As with the 1996 Census, Cabinet will ultimately determine what questions will go into the Census and will make that decision in the year 2000. Although the formal submission period is over, you can still (and always) send a letter to Statistics Canada expressing your views and concerns. The address is:

2001 Census Content Determination Statistics Canada 3 B-4 Jean Talon Building Tunney's Pasture Ottawa, ON K1A OT6

Tel: (613) 951- 6994 Fax (613) 951-9300 e-mail: consultation2001@statcan.ca

MAW is currently preparing a Summary on the Data for our members which we hope to have this ready for the summer issue: it will also be placed on our web page at that time. MAW will be making a formal submission to Statistics Canada as part of the Consultation Process.

Outreach and Support: Monthly Workshops Return in 1998

The Steering Committee has struck a new Outreach/ Workshop Committee drawing on some of the wise women of the group and the energy, enthusiasm and ideas of some new active members. This committee is determined to bring monthly MAW workshops back to the Ottawa and surrounding area again beginning in September 1998.

In the meantime the committee is preparing a simple survey which will be mailed out at the end of April. So we urge you to start thinking about ideas for topics, the names of speakers or whatever you would like us to bring forward for the Fall. We are very excited about providing a forum like this again and being able to offer that unique MAW blend of support and stimulation on both personal and wider levels. Awwww .... "girls" just want to have fun! (With the survey, we're sending out a flyer for a special MAW workshop in May).

With this local Ottawa effort, MAW is also committed to connecting with our sister mothers (meaning those of you outside the Ottawa area). During this process, we are developing a proto-type workshop kit for those of you who might want to hold a MAW workshop in you area - maybe not every month, but perhaps once or twice during the year to bring together your own local members. We hope so. The "everything you wanted to know about how to run a simple workshop, but were afraid to ask" kit should be ready for the fall as well.

As always, the Outreach/Workshop Committee welcomes new members. We are looking for people who might want to a) help with speakers, b) help with set up, c) promotion and flyer distribution, d) reviewing the workshop for Homebase, e) making sure we can munch and sip, and f) just making other women feel welcome. Give us a call.

I know, I know..... my fifteen minutes are up. There is still much to tell, but it will have to wait until next time. I already have listed for the next report: the MAW AGM, the NAC AGM, and the Gender Equality Indicators Symposium (another part of the When Women Count Project, ....I'll explain next time).

In any case, somewhere out there, there is an infant waking up, a child who has just finished her puzzle, and a television show that is ending. And the cup is empty. Time to go.

Homebase Magazine 1997 ©

Back to the top.