Orders of the Day

Private Members’ Statements

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

H. Sandhu: International Women’s Day has been recognized since 1911 and is supported by countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements, without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. This year the United Nations theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”

On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of all women. We strive to remove the barriers that prevent many from achieving their full potential. This year also marks a sombre milestone. As it is almost one year since the World Health Organization declared the COVID outbreak a global pandemic, celebrating International Women’s Day takes on a new meaning.

This year we celebrate the thousands of people who became everyday superheroes overnight to help us all see our way through the pandemic. For many who already faced systematic barriers or oppression, the pandemic has magnified the inequalities that still exist among genders. This is further amplified for Indigenous women, women of colour, women with disabilities and people in the 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

It is no secret that unfortunately, women around the world have been facing a great deal of injustice, inequalities, violence and abuse for centuries. Many women have lost their lives facing violence, human trafficking or standing up for themselves or for other women. When we hear the words “violence against women,” most people often think about the physical abuse. Unfortunately, women experience violence in many ways, from physical abuse to sexual assault and sexual harassment; from financial abuse to trafficking; and in today’s world, digital abuse like cyberbullying.

The sad and harsh reality is that most women start to experience violence and abuse from childhood. Since many forms of violence against women and girls have been normalized, most of these incidents never get reported. Many women suffer silently, whether it’s due to fear, safety for themselves and their children, or the fear of being judged. Women in prominent positions are also affected by this, and many are reluctant to share what they face regularly, in fear of seeming vulnerable.

Let’s identify and encourage women among us who are silently facing violence, and lend them a helping hand to ensure their safety and well-being. COVID has disproportionately affected many women from Indigenous and various ethnic backgrounds. The numbers are shocking. We need all hands on the deck to address this serious and, in many cases, deadly issue.

[S. Chandra Herbert in the chair.]

There are more ways we can help to end gender-based violence. It all starts with us. We can teach good values to our sons, grandsons, brothers and nephews — to respect women. We also need to encourage our daughters and granddaughters and nieces to speak up against violence and abuse.

On International Women’s Day, we should also reflect on and celebrate the incredible contributions of women to the world we know today. Women’s history day is especially important to me, as a mother of two beautiful daughters and as a woman of colour in politics who broke many barriers. I strive to empower other women in leadership roles and help women facing domestic abuse and violence. I have personally faced many challenges myself — and am somewhat still facing them, at times, despite being empowered, educated and a strong woman.

I will end my remarks with hope and appreciation by applauding all the girls and women out there for making strides each day and for breaking many barriers despite your tough journeys. Happy International Women’s Day to everyone.

[10:10 a.m.]

C. Oakes: Thank you to the member for Vernon-Monashee for the opportunity to build on the member’s comments. I want to personally thank the many organizations, on this International Women’s Day, in my riding of Cariboo North, including the women’s resource centre and the Amata Transition House, for their support of women experiencing domestic violence.

I wanted to focus my remarks today on one form of violence against women that continues to be prevalent, and it is likely more often than we’re even aware of because of the shame and silence that often surrounds it. I’m talking about sexualized violence on campuses. Every student has a right to an educational environment that is free from sexualized violence. Sadly, we know that it happens all too often, and with devastating effects on the victim’s emotional, psychological and physical well-being.

The Alliance of B.C. Students recently shared with me the findings of an extensive Statistics Canada study. It looked at the prevalence, characteristics and attitudes surrounding unwanted sexualized behaviours and sexual assault. Here were the findings.

So 71 percent of students reported that they had either experienced or witnessed unwanted sexualized behaviours in post-secondary settings. Among them, 45 percent of women and 32 percent of men had personally experienced at least one instance of unwanted sexualized behaviour in a post-secondary environment. And 11 percent of women reported having experienced a sexualized assault within the past year in a post-secondary setting. That is approximately 110,000 women. And 15 percent of women had been sexually assaulted at one point during their time in a post-secondary setting. That’s estimated to be 197,000 women.

While students are generally not spending much time on campuses right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sexualized and gender-based violence continues to oc­cur at high rates. Social distancing and quarantine orders limit opportunities for those experiencing do­mestic violence to access support, leaving many peo­ple trapped with their abusers.

The numbers are staggering. We know that many victims are too fearful to come forward, so those numbers may not tell the whole story. Victims worry that they’ll be blamed for bringing it upon themselves. They worry they won’t be believed. They are worried that they’ll be forced to defend themselves as they share their story and forced to relive this very traumatizing event.

As a society, we have work to do to change our beliefs and attitudes about unwanted sexual behaviour and consent so that more victims feel safe to come forward — so that they will feel that they will be believed. But what else can we do as legislators — as representatives for those who have experienced sexualized violence on campus?

I was incredibly proud when, under the B.C. Liberal government, we brought in act 23, requiring institutions to have a policy under the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act. This was an important first step. However, it is now incumbent on the current government to take the required critical steps to commit the resources required to continue this important work.

First, the government needs to renew the $760,000 it committed, back in June 2019, to address campus sexualized violence on an annual basis. The money runs out this year, and without resources, there’s limited ability to continue this very important work.

Second, the government needs to recognize that most sexualized violence, prevention and response education is designed to be delivered in person. Smaller institutions do not have the capacity to develop these programs themselves. The Alliance of B.C. Students would like to see the government adopt into regulations the 11 minimum standards identified by the students for consent culture under the Sexualized Violence and Misconduct Policy Act.

These groups have done an outstanding job of educating government representatives and the community at large about the prevalence and effect of sexualized violence on campus and what needs to be done to try and stop it.

Now it’s our turn. I urge the government to take steps now to help put a stop to the violence and trauma that should not be a part of anyone’s post-secondary experience. We can and must do better.

[10:15 a.m.]

H. Sandhu: I would like to thank the member for Cariboo North for her great remarks. No matter what our political beliefs are — no matter our gender, race, class, sexual orientation, disability or ability — our entire prov­ince is stronger when we help each other, celebrate our women and find ways to ensure all people have an equal future during these difficult times.

We see violence in many female-dominated professions like health care. It’s happening, and it’s happening even more so. But it’s barely talked about. We need to highlight the areas about women working in other professions or sectors where they regularly get sexually harassed, because as I mentioned previously, a lot of things have normalized, and women are just afraid. We need to stop victim blaming as well. We need to recognize the signs of violence, if women are facing it, and encourage them to report.

I would like to share…. Guru Nanak Dev Ji, a founder of Sikh religion, believed that men and women are equal, and therefore, women cannot be considered inferior. Guru Nanak Dev Ji mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib Ji, a Sikh holy book, ਸੋ ਕਿਉ ਮੰਦਾ ਆਖੀਐ ਜਿਤੁ ਜੰਮਹਿ ਰਾਜਾਨ।।, which means: “Why call her bad or inferior? From her, kings are born.”

[Gurmukhi text provided by H. Sandhu.]

Unfortunately, we have witnessed that in certain in­stances, we’re going backwards instead of making progress. However, I am so proud and grateful to all the great men out there who support and respect women.

I’d like to congratulate all the women in this House, from all the parties, for your courage, dedication, strength, sacrifices and resiliency.

I hope all the members of this House will support ending the violence against women.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you very much, Member. Welcome.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

T. Shypitka: As we all know, today marks International Women’s Day. While there are many aspects to consider, ranging from basic rights and discrimination and the act of preventative measures to eliminate violence against women, I would instead like to concentrate on this year’s specific theme and twist it into my topic of renewable energy. That theme for 2021 is “Women in leadership: achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”

Our province’s greatest resource is our people — the people who power our provincial economy, who fuel our households and communities, who make British Columbia the best place to live. There is no greater resource of renewable energy than our people power. Over 50 percent of that power is in the hands of women, who make up a majority of our citizenry.

As countries and communities start to slowly recover from this global pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to finally end the exclusion and marginalization of women and young ladies. Women in leadership roles, therefore, have an important role to play in showing the next generation how to make a true difference. In order to deliver actual change, we must make every effort to remove the social and economic barriers that prevent women from taking their seat at the decision-making table.

The fact is, women remain concentrated in the lowest-paid jobs, many in extremely vulnerable forms of employment. We know for a fact that women are nearly twice more likely than men to lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis. Unless we take this historic opportunity, the pandemic will dramatically increase the poverty rate for women and widen the gap between men and women who live in poverty. This should not be happening in the 21st century.

There are women in leadership roles who are making a difference — some very shiny examples I would now like to draw from. As I am the opposition critic for Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, I could speak indefinitely on how critical and beneficial our renewable energy sector is. However, it being International Women’s Day, I think we should highlight the renewable energy that women represent in our industries and who are making great strides in the private sector and corporate world.

Most British Columbians are fully aware that LNG Canada is one of the major projects that will help reshape our economy and make British Columbia a major exporter of cleaner energy to jurisdictions around the world. It is, after all, the largest private infrastructure project in Canadian history. Behind the scenes, there are women like Susannah Pierce, director of corporate affairs at LNG Canada. Susannah has played a crucial role in making this project one that will benefit the local population as well as our province as a whole.

[10:20 a.m.]

In 2019, LNG Canada and its prime contractor JGC Fluor announced the launch of Your Place, a provincewide workforce development program aimed at attracting, recruiting, training, supporting and employing women to work in the construction trades on the LNG project. First Nations women belonging to local First Nations are a primary benefactor of this program.

In that same year, 2019, the B.C.-based Association for Mineral Exploration, or AME, appointed Kendra Johnston as its president and CEO. This is after Kendra’s predecessor, Edie Thome, left AME to follow other opportunities in Ontario. Both are very strong and experienced women that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and seeing their leadership in action.

Kendra is a registered professional geologist and mining executive. She has more than 15 years of experience in various aspects of mineral exploration and the mining industry. AME represents, advocates and promotes the interests of almost 5,000 members who are engaged in mineral exploration and development in B.C. and around the world. Kendra is doing her part in demonstrating leadership for women and young ladies to be inspired.

Lindsay Kislock, with the Mining Association of British Columbia, is another example of innovative leadership that is changing our male-dominated corporate culture. Lindsay joined MABC in 2017 with extensive public and senior management experience, after more than 30 years working for public service in B.C. and in Ontario.

Gavin Dirom, president and CEO of Geoscience B.C., owes a lot of his success to his team, which includes vice-president of minerals Christa Pellet. Christa has worked her way up the corporate ladder at Geoscience B.C., first starting with the company in 2007 as project geologist. Her role evolved over the years, becoming vice-president of minerals in 2019. Christa holds a master of science in geology at Simon Fraser University.

While these women are just a few shining examples for others to follow, they do help lay the foundation for a new corporate culture that is based more on equality and equal opportunity, based on merit and not just gender.

I’m also very proud of the support systems in place for women in the natural resource sector. Women in Mining B.C. is an organization that provides women in the industry with a way to connect with others, share knowledge and experiences and build relationships that encourage growth and diversity. In recent times, organizations such as Women in Mining U.K. and Women in Mining Canada have published reports on how the mining industry can do more to attract, retain and advance the careers of women in the industry.

I mention these women in mining because mining truly represents how we all will move forward to a renewable energy future. Without metals and minerals, we have no chance to build the infrastructure that renewable energy sources need. Our steelmaking coal, copper, silver, gold and aluminum, among others, are critical for moving to a low-carbon and renewable energy tomorrow.

I am blessed with a wife who is a strong professional and a 15-year-old daughter who aspires to become one as well. I am optimistic, given our trajectory on becoming more inclusive with not only women but with all other demographics of our population that have seen barriers to advancements in education and ultimately, positions of leadership. I know we all will do better to see this come to fruition very soon.

As my time is quickly coming to an end, I would like to ask the hon. member from the government side to describe the efforts the NDP have made to promote equality and leadership opportunity, specifically in the private sector, for women.

D. Routley: Thank you to the member for his presentation. His challenge was to describe how my party is promoting women.

Having the title of this presentation as “Renewable energy,” I wasn’t exactly prepared for that, but I can tell the member that I come from the first caucus in the country that is 50 percent female. Oh no, that was last term. This time, we’re the first caucus that’s more than 50 percent female. We also govern with the first cabinet in Canada that is 50 percent female. Oh, no, that was last term. This term, it’s more than 50 percent female. Yeah, that is a commitment.

Also, the commitment could be reflected in the first Black Canadian female member of this House, Rosemary Brown, or the first self-identifying Métis female cabinet minister, Carole James, or currently the first Indigenous woman cabinet minister who sits in our caucus at the cabinet table. Or right on the screen, I can see the first Canadian-Filipino woman, and I can see the first Korean-Canadian woman. They are both from our caucus. Those are commitments.

[10:25 a.m.]

We’ve made the commitment…. We’ve also had the first openly gay female MLA, and our commitment runs deeply in the NDP to promoting women in politics in particular. We have an equity mandate that has worked to ensure that women and people from other underrepresented groups have made their way into our caucus, so our caucus is full of colour and full of identification of all types. I’m very proud of that.

I’d like to turn to renewable energy. I would like to talk about how a government can create a strategy that has the underpinnings and foundations of success. When you look at the government’s approach to mandating the sale of electrical vehicles in combination with investments in training and technology for electricians and people working in the zero-emission vehicle field; public outreach to promote zero-emission vehicles; the creation, now, of over 2,000 public charging spaces — and $227 million has been put out to subsidize the purchase of zero-emission cars and vehicles.

This is an important combination of elements because it’s not simply making rules for an economy or guiding an industry. It’s giving the incentive, not only to the customers, but also to the industry itself. When the industry looks at jurisdictions and they see the commitment that B.C. has made in forcing and moving the industry towards zero-emission vehicle sales, the support of the industry and research and technology, the establishment of renewable energy projects that will electrify our province, they then make the latest models and the highest inventories available to jurisdictions like ours. So that’s how you build a strategy to lead.

Getting back to the strategy to lead in diversity. I think it’s important that we all celebrate the achievements of all the people in our lives. When I think of…. I’m going to name one woman in particular, of course. That’s my mom. She’s no longer with us. She was raised in a very strict and conservative household but then blossomed into an amazing artist, incredible teacher and someone who I consider to be my hero for the way that she committed herself to our family.

She went through university with a couple of kids on her hips, me one of them, and then later went through university to upgrade when I was a teenager and probably a lot more trouble than a kid on her hip. But this is the woman who inspires me to be courageous and true to myself.

I’d like to thank her for that and thank all of the women of B.C. for their great contributions they make every single day.

T. Shypitka: The member very eloquently pointed out a lot of firsts in the province. I would like to remind the member that we have a lot of firsts on our side, including a female Premier in the province and also the first female Attorney General, and there are a lot of lists. I’m glad to see that there’s a lot of progress being made on both sides of the floor.

I mentioned renewable energy comes in many forms. People power represents the best renewable source we have. Being International Women’s Day, I thank this House for allowing me to speak to women being a major factor in that renewable energy. As the member didn’t really answer my question on initiatives that the NDP have put forward, I would like to help him out at this point and mention the single-parent employment initiative that was launched by the previous government and has since proven to be a highly successful program that the current government has chosen to promote. I thank them for it.

While not exclusively to women only, if you are a single parent receiving income and disability assistance and find it difficult and unaffordable to re-enter the workforce, you may be eligible for training and support to secure a long-term job.

[10:30 a.m.]

The following includes parts of the program: up to 12 months of funded training or paid work experience, continued income or disability assistance while in training, child care costs covered during your training or work placement and for the first year of employment, transit costs to and from school, WorkBC Employment Services Centre supports and health supplement coverage for a full year after you leave income assistance for employment.

The vast majority of these single parents are, in fact, women. There are a large number of success stories from women who have successfully completed the single-parent employment initiative and are now on their way to securing financial independence. This program ties in nicely with science, technology, engineering and math, or the STEM project.

As I wrap up this statement on renewable energy, slanted to favour International Women’s Day, I would like to say that B.C. should be proud of its renewable energy sources now and those we will see down the road. B.C. is a 98-percent clean electricity producer, thanks to hydroelectricity, which is providing us with a firm, reliable green energy source. Projects such as Site C, as a continuation of the power generation on the Peace River, will be there to provide electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, and will electrify our LNG production and many other projects.

Our generous bounty of minerals and metals are extracted in a safe, responsible way that is world-renowned. These minerals and metals will provide us with all the components of building infrastructure we need to support renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, tidal and geothermal.

Our technology sector will benefit from not only producing disruptive technologies to advance the renewable energy sector but to assist in the technologies to extract our resources cleaner and with less waste.

We are all renewable energy resources. I look forward to what our future brings, as long as we can all see the same horizon. We all really need to congratulate one another, rather than draw bold lines in the sand of division.

I would like to close by wishing my six favourite women a happy International Women’s Day: my two assistants, Heather and Christy, my daughter-in-law, Julie, my mother, Lynne, my gorgeous wife, Carrie, and my very smart and beautiful daughter Allie Shypitka.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY
AS IT PERTAINS TO WOMEN

K. Greene: Today is International Women’s Day, a day to recognize the leadership of women and the work that needs to be done for women to achieve equality. On International Women’s Day, 500,000 Canadian women are unemployed, and 100,000 women have left the workforce altogether. They are no longer seeking jobs, and women’s employment levels are where they were when I was six — six.

Women’s employment is disproportionately affected by the pandemic because women disproportionately work in service work — hospitality, tourism, retail, gig work. They’re more often part-time and low-wage workers, and they’re the first to be let go when the economy downturns.

There is also an intersectional impact. For women who are also a visible minority, the employment gap averages almost 5 percent. Canada has the highest pay gap among the OECD. We’re 31 out of 36. For every dollar a white man earns, white women make about 82 cents, racialized women make about 60 cents and Indigenous women make 57 cents.

The New York Times has declared this to be a she-cession, and they’re right. The she-cession also puts to bed the myth that many women choose to stay home and not work. Women are not voluntarily leaving the workforce, or we wouldn’t have ten times as many women as men exiting the workforce as a result of the pandemic. It’s often the so-called “second shift” that is forcing women from the workplace.

Women are providing unpaid labour for child care, seniors care and caring for sick family members. Being laid off or leaving the workforce can have long-lasting effects for women. The gap in employment makes it harder to find a job or retraining, and skills erosion makes it harder to re-enter the workplace.

Wages typically build year after year, and an absence from the workforce will lead to permanent wage loss that will have a cumulative lifetime impact. We need to have women participating in the workforce to ensure we have a good economic recovery from the pandemic. It’s vitally important that we tackle the root causes of inequality to ensure a post-pandemic recovery is a recovery for everyone.

The B.C. Human Rights Commissioner, reinstated by this government, is an important part of informing the government and society about the changes needed to achieve equity. As the pandemic has shown, unemployment and permanent job loss have not been equal. We need policy that considers the intersectional ways in which people are affected. We know that single parents are affected more deeply than two-parent families. That’s why the B.C. recovery grant is for up to $1,000 for single parents.

[10:35 a.m.]

We’re working on taking down obstacles to participation in growth sectors, with supports for women retraining in trades. Overall, women need support in the unpaid caring work they do. Seniors care is vitally important. That’s why our government has invested an unprecedented amount into ensuring that our seniors are cared for safely and with dignity. It takes the burden from women who are doing this work in their second shift.

Child care is also very important, as women with children under six lead losses from the workforce. Our government has made this a priority from day one, and the Minister of State for Child Care has led an amazing transformation in our child care system. The pilot for $10-a-day daycare in my riding meant that one of the mothers was able to go back to school and forge a better future for her family. That is transformation and will have a generational impact. In addition, thousands of child care spaces opening up across the province mean that thousands of women have opportunities to join the workforce and build a better future for their family.

Equal access to health care is also an obstacle to the full equality of women. In particular, access to reproductive care and contraception can be a barrier to economic wellness for women and their families. While there has been much done to improve the equality of women, we still have a long way to go.

I am hopeful today because this International Women’s Day recognizes the importance of women’s leadership. We have here in B.C. a historic number of women elected to our caucus, which means we will be able to work and build change for all women. We hear the call to act from generations past and generations to come. We will not just be counted. We will take action.

T. Wat: I thank the member for Richmond-Steveston for giving me the opportunity to speak on this issue of economic recovery as it pertains to women. This is something that myself and my colleague the member for Kamloops–South Thompson, who serves as our critic for Economic Recovery, Jobs and Innovation, have repeatedly been highlighting.

We are deeply concerned about the impact that COVID-19 has had on women and the economy. We know that women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in a variety of ways. Many report that they are overwhelmed and stressed as they try to balance work and home life, which for many have become intertwined. Some are trying to work from home, but they may have reduced access to child care or the extracurricular activities that kept their children busy. Others may face increased caregiving responsibilities for their elderly parents, bringing them groceries or running errands for them, to reduce their interactions and protect them from COVID-19.

Of course, the only thing more stressful than juggling the responsibilities of work and home is having no job at all. Sadly, this is another area where we see a disproportionate impact on women in our province. The most recent Statistics Canada figures show that since the pandemic began, there are 26,900 fewer jobs for women in B.C. today compared to February 2020. In just the past few months alone, women have lost 7,500 jobs.

Meanwhile, the labour underutilization rate, a broader measure that includes those involuntarily working fewer hours, has risen to 13 percent for women, up from December’s rate of 9.9 percent. Despite these troubling numbers, a year into this pandemic, we have yet to see a plan from this government to help women get back into the job market.

[10:40 a.m.]

This is unacceptable. I will note that we need a concrete jobs plan not only to help women who are unemployed or underemployed right now. We need this for all British Columbians facing this hardship. The government needs to foster an inclusive recovery to facilitate the re-entry of women into the labour market. They simply cannot afford to wait any longer.

Another group that cannot afford to wait much longer for assistance are the many women who own and operate businesses in our province. We all know how hard it is to start a business, not to mention make it profitable and successful. These women have worked incredibly hard to build their businesses, making numerous sacrifices and facing a lot of uncertainty along the way. Now the pandemic has thrown their operations into chaos.

In my critic role, I hear from many of them, in the tourism industry in particular. We know that prior to the pandemic, tourism provided $20.5 billion of revenue to B.C. Currently only 10 percent of businesses in the industry have reported operating “business as usual.”

Many of these businesses employ and are managed by women. Specifically, the hotel industry employed 104,000 people, 60 percent of whom are women. This industry saw 32,000 employees laid off.

Where do business owners in tourism or other sectors go for help? The government offered up the small and medium-sized business recovery grant. But sadly, this program has been difficult to access, and funds haven’t been going out the door fast enough. Luckily, the application deadline was recently extended by government, a move I applaud and something that I have been calling for, along with my colleague from Kamloops–South Thompson.

It’s my hope that further improvements will be made to streamline the process and ease eligibility requirements so that more of our business owners can benefit from the program and stay in business. Otherwise, those jobs numbers are only going to get worse for women in British Columbia and, indeed, for all British Columbians.

Deputy Speaker: Thank you very much, Member. Thank you for your statement.

I apologize. There seemed to have been a bit of a technical challenge, so if you are able to provide a transcript of your remarks to Hansard, we’ll make sure that it’s completely clear in the record for everybody’s benefit.

Now we return to the member for Richmond-Steveston.

K. Greene: I thank the member for Richmond North Centre for her comments. We should not find it discouraging that we are finding an equity gap. We should be energized to tackle the challenge and celebrate how far we have come. Economic equity is necessary to ensure women and families’ health, education and well-being.

Ensuring we look at economic recovery with a gender and intersectional lens will create opportunity for individuals and all of society. We need to have women working in our economy to have a full economic recovery. If women participate in the workforce at the same rate as men, it would add $100 billion to Canada’s GDP every year. From Stats Canada, there are serious long-term effects from job loss. One in five laid-off workers, in previous downturns, had an over 25 percent earning decline five years after the job loss — five years after the job loss. This affects women more often than men.

Canadian women are on track to reach gender equality in 164 years due to structural obstacles. We will do better. We must do better. As much as we are standing on the shoulders of giants, the women who broke barriers so we could be here, I would like to be the shoulders which future generations stand upon. I look forward to working with everyone in this chamber to ensure an equitable future for everyone.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

S. Cadieux: Happy International Women’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate the past struggles, the accomplishments of women and society.

[10:45 a.m.]

It’s a day to celebrate individual women and collective action. It’s a day to acknowledge progress and the work yet to be done. We’ve come a long way, and I’m proud to be here in this Legislature, which only a few years ago had a female Lieutenant-Governor, Premier, Speaker and Attorney General, all at the same time. I’m proud to be here today with a female Clerk and the greatest number of female elected members in history. Congratulations and thank you to all of my female colleagues here today. I want to acknowledge the success that we share.

We have an opportunity, because we’re here together to make change, to highlight the issues that often go unaddressed that have yet to be equalized from the perspective of gender. What do I mean? Well, there are issues that have seemed intractable — pay equity and gender-based violence, for two. Now, through the pandemic, further inequity has been recognized. It’s here that we have the power to address these issues.

If we look first at the wage gap in Canada, it’s clear that women are systemically disadvantaged by our society. One of the most obvious pieces of evidence is found in women’s wages. Stats Canada placed the gender pay gap at 13.3 percent, and the OECD found that Canada had one of the most egregious gender wage gaps. While one-third of the wage gap can be explained by variables such as industry, position, type of employment, and so on, two-thirds remains unaccounted for.

British Columbia may be one of the worst offenders. A 2019 Vancouver Sun article written by David Carrigg wrote that women in business “are earning, on average, almost 20 percent less an hour than men, the largest gender pay gap in Canada.”

The wage gap also hurts our economy. As one 2017 report suggests, steps to decrease the wage gap could lead to economic benefits of up to $150 billion over nine years. These are things we’re hearing over and over this morning. Eliminating the wage gap could reap real, substantial economic benefits for British Columbia. It’s in the interest of us all.

When we delve further, we find — not surprisingly, as members have mentioned — that pay inequality is worse for those with intersectioning experiences of marginalization. There are severe wage discrepancies, not only along gender lines but ethnicity, physical ability and other determinants of a person’s identity. In Canada, on average, Indigenous women make 36 percent less than non-Indigenous men; racialized women, 34 percent less than non-racialized men; and women with disabilities, 48 percent less than men without a disability.

Ensuring pay equity for women would be a step in the right direction towards correcting unjust practices — which, frankly, still regularly occur. We’ve heard a fair amount about the need to diversify the workforce and to diversify the executive and boards of our public service and private companies. It’s not a new subject, albeit perhaps re-energized by a number of movements over the last couple of years. Certainly, the data still shows that we have a lot of work to do.

Governments are including this on their agendas. The government of Canada has been working together with the private sector and diversity-focused organizations on an effort to develop the 50-30 challenge. Last I looked, more than 952 organizations of every size, in every province and territory, have signed up for that challenge. I certainly hope they’re successful.

Diversity in the workplace makes good business sense. Organizations that are more diverse are more likely to outperform their peers, are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes. And we know that they’re more innovative. They foster fresh insights, new ideas and creative solutions.

But we can’t pretend that barriers don’t still exist, both systemically and unconsciously and situationally, and it’s evident when we look at the impact of COVID-19 on the labour force. The pandemic has exacerbated gender gaps in our labour force — women’s participation at its lowest level now in three decades. Women are being hardest hit because they tend to work in industries like hospitality and food services, retail, education, health care and social assistance, most affected by closures, earnings losses and layoffs. This is further entrenching that gender pay gap in creating a gender employment gap in B.C. and across the country.

[10:50 a.m.]

What response from government will address this, or will the government just wait and see what the long-term impacts are? When the government sees a shortage of workers in the trades, for example, what does government do? It invests in trades training and targeted programs. What will government do now with a clear disruption in the workforce for women and for essential services like health care?

I want to applaud government for instituting a gender-based analysis on policy. But at this point, I’m still going to question whether or not it’s impacting decisions.

Women are more severely impacted by the pandemic because they shoulder more child care and elder care responsibilities than their male counterparts. They have to refuse work or seek a reduction in hours if their kids require extra care or can’t go back to school or if someone else in the family needs extra support.

Even before the pandemic, women in Canada did almost twice as much unpaid care work as men. This inequality has had significant financial and economic impacts on women and society at large and, of course, brings into question another larger policy discussion. How do we, or could we or should we, value caring?

Last but not least, we do have to acknowledge gender-based violence. Currently Canada and B.C. are experiencing a second emergency in what experts are calling the shadow pandemic: violence. The rate of violence against women is rising as COVID-19 restrictions force Canadians indoors and out of the public eye. Women and children are more vulnerable to violence than ever before.

We’ve heard and will hear more about this, this morning, I’m sure, but it bears repeating. More needs to be done, and it must be brought into the light.

With that, I will await some comments from my colleague.

J. Rice: Thank you to the member for her comments. I must say that I really appreciate her championing women’s issues. I notice that she has become quite a leader on this topic, and I appreciate her comments and her remarks.

Today is International Women’s Day, a day to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, girls, two-spirit and non-binary people. This day has been recognized around the world since 1911. It’s also a day to raise awareness of the work we still need to do.

This year the United Nations theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” For those who already face systemic barriers or oppression, the pandemic has magnified the inequalities that still exist among genders. This is further amplified for Indigenous women, women of colour, women with disabilities and people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

At the onset of the pandemic, women lost their jobs at a rate six times more than their male counterparts. This is because women are more represented in the service sector — such as education, food and community services — and in health care, where they’re more susceptible to being infected with COVID-19. The conditions for this type of work are just not favourable to working from home.

Working mothers who remain in the workforce have lost an average of six hours per week because of their caregiving responsibilities. Sadly, reports of intimate partner and family violence are on the rise.

Celebrating International Women’s Day has new meaning this year as we celebrate the thousands of people who became everyday superheroes overnight to help us through the pandemic. With vaccines on the horizon, we have a positive path forward. But no matter our gender, race, class, sexual orientation, disability or ability, our entire province is stronger when we help each other, celebrate our superheroes and find a way to ensure all people have an equal future during these difficult times.

While we continue to focus on keeping people safe through the pandemic, we are doing this with an eye to how we position our province to seize the opportunities that recovery will offer. The path forward is not the same for all people or sectors of the economy. Recognizing this, our support and investment must be targeted now.

At the start of the pandemic, with greater uncertainty about how the impacts would be felt, we invested with broad tools to quickly provide support to as many people as possible. This included financial supports for people whose ability to work was affected, help for people facing violence, supports for vulnerable people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and funding to assist child care providers.

[10:55 a.m.]

B.C.’s recovery plan goes even further to support families who need it most — including Indigenous communities, young people and women — by providing training for those who have lost work, including skills training in Indigenous communities; investments in job creation; investments to keep child care centres and schools safe; and supports for hard-hit sectors such as the arts, culture, tourism, small business, where so many women entrepreneurs and workers make their livelihood.

We’re providing new grants to support businesses that hire people living with disabilities; additional supports to fight racism, which has no place in our communities; mental health supports; and youth suicide prevention. As B.C. works to advance its COVID-19 economic recovery plan, it’s vital that all people, especially those who already face disadvantages, are supported and given the best possible opportunity to move forward.

We have taken meaningful strides towards gender equality, yet the pandemic has highlighted how much more work we still have to do.

We will commit to advancing equality, commit to a world without gender-based violence and to build a future for women, girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people in British Columbia and around the world.

S. Cadieux: Thank you to the member for her kind comments. There are many things that we can agree on and work together to bring solutions to. Starting on Friday and over the weekend, I participated in a number of events to celebrate International Women’s Day. They were inspiring and uplifting. They had women speaking about their lives, their shared successes, their shared vulnerability. They exchanged advice. They acknowledged progress. They championed each other. They encouraged the next generation to be better, and they focused on what binds us as women and on the strengths that we bring to leadership at all levels — public, private, and community.

Again, I will use this time to remind us here where we have the power to influence our society through example and law. Women are still chronically underrepresented in Canadian industry and organizational leadership, despite making up more than half the population. Just 8.5 percent of the highest-paid positions in Canada’s top 100 companies are held by women. It’s a remarkable failure in representation. More so, of the top 500 companies in the country, women make up just under 20 percent of board members. The numbers, not surprisingly, are worse for women of colour or women with disabilities.

We also know we can have success. Women in leadership bring significant benefits in pursuit of equality in the workplace. A study found that 67 percent of women report they have learned the most important lessons about leadership from other women, and 86 percent of women report that when they see more women in leadership, they’re encouraged they can get there themselves. That bodes well for this Legislature.

It’s also so important to note our male colleagues as allies in this work, as mentors, as friends, as champions of women and women’s rights and of change. I know I have always had strong role models that were male, strong mentors and champions of my success and abilities, from my grandfathers to my father to teachers and bosses to a former Premier and colleagues today, and I am grateful.

Overall, companies and organizations benefit from women’s leadership, and a decrease of gender inequality in Canada can boost our economy. Higher-performing businesses tend to have women in leadership roles. Diversity at the table leads to financial returns above industry average.

Today, on International Women’s Day, we could be addressing some of the gaps in B.C.’s social programs for women and debating legislation that would move the needle forward with pay and equality. The Equal Pay Reporting Act is on the order paper. It’s time to get it debated. It’s an issue and best practice for legislation that all parties can agree on.

Today would be a great day to act together for change.

[11:00 a.m.]

[N. Letnick in the chair.]

Hon. J. Whiteside: I call Motion 4 on the order paper.

Deputy Speaker: Hon. Members, unanimous consent of the House is required to proceed with Motion 4 without disturbing the priorities of the motions preceding it on the order paper.

Leave granted.

Private Members’ Motions

MOTION 4 — INTERNATIONAL
WOMEN’S DAY

M. Elmore: I’m honoured to rise and speak to you today from the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

I move:

[Be it resolved that this House recognize the accomplishments, rights and challenges that all women face this International Women’s Day and reaffirm our commitment to fighting sexism and gender-based discrimination every day.]

The purpose of International Women’s Day is to bring attention to the social, political, economic and cultural issues that women face and to advocate for the advance of women, including trans women, within all these areas. First celebrated in 1911 and entitled International Working Women’s Day, a million men and women rallied in support of women’s rights.

The history of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in 1911 in New York City resulted in the deaths of 146 mostly young immigrant women workers, where the factory was locked and workers were unable to escape. Some of these workers were as young as 12 years old, and it inspired changes in industrial working conditions. B.C. no longer shares the common history of allowing 12-year-olds to work, as marked in 1911, with the previous government. Our government brought in changes to lift the minimum age from 12 years old and, really, lift B.C. out of that international embarrassment.

We know that today we’re coming this close to marking the sombre milestone of almost one year since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. We know that the impact of the pandemic has exposed and magnified deep social inequities. Around the world, including Canada, we know that not everyone is impacted the same way. Who gets sick? Who dies? Who’s suffering financially or emotionally? We know that a closer look reflects the power imbalances in society which predominantly result in immigrant, racialized, migrant women being hard hit — particularly, undocumented workers.

More needs to be done. Many of our essential workers on our pandemic front lines are women. They are the ones unable to work from home and often face systemic barriers. The measures that our government has taken to support British Columbians and to move us forward through the recovery to be able to face the pandemic, particularly in the long-term-care sector, where we have lifted wages for the majority of women working in this sector, also racialized.

We know that the previous government’s austerity measures really targeted racialized women. We know that in the not unrecent history, the previous government brought in changes for a record job loss in the contracting out of workers in health care, in long-term care — the largest layoff of racialized women in Canadian history — and really broke up the system.

The steps that our government has taken to stabilize that system — to raise wages, to ensure working conditions and also care levels in the long-term-care sector — are key to repairing some of the damage and the impact of these austerity measures of the previous government. This is clear, in terms of how government policies and decisions disproportionately impact women, particularly racialized women and Indigenous women. We know that this is key, and this needs to be in clear focus and a priority.

I’m proud that our government has put women — Indigenous and racialized women, women with disabilities, people with disabilities and folks in the 2LGBTQ community — squarely at the centre. Our government has taken steps to bring in child care, to implement child care, to ensure that women and people fleeing domestic violence have homes to go to.

[11:05 a.m.]

Our government has committed to raising the minimum wage and including liquor servers, over 80 percent women, as well to be included. A number of steps have been taken. More needs to be done. I would like to close my remarks — so much more to say — with a quote from the great Audre Lorde: “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”

I want to wish everybody happy International Women’s Day. Much more work needs to be done, and I look forward to working with all members in the Legislature across British Columbia to ensure that we have equal opportunities for all.

S. Bond: Today I rise to join other members of the Legislative Assembly in celebrating and recognizing the accomplishments and contributions of women in our province and beyond. While progress has been made, there is much more to do. Since the late 1800s, critical issues like the right to vote and the right to equal pay for equal work have been debated. Sadly, these are still issues today, a century later.

As I stand in the chamber on International Women’s Day, I think about what it would have been like to have been the first woman elected to sit in this Legislature. Mary Ellen Smith laid the groundwork for people like me to become an MLA, to become the first female Attorney General in British Columbia’s history and now to be one of two women, alongside the member for Cowichan Valley, who lead parties in this House.

Mary Ellen Smith laid the groundwork for a woman to be elected as Premier of British Columbia. Mary Ellen Smith laid the groundwork for young girls to see themselves as politicians and leaders in our province. But can you imagine what would have been like in January of 1918 for Mary Ellen Smith to set foot in this House as the lone woman in the Legislature? How intimidating it must have been, as the first female MLA, just two years after women won the right to vote in our province. But while the papers of the day debated whether it would be appropriate for her to wear a hat in the chamber, Mary Ellen got to work.

Mary Ellen ran her election campaign using the slogan: “Women and children first.” She kept her election promises, and she advocated on behalf of women, children and the underprivileged. She introduced a bill that established a minimum wage for women and supported measures to create juvenile courts and allow women to sit as judges. She quickly became a champion of women’s issues and established equal recognition for women in B.C. politics. Just three years after her election, Mary Ellen Smith became the first female cabinet minister, not just in B.C. but anywhere in the British Empire.

Seven years later, in a strange turn of events with the Deputy Speaker absent, the Speaker of the House called on Mary Ellen Smith to briefly preside over a budget debate in 1928. With this, the first-ever use of a new term, “Madam Speaker,” a phrase that we used for many years when our former colleague Linda Reid, the longest-serving female MLA in B.C.’s history, sat in the Speaker’s chair.

It is indisputable that women have significantly contributed to this chamber and to our province over the past 103 years since Mary Ellen Smith first smashed that glass ceiling. Just by being here, she instantly became a role model, because if you can see it, you can be it. So today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate Mary Ellen Smith and the incredible women in our province who have worked hard for decades in the pursuit of progress toward a truly equal and inclusive society.

This past year has seen us face unprecedented challenges, and women have been at the forefront of many of the COVID-19 efforts in British Columbia. They have also been deeply impacted. A recent study pointed out that the pandemic has had a regressive impact on gender equity. Women’s jobs are more vulnerable to the crisis. There has been an increase in gender-based violence. Women are balancing the need to care for children and ensure that educational expectations are met. And that list goes on.

Now more than ever, we need to work together. Achieving gender equity takes women and men working together to challenge stereotypes, fight discrimination and create a future where generations to come have endless possibilities, regardless of their gender.

[11:10 a.m.]

We can only expect positive change when we work together to ensure that our schools, our workplaces and our communities understand and value the role that women should play in every aspect of our society. The official opposition is continuing to make equality a priority, which is why we have tabled the Equal Pay Reporting Act, and why we continue to call on this government to bring it up for debate.

With women disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn, there is no time to delay these important discussions on how we can achieve pay equity. This International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the female role models, past and present, who have made a difference in British Columbia.

At the same time, let’s commit to ensuring that there are more women at decision-making tables in politics, non-profits and in the private sector, because without women in the picture, it’s just that much harder for young women to see themselves in those roles. I can’t wait to see future generations of pioneers like Mary Ellen Smith.

K. Paddon: I want to thank my friend from Vancouver-Kensington for bringing forward this motion, calling for our recognition and reaffirmation today, on International Women’s Day. Today is a day when women are recognized for their achievements, where we look at the progress that has been made and where we gaze aspirationally forward to where we can go from here.

As I speak on this day in support of this motion, I am keenly aware of the privilege I stand with, a privilege made possible only by the women who came before me and in service to those who will come next. I rise as part of the first caucus to be made up of a majority of women and as part of a team committed to acknowledging and challenging gender-related issues that marginalize and create barriers. I am grateful for this.

However, I also reflect today on the barriers that remain, barriers that have been highlighted and magnified by COVID-19. This past year, as we have faced this global pandemic, we can’t help but recognize that for so many who already face systemic barriers or oppression, the pandemic has magnified the inequalities that continue to exist among genders. We know that this is further amplified for Indigenous women, women of colour, women with disabilities and the LGBTQ2S+ community.

The pandemic has also highlighted for us the unappreciated and disproportionate work of women. As always, women rose to the challenge and need of our communities and led during this unprecedented time.

Work traditionally and overwhelmingly done by wo­men was the very work that contributed to our health and our success as well as to our hope and recovery. Work that is precarious, low-paid and highly demanding of emotional labour. Work that is critical to our common well-being, our safety, our health, our children and our loved ones. Work that requires women to stretch themselves between multiple roles, to sacrifice themselves to the needs of others and to offer not only their time and labour but their hearts and passion for the benefit of others.

If nothing else, we must not forget that when we needed leadership and comfort and science, when we needed safety and kindness and resilience, compassion and innovation and determination, it was our mothers, sisters and daughters who stepped out of the shadows their work is so often reduced to and worked alongside our brothers who stand with us.

We saw more than the work come out of the shadows during the pandemic. We saw the increase in gender-based and domestic violence. We saw the increase of women who were trapped in their own homes, which were no longer safe. We saw the impact of child care being borne by women when schools and daycares closed and as the demand for caregiving increased across our province. We have had realities brought to light by this past year that can no longer be relegated to the status of “simply a woman’s issue,” or reduced to being “other” and “up for debate.”

We now know beyond a doubt that women’s issues are not a special interest category. These are issues of health, education and economy that impact everyone. I am proud to be part of a government committed to moving all British Columbians forward and on a recovery that includes everyone.

[11:15 a.m.]

As has been so well put by others this morning, no matter our gender, race, class, sexual orientation, disability or ability, our entire province is stronger when we help each other and find a way to ensure that all people have an equal future.

This year the United Nations theme is “Women in leadership — achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” With that in mind, and with gratitude, I borrow and share the words of the poet Rupi Kaur: “I stand on the sacrifices of a million women before me, thinking, ‘What can I do to make this mountain taller so the women after me can see farther?’”

J. Tegart: I rise in this House today to speak on the motion: “Be it resolved that this House recognize the accomplishments, rights and challenges that all women face this International Women’s Day and reaffirm our commitment to fighting sexism and gender-based discrimination every day.”

I’d like to start off by saying how proud I am to be standing in the House today, to honour such an important day alongside many of my colleagues from both sides of the House, who are taking the challenge to choose to challenge, to seek out and challenge discrimination against women and celebrate the many amazing achievements of women in this province, in this country and all over the world.

As many in this House know, our mission for women’s equality goes beyond challenging individual instances of inequality and discrimination when we see them. It means challenging the workplaces and institutions that perpetuate gender discrimination and addressing the challenges that our female-dominated fields are currently facing.

COVID-19 has thrown many of our female-dominated industries onto the front line. Not only has it created unprecedented challenges for our front-line workers, including the thousands of doctors, nurses and first responders who are women, but it also put our teachers, educators and support staff on the front line of our fight against the pandemic.

For generations, women have made up the majority of our educational workforce, largely because it was one of the first workforces that women were allowed to enter because of the stigmatizing image of women as nurturers suited to care for children. Even today, the B.C. Teachers Federation cites that the percentage of teachers in B.C. public schools who are women has steadily increased from approximately 62 percent in 1991-92 to 72 percent in 2016. This trend is still on the rise.

This is not to say that it is not because many women choose these careers. British Columbia enjoys one of the highest qualities of public education anywhere in the world, thanks to the tireless work and passion of our many men and women in our schools. Unfortunately, this pandemic has put the health and well-being of a disproportionate amount of women in our province at risk as more and more schools report exposures to COVID-19, including the more infectious U.K. and South African variants.

Last month a BCTF survey highlighted that half of all teachers working in classrooms still don’t feel safe under the current working conditions. The work of so many of our teachers and support staff…. The work they’ve done to keep our children safe while continuing their education will never be recognized enough.

We hope that government will listen to the calls of teachers and educators for more widespread use of COVID rapid tests. Implement mandatory mask policies. Provide greater transparency in our COVID data collection and reporting. Grant our school districts the flexibility to create additional layers of protection that go beyond provincial protocols to protect themselves against the rising exposures to COVID variants.

[11:20 a.m.]

Together we can all ensure that women working as front-line workers, regardless of which sector they work in, continue to overcome the incredible challenges they are facing, carry out the crucial work they are doing and continue to inspire our younger generations, keeping our communities safe and driving our mission for gender equality forward.

It is a great honour to join those in the House today, and those on the screen, to celebrate International Women’s Day. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

M. Dykeman: It is an honour to speak in favour of this motion today — especially as today is International Women’s Day and the theme for this year is “Women in leadership” — and having the privilege to be one of 29 women who are part of the first majority-women caucus with official party status in British Columbia.

International Women’s Day is a global day of celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. First recognized internationally in 1911, International Women’s Day is also about everyone having the right to feel safe, respected and included in their community and their home.

We are at the nearly one-year mark since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly exacerbated the obstacles that women were already facing. One in three women experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. Over half of women in B.C. have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. That is more than one million women in our province. In B.C., there are over 1,000 physical or sexual assaults against women every week.

Indigenous women are 3.5 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to experience violence, and the homicide rate, unfortunately, is seven times higher. LGBTQ2S+ individuals are much more — more than two times — likely to be a victim of violence. More than half of transgender people have experienced intimate-partner vio­lence, and nearly half of transgender people have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

Unfortunately, there has been a sharp increase in these challenges. Several help lines for women experiencing violence at home are reporting dramatic increases in calls since public health measures aimed at fighting the spread of COVID-19 came into effect last spring. This is also coupled with an increase in the urgency and severity of many caller situations. With restrictions and smaller networks, the situation for many women is like a pressure cooker, and isolation is leaving women even more vulnerable.

The United Nations has called violence against women and girls a shadow pandemic, as the COVID-19 crisis fuels social isolation and tensions caused by concerns over health, safety and financial security. In B.C. the Battered Women’s crisis line received more than 1,800 calls in March of 2020, doubling the number of calls received in the same month a year ago. Calls in April 2020 more than tripled those in the same month in 2019.

Domestic violence isn’t just about physical abuse. It includes any form of violence within a relationship, marriage, common-law or dating — sexual, emotional, financial and psychological abuse, including threats. Violence against women hurts everyone and has long-term effects on families in our communities. Each year 20,000 women in B.C. experience violence in their relationships, and this must change. Gendered violence is an issue we all must confront in our communities.

I’m proud to be part of a government that recognizes the urgency of these supports for those who are in vulnerable situations. Our government has invested in these supports and is committed to providing the help that’s needed. Women and children facing violence need safe places to go. Building B.C.: women’s transition housing fund provides $734 million over the next ten years to build 1,500 new transition homes for women leaving violence, including new housing options in remote First Nations communities.

[11:25 a.m.]

Jobs training specifically for survivors of violence and abuse is also being offered. Tens of thousands of people who need help with gender-based violence are getting counselling and other assistance they need through over 400 victim services, and $10 million has been provided to Ending Violence Association of B.C. to support emergency sexual assault services.

To keep students safe and informed on consent, our government launched a provincewide campaign to pre­vent sexualized violence and misconduct on public post-secondary campuses. There’s also increased cellular service and building of a new cell tower along Highway 16 to keep women and girls safe along the Highway of Tears, and $100,000 for the Be More than a Bystander campaign to support violence prevention.

Our world is better when we’re all equal. Although great strides have been made, there is still much work to do. So yes, I fully support this motion on International Women’s Day. On this International Women’s Day, let’s reaffirm our commitment to fighting sexism and gender-based discrimination every day.

K. Kirkpatrick: Women around the globe should be celebrated for their extraordinary commitments in all areas of society — as professionals, as wage earners, as cultural leaders, as mothers, caregivers and caretakers. I support the motion put forward by the member and commit to fighting sexism and gender-based discrimination every day.

I’m going to share a couple of examples of my own experiences with gender discrimination. When I was 16, I won an award sponsored by a local business chamber. I was invited to come to that chamber’s luncheon and provide them with an update on what that award meant to me, which was all about being a Canadian.

I was young. I was nervous. When I arrived, I was ushered into a room, where I was served my lunch alone. I found this a bit confusing, as I had been invited to a luncheon. After I ate, I was brought into the main room, where I was able to give my five-minute talk. Then I was again ushered out.

It was only afterwards that I realized there were no women in that audience. The man who ushered me out again said to me that they were surprised that a girl had won the award. It kind of confused things, and they didn’t know what to do. It was an all-male business club.

The second time, I was a few years older. I’d been sent to my boss’s club to help make catering arrangements for his board meeting. I began to walk in the front door and was practically accosted by the doorman, who held out his arm to block my way. He said: “Not in this door.” I didn’t understand what he meant. Then he pointed to a sign that said: “Women must enter from the side door.” This was the 1990s, not the 1950s.

Both of those experiences…. I was young. But I was woken up to the reality that all things are not created equal. You begin to believe that this is the natural order of things, and it opens your eyes to all of the other comments and innuendos that you never noticed before. It also gives women a sense of self-doubt that they carry through the rest of their lives.

It is a reality that women suffer more than men from poor access to health services, discrimination, the effects of war and victimization by harmful cultural traditions. “Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” That was a quote from Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Here are some things I’d like you to pause and think about. According to UNAIDS, an estimated 52 million girls under the age of 18 are married off by their families each year. Several hundreds of thousands of girls are trafficked each year as illegal workers, or they are forced into prostitution. An estimated 140 million women and girls undergo female genital mutilation, and more than 530,000 women die in childbirth each year, largely as a result of not having access to simple and cost-effective health care. However, women around the world have an undying spirit. They overcome obstacles and are committed to making their lives, their families and their communities better.

[11:30 a.m.]

I’m the mom of a young woman who loves chemistry and physics. It had never occurred to her that she could not pursue a career in science. But I wonder about a woman like Marie Curie, who was born in the late 19th century. In 1903, Madame Curie was the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize and, quite extraordinarily, a second Nobel Prize only a few years later — one in chemistry and one in physics.

Can you even begin to imagine what she had to overcome and how hard she had to work to be taken seriously? How many times was she told to go away, to do a woman’s work, that if she wanted to study, perhaps she should consider literature or gardening? If it was not for her persistence, not only might my daughter not pursue science, but we might not have isotopes for the treatment of certain types of cancer.

Think of all the accomplishments that women have brought. I can’t list them all because we simply don’t have enough time. Then there are, of course, all of the accomplishments where they had to do it and use a man’s name.

A recent PwC report says that losing women from the workforce “not only reverses progress towards gender equality. It affects economic growth.”

Now, I keep quoting American politicians, but this one is a good one. President Obama stated: “We must also recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights and opportunities as our sons: the chance to attain a world-class education, to have fulfilling careers in any industry, to be treated fairly and paid equally for their work, and to have no limits on their dreams. That is what I want for women everywhere.”

That’s what all men should want. I added that last sentence.

A. Singh: Thank you to everybody who has spoken before.

Especially, thank you to the member for Vancouver-Kensington for the motion, which I, of course, wholeheartedly support.

On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of all women as we strive to remove the systemic barriers placed in front of them. I want to make it clear that we include and acknowledge trans women. So many still seek to exclude them.

The question I ask myself is: how do we challenge sexism and patriarchy? We listen. We listen to women. We listen. Whether it’s white supremacy and racism, we listen to Indigenous voices and the voices of people of colour. Whether it’s homophobia and transphobia, we listen to 2SLGBTQ+ voices. We listen. We take our cues from women, and we act.

It’s not just the responsibility of women or IPOC or 2SLGBTQ+ people to act. It’s all our responsibilities to act and to do something about it.

Many times, in the moment, when there’s a disparaging remark or an attitude of oppression…. If we sit back and say or do nothing, then we are as complicit. We must put our words and our thoughts into action. We must also strive to do the same with systemic oppression that is built within our system. We still live with that every day.

Many speakers before have spoken about the disproportionate impacts that we’ve seen in the pandemic. I’m thrilled to be part of a government that has started to recognize this. There is still a lot of work to do, but I’m confident that this parliament will help us move forward and do some of that work.

That’s why we are focusing on removing systemic barriers and tackling some of the biggest challenges facing women. We’re investing in housing for women creating a life after violence. We’re raising B.C.’s minimum wage and liquor service wages. The majority of these wage earners are women.

We’re making historic investments in British Columbia’s child care plan. Child care has often been one of the systemic barriers that has been built in, preventing women from achieving their potential. We’re giving extra support to women through employment and skills training so that women stand to benefit from good-paying jobs. This government is committed to helping people achieve what they need to be successful every day in everything we do, including dealing with gender-based violence.

My friend, earlier, has spoken about this. Women are more than seven times likely to report a sexual assault than men. Young women, 15 to 24 years old, are more likely to report sexual assaults than any other age group. Indigenous women are 3½ times more likely than non-Indigenous women to experience violence — 3½ times more likely. The homicide rate, shockingly, is seven times higher.

And 2SLGBTQ+ individuals are more than two times more likely to be victims of violence. More than half of transgender people have experienced intimate partner violence, and nearly half of transgender people have been sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. This is unacceptable.

[11:35 a.m.]

One in three women experiences gender-based violence in their lifetime. Over half of women in British Columbia have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. That’s more than a million women in our province. Violence against women hurts everyone and has long-term effects on families and our communities. Each year, 20,000 women in British Columbia experience violence in their relationships. This has to change. This is not acceptable. Gendered violence is an issue that we must all confront in our communities. We’ve started to do that. Again, as I say, there is a lot more to do.

Marginalized people are much more likely to be targeted for gender-based violence. The appointment of a new, independent Human Rights Commissioner marks the start of a new year of human rights protections for all British Columbians. What an incredible step. It’s a major step forward in combating gendered violence and intersectional violence.

Women and children facing violence need safe places to go, so we’re building B.C. women’s transition housing. We’ve funded $734 million over the next ten years to build 1,500 new transition homes for women leaving violence, including new housing options in remote and First Na­tions communities.

We’ve provided $10 million to the Ending Violence Association of B.C. to support emergency sexual assault services. To keep students safe and informed on consent, we’ve launched a provincewide campaign to prevent sexualized violence and misconduct on post-secondary campuses.

We’ve introduced paid leave for people facing domestic or sexual violence. Today, all 60 school districts in British Columbia and several independent schools have joined the B.C. SOGI Educator Network to help schools be more inclusive for students. To make sure that women can safely access abortion services, we’ve increased bubble zones around abortion clinics.

I see my time is out. I reaffirm my commitment as a man, and I ask all men to stand with me in challenging sexism and putting an end to gender-based discrimination and violence. I’m going to end quickly with this quote from Joy Harjo. “The rising sun paints the feet of night-crawling enemies, and they scatter into the burning hills. I have fought each of them. I know them by name. From before I could speak, I’ve used every wea­pon to make them retreat.”

D. Clovechok: I just wanted to begin by saying I want to recognize that I live on the shared traditional territory of the Shuswap Indian Band, the Akisqnuk First Nation and the home of the Métis Nation of British Columbia.

I also want to recognize my friends Chief Barb Cote of the Shuswap Indian Band and Debra Fisher, who’s an elected board member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia. Both of these people are phenomenal leaders.

I am honoured to speak today about the importance of International Women’s Day and our ongoing commitment to fight sexism and gender-based discrimination. I am absolutely privileged to work with incredible women on both sides of this House. Our amazing Clerk, my CA back at home — women who inspire me, who teach me and challenge me to continually grow to become a better politician and a better person.

As a father, a grandfather and a husband, I’m a big proponent of gender equity. I raised my daughters to know that there is no such thing as ceilings. I’m proud to say that my daughters have become very successful in all that they have chosen to do. My daughter Stephanie was recently appointed as the CEO of Tourism Saskatoon and is helping lead the Saskatchewan tourism sector through this pandemic. She is also an accomplished bow hunter and a rifle hunter.

My daughter Jen is a graduate of the Haskayne School of Business with honours and distinction. Today she’s got the full-time job of raising my three grandsons. I’m also proud to say that my two granddaughters, age 11 and seven, are becoming strong, fearless and independent human beings. They both are already accomplished horsewomen, and one has the potential of becoming a great barrel racer.

In addition, I look to my wife every day for guidance and input. She is my rock. She in her own right has achieved many things, from being a successful senior leader in many businesses and organizations throughout Canada to today being the elected director of area F with the regional district of East Kootenay, the vice-chair of the regional district of East Kootenay and an elected director-at-large for UBCM. I am blessed to have these women in my life.

While we’ve seen women across our province and our country smash through glass ceilings, one after another, we do have to recognize that so very many women face obstacles that are invisible to men.

[11:40 a.m.]

Gender equity should not come as a call for just the women that we know but as a call for all women, because they are whole and equal citizens. There is such great value in having more women in politics. Women look at issues differently than men, bringing completely different perspectives to the conversations. They bring a whole different set of skills to the table, both because of their lived experiences and — if you’ll allow me a generalization — because they are better listeners. This is where, I believe, we as men need to do better — being willing and open to listen to and learn from our female colleagues, our constituents and our friends.

We’ve got a lot to gain by pushing our conversations further, recognizing that women in our province have experiences, opinions and values as varied as those of women in this House. Women of colour, Indigenous women, LGBTQ2+ — all women will face different challenges alongside sexism, like burdens of racism and homophobia. Although not all gendered discrimination and misogyny looks the same, gender equity requires us to understand that it is all connected and that if we have the privilege of being safe from these challenges, we must work that much harder to support those who are not.

My mother and father taught me from an early age that power is never found in your words alone, but in the truth of those words. It’s found in the action that comes from those words. Our truthful actions speak volumes. We must demonstrate every day that the principles and values that are embedded in International Women’s Day become our daily truth.

J. Brar: I’m delighted to support the motion, introduced today by the hon. member for Vancouver-Kensington, to celebrate International Women’s Day. International Wo­men’s Day has been recognized since 1911 and supported by countries around the world. On this day, we celebrate the achievements of all women as we strive to remove the barriers that prevent many from achieving their full potential.

This day reminds me of the struggle and achievements of my mother, raising six children and supporting the family farm operation day in and day out. Those were the days when girls in India and many other countries were not sent to school. Their only role was to be a housewife and support the family business. Times have changed, and women now play leadership roles in every sector of our economy and society. We have made huge progress, but we still have a long way to go.

This year the United Nations theme about International Women’s Day is “Women in leadership: achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” For many who already face systemic barriers or oppression, the pandemic has magnified the inequality that exists among genders. This is further amplified for Indigenous women, women of colour, women with disabilities and people in the 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

Celebrating International Women’s Day takes on a new meaning this year as we celebrate the thousands of women who became everyday superheroes overnight to help us all see our way through the pandemic. These are the women who came forward to play a leading role during COVID-19, who made sure we could safely go to the grocery store, leave our children in safe and loving care to go to work, who picked up travellers and brought them safely home.

Our entire province is stronger when we help each other, celebrate our superheroes and find a way to ensure that all people have an equal future during this difficult time and after COVID-19. Therefore, the path forward is not the same for all people or sectors of the economy. Recognizing this, our support and investment must be more targeted and future-looking to create a future that is more equal for all.

[11:45 a.m.]

B.C.’s recovery plan is designed to support families who need it most — including Indigenous communities, young people and women — by providing training for those who have lost work, including skills training in Indigenous communities; investment to keep child care centres and schools safe; support for hard-hit sectors such as arts, culture, tourism and small businesses, where so many women entrepreneurs and workers make their livelihood; new grants to support businesses that hire people living with disabilities; and additional support to fight racism.

As B.C. works to advance its COVID-19 economic recovery plan, it is vital that all people, especially those who already face disadvantages, be supported and given the best possible opportunity to move forward. I would like to conclude by saying that the future must be better than the past. We are not able to change the past, but we can change the future for the better.

I want my daughter, Noor, to live in a world where there’s no limit to what she can accomplish, so that she can realize her full potential, achieving an equal future. The global village can realize its full potential only when women are equal partners.

Happy International Women’s Day, Mr. Speaker. Thanks for the opportunity.

R. Merrifield: I am honoured to speak in support of the motion today, as I believe that challenge can create change. When I was in grade 4, living in the United States as a Canadian, I marched into my house with such incredible energy that my parents certainly knew something was amiss. You see, I had just learned the names of the presidents of the United States. Attempting to hold back, as much as any eight-year-old could, hands on my hips, head leaned forward, I demanded an answer: why are there no female presidents?

My parents looked at me, and my dad said, with all seriousness: “Honey, you could be the first president of the United States of America.” Now, he didn’t know that you needed to be a naturalized citizen, or at least a citizen, because he wasn’t actually predicting my career. Instead, he was instilling in his daughter, on that day, the belief that she could do anything, she could become anything, regardless of gender.

Now fast-forward 22 years. As I was launching my company after working for others as a consultant, I went to give notice to one of the owners. He looked at me and declared that I would never be as good a business person as he was. Well, I thought it was from a lack of knowledge or education. Wanting to better myself, or at least to be self-aware, I asked him: “Why?” He looked at me, shrugged and said: “Because you’re a woman.”

Well, although I could tell you numerous stories of difficulties being in business as a woman, stories that so many women can relate to — being asked for male co-signers, having to work harder and prove myself — I believe that I have made a difference for women who will come after me. Throughout my career, I have worked to create fair hiring practices, flexible working hours and time off, parental leave and personal days, as well as equal pay for equal work, because I believe that challenges create change.

What gives me confidence that change is happening? Well, I need to look no further than my lifetime to see this change. The year before I was born, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act came into being. That act allowed women for the first time to have a credit rating on their own. Well, that’s not that big of a deal, you might think. But without a credit rating, women could not get loans. They couldn’t have a credit card. They couldn’t own properties without paying outright with cash, or have businesses on their own. They were not financially independent.

[11:50 a.m.]

My grandmother was one of those individuals. She was 36 years old when my grandfather passed away suddenly, leaving her with six children between the ages of two and 16. My grandmother went to the bank to try and keep the farm. She wanted to take over the loans that my grandfather had signed, but she could not. She was forced to sell, move to the city and work two jobs. Well, the silver lining is that she worked, she saved, and she eventually bought not one but two homes: one for her family to live in and one to supplement her income and provide for her children.

We have come so far since those days, but we have so much further to go. Societal norms, jobs, workplace culture, how we treat each other and how much we are all paid — all of this requires work, especially now. In the middle of this pandemic, the gaps are showing. Women are doing more of the child raising and housework while still trying to provide for their families. They’re losing their jobs at higher rates than their male counterparts. We need to work together to close those gaps.

Challenge creates change. The challenge of an eight-year-old learning about historical norms. The challenge of a woman being cursed as she started her career but persevering through difficult times. The challenge of a woman and single parent to six children attempting to give them a better tomorrow. The challenges of the women during this pandemic.

The challenges, the courage and the change will emerge, because already, in my lifetime, I’ve seen that change, from the equal credit opportunity and financial institutions changing; to the first Black and Asian female becoming Vice-President; to the incredible, successful businesswomen in our province; to changes in our workplaces. Even here in this House, two out of the three party leaders are women.

I am pleased to see the members of this House join together to recognize the progress we’ve made and the very important work that still needs to be done to make sure that challenge creates change.

J. Sims: Let me start off by acknowledging that I am speaking today from the unceded territory of the Kwantlen, the Katzie and the Semiahmoo people, and I raise my hands in gratitude.

[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]

I also want to wish all of my colleagues in the House; everybody working at the Legislature, on both sides of the House; and everybody else who is watching around the world, because I’m sure there is somebody watching us in some other country as well: happy International Women’s Day.

It is an honour and a privilege to be able to speak in the people’s House on this topic today. Let me start by thanking my colleague from Vancouver-Kensington for bringing this motion forward and giving us an opportunity to highlight the achievements and the challenges that women continue to face.

I want to start off by acknowledging a huge mentor in my life, my mother. I think in her 96 years, she saw quite a change. She was born in India in a small village and lived through the partition of India, when three countries were formed. Then, as an adult, with four little kids all under the age of 9, moved to a new country, a new way of living — new food, new language. The incredible way she raised us…. The key thing I want to acknowledge was her love for life and family and instilling in us that we could achieve anything.

I would also like to acknowledge my dad at this stage, because he supported me in my wildest of things. If I wanted to take judo, even though it wasn’t the thing done by girls to take judo back in the mid ’60s, he was right there to support me. When I wanted to go to university, he was saying: “Why not?” And I went.

So besides my parents, I think one thing I’ve realized over the years is that the people who played a critical role in my life were my teachers, teachers who instilled in me the fact that I did have the capabilities and that there were no doors that I could not walk through. If I didn’t like them, I could close that door and go and walk through another door. So to Mrs. Rowe and Lady Ponsonby-Duck, a huge thank you. You made a little girl who didn’t speak a word of English and cried a lot of the time feel included and gave her the support she needed back in 1962.

[11:55 a.m.]

Now I want to thank all the amazing women, both in Canada and around the world, who have gone before us, who have fought so that we could have the privilege that we have today and some of the gains that have been made for women. When I was a Member of Parliament and I had the privilege to serve in the House of Commons, one of my favourite spots to visit was the Famous Five. I did a lot of reading around the Famous Five. Being a history teacher, I was really interested, and because they were women I was interested as well. I kept thinking how far we have come yet how far we still have to go.

I’m always reminded that there was a time right here in Canada when women were thrown out of the House of Commons, the people’s House — pulled by their hair because they dared to ask for the right to vote and to have a say. I raise my hands in thanks and gratitude to all those women who fought during a period when their personal health and security were at risk as well. They were the warriors who have created and carved out this place for us.

Now as I look at the women in the House right here in B.C., on both sides, we have a huge responsibility to make sure that we look at the glass ceiling that still exists, look at the gender-based violence that exists, look at equity issues, look at the need for more concerted child care. We need to have more targeted resources to make sure that our girls and young women can fulfil and live their dreams.

We all have an amazing opportunity, and I invite each and every one of us on all sides of the House: let’s take a look through a woman’s lens. Let’s see what we need to focus on, and let’s move forward. I’m a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother coming from five generations of first-born women, and I can tell you that I want to leave the world a place where my great-granddaughter can live her dreams without anybody telling her she can’t do it because she is a girl.

J. Sims moved adjournment of debate.

Motion approved.

Hon. M. Farnworth moved adjournment of the House.

Motion approved.

Mr. Speaker: The House stands adjourned until 1:30 this afternoon.

The House adjourned at 11:58 a.m.