REGINA – With International Women’s Day coming up this weekend, MLAs marked the occasion this week at the Legislative Assembly.
At the Legislature on Thursday were more than 70 women in leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, according to the province.
The province has officially proclaimed March 8 as International Women’s Day. Minister for the Status of Women Alana Ross noted how important the day is.
“As the Minister for the Status of Women, it's really important to acknowledge not only the achievements women have made, but how they contribute to our province, to our country, just to society in general. And with the International Women's Day being official, we decided that we would proclaim that in Saskatchewan as well, to be able to celebrate that.”
Of the women who were at the reception at the Legislature that day, Ross said there was “women from all areas.
“There was women from banks, from insurances, from corporations, women executives, women from community-based organizations, women from the arts, women from all areas. And the amazing work that they do for our province, it not only helps us socially, it helps us economically.
Women do such important things. And I look back to when I was a girl, you had limited choices to what you were able to do as a woman. And I look around the room and I see these women, these accomplished women, paving the way for young women of the future. And that is so important because we have so much to give.”
When asked about what advice she would have given to her younger self, Ross responded “Hang in there. You know, it's going to come. Follow your dreams. I was a little bit late in following mine, but I would tell that to young people today. You can accomplish anything… Don't lose sight. Because sometimes we get discouraged. And it's difficult. But just don't give up.”
One of those at the Legislature Thursday was Kelsey Lonie, a historian and author of a book called A Vacation for Victory coming in May.
Lonie said the book was only made possible through the support of the Status of Women's Office. She said the book “tells the stories of Saskatchewan women working in agriculture during the Second World War and how those women paved the way in agriculture for women today.”
She said women in the Second World War were offered opportunities for growth and expansion. “We think about Rosie the Riveter all the time and the women working in factories and offices that they had never done before. But there were also opportunities for women in agriculture. And so there were all these women across Saskatchewan working on farms.”
During the war Lonie noted there were opportunities for women to travel to new places to be paid for work that they already knew how to do.
“And this was a real launching point for them. They may have never left the farm before. And all of a sudden they were two provinces over meeting girls and women that they'd never met before.And I know that for them that was a huge stepping out. A moment of independence for them. And those are the stories that those women were able to pass on to the next generation.”
When asked what advice she would have given to her younger self, Lonie said “Well, I mean, I'm still young. But a 20-year-old me would have been shocked to be standing here today. I always had passions and interests in history and agriculture, and growing up listening to the stories of my grandmother and the oral history that was passed down. But, yeah, taking your passions and turning them into realities. That's something that is really something that I'm taking seriously now. And I think I would have told myself, hey, if you have passions, run with them.”
NDP say there are still serious issues to be addressed
While the achievements of women are being celebrated this week, the opposition NDP pointed to serious issues impacting women in the province, including continued high rates of domestic violence.
At a news conference Friday at the Legislature, NDP MLAs Nicole Sarauer and Jacqueline Roy called on the government to recognize the crisis and declare it an epidemic.
“Saskatchewan still leads Canada when it comes to intimate partner violence,” said Sarauer, pointing to rates being double the national average.
“It is clear that as a province we are not doing enough. It is possible to end domestic violence and intimate partner violence, but to do this we must recognize this crisis for what it is – an epidemic.”
“It’s the right thing to do,” Roy said. “Declaring an epidemic won’t end domestic and intimate partner violence but it at least acknowledges that a serious problem exists… this is International Women’s Day and I urge every minister of the Government to recognize the reality of this situation and join our call for the recognition of domestic and intimate partner violence as the epidemic that it is.”
In a statement in response to the NDP press conference the province said: "Interpersonal violence of any kind is unacceptable." They pointed to the province’s interpersonal violence and domestic violence strategies including investing $33.5 million for interpersonal violence programs and services through the justice system, including annualized funding for transition houses and second-stage shelters, and additional funding for Victims Services and other important supports.
They also pointed to investments in 211 Saskatchewan, ongoing partnerships with community service providers for Family Intervention Rapid Support Teams; counselling services and supports for victims of sexual violence; transportation services for women and children fleeing domestic violence; and awareness campaigns to help people recognize the signs of interpersonal violence and human trafficking.
The province also says it continues to implement the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence, and points to legislation introduced last fall including the Cyberstalking and Coercive Control Act.
