Introduction
284. This report covers the period of January 1, 1991 to March 31, 1994.
285. The government of New Brunswick is committed to the improvement of opportunities for women through the development of policies and strategies which advance women's participation in society.
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286. The New Brunswick Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and marital status, among other things. It also prohibits sexual harassment. In May 1992, the definition of sex was expanded to include pregnancy as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Complaints on the basis of sex, sexual harassment, pregnancy and marital status, received by the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, comprise 43 percent of the total case load. The largest portion of this number is in the category of sex discrimination in employment.
287. The Department of Education continued initiatives begun in 1989 with the Ministerial Statement on Multicultural and Human Rights Education, to ensure a discrimination-free environment for all students and personnel within the education system.
288. In 1993, the Women's Directorate ceased to exist as a separate department. Nonetheless, important initiatives aimed at improving the social and economic condition of women in New Brunswick continue. The New Brunswick departments of Health and Community Services, Justice, Finance, Advanced Education and Labour have taken on program and policy initiatives formerly under the Women's Directorate's mandate. Employment Equity, the Mentorship Program for Female Students, harassment in the workplace and flex hours are a few of the responsibilities and issues that are ongoing. There is a Minister responsible for the Status of Women in New Brunswick and a Minister responsible for Employment Equity. The former Deputy Minister of the Women's Directorate is the first female Ombudsman of the Province of New Brunswick.
289. The New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women continues to advise government on matters pertaining to the status of women in New Brunswick.
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290. As an employer, the New Brunswick government actively supports employment equity initiatives which work towards social, economic and political equality for women in the New Brunswick public sector.
291. The employment equity program for women has been in place in Part I of the New Brunswick Public Service since 1985. Part I of the Public Service includes government departments.
292. Departments and agencies in Part I of the public service have completed two three-year cycles of employment equity action plans and began their third cycle in April 1993.
293. In preparation of the extension of the employment equity program to Part II of the Public Service, the Department of Education, in co-operation with the Department of Finance, has developed an employment equity policy as well as implementation and communication strategies. Part II of the Public Service includes schools and school boards.
294. In March 1993, the Minister of Education released a policy statement on employment equity.
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295. The New Brunswick Department of Education has reviewed curriculum material to ensure that it is stereotype-free and portrays women in a positive light. In this regard, A Checklist for Detecting Bias and Stereotyping in Instructional Materials was developed.
296. The Department of Education, in conjunction with the Women's Directorate, developed posters and brochures encouraging female students to pursue non-traditional careers in the fields of mathematics and science.
297. The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission has developed a resource guide called Rights and Responsibilities: the 4th and 5th R's of Education. The guide, designed for use by educators, community groups and others, contains lesson plans in the areas of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination.
298. The Human Rights Commission has developed an audio-visual Foundations for Fairness series in French and English which contains the videos What is Prejudice?, A Parable in Black and White and a public service announcement Masks, as well as a study guide. Aimed at a wide audience, the videos deal with stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.
299. The Department of Health and Community Services developed an award-winning film entitled When the Bough Breaks, which addresses the issue of family violence.
300. A Native Women's Transition House has been established in Fredericton, to provide shelter and counselling to on and off-reserve Native women in crisis. The transition house is cost-shared by the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and the New Brunswick Department of Health and Community Services.
301. The New Brunswick Interdepartmental Committee on Family Violence continues to monitor, recommend and co-ordinate government initiatives related to all forms of family violence. The Committee was established in 1987 in order to facilitate co-operation and understanding between government departments and agencies which deal with family violence.
302. The Interdepartmental Committee on Family Violence has developed a multi-year multi-disciplinary training strategy and curriculum to be completed by 1996. The training will be delivered in three phases. Phase I will address Child Abuse, Phase II Women Abuse, and Phase III Abuse of Vulnerable Adults.
303. The Court of Queen's Bench, Family Division, has several support services which are provided to separating or divorcing spouses and single parents. These services include information and screening services, counselling, mediation services, legal representation, and support order enforcement services.
304. The Domestic Legal Aid program was introduced in May of 1993. Working together, court social workers and family solicitors in the eight judicial districts are able to represent the interests of victims of spousal abuse. Court social workers, after screening and assessment, refer victims of spousal abuse to the family solicitor who is hired on contract to represent their interests and provide legal representation to the court for any needed relief sought by the clients in the areas of support, custody, access and division of property.
305. The Department of Justice initiated a one-year pilot project titled the Trauma Counselling Project in October 1993. The goal of the project is to help abused and traumatized women and children effectively deal with the criminal court process.
306. A steering committee on Public Awareness of Family Violence through Community Partnerships is comprised of community and government representatives. The intent of this project is to educate the public regarding the definition of family violence, the criminality of this type of abuse, its sources and causes, and its effects and impacts on society. The project also aims to establish collaborative partnerships with government, non-government groups and corporations to foster a comprehensive approach towards the elimination of family violence.
307. New Brunswick was chosen as the national pilot test site for the development of criminal justice family violence statistics. The project is currently on-going with the New Brunswick Department of the Solicitor General and consists of gathering and analyzing statistics on woman abuse.
308. In its commitment to address the various components of family violence, the New Brunswick government established working groups to develop protocols to help identify and promote effective intervention. The child abuse protocols were established in 1987 and the woman abuse protocols in 1990. Woman abuse protocols were reviewed and redistributed in 1993.
309. The Muriel McQueen Fergusson Foundation Inc. is a charitable trust, established in 1985. The goals of the Foundation are to fund research into the causes, incidence and forms of treatment of family violence and to promote and sponsor effective public education programmes. In 1987, the Foundation created the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick, in co-operation with that university. The Centre is dedicated to the study of family violence and to undertake initiatives which will contribute to the elimination of family violence in society. In mid 1991, a $2.5 million fund raising campaign was undertaken by the Foundation.
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310. The number of women members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of New Brunswick has continued to rise over the years from a low of one in 1967 to a total of 10 women MLAs in 1993 out of 58.
311. In 1994, four New Brunswick female MLAs were represented at the cabinet level.
312. New Brunswick's first woman Speaker of the House was appointed in October 1991.
313. In 1993, four out of nineteen deputy ministers were women.
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314. Women represent the Province of New Brunswick at international levels and participate in the work of international organizations.
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315. During the period of this report, full-time female enrolment percentages at all four university levels increased as did percentages of those who obtained degrees. The four levels are bachelors, 1st Professional, Masters, and PhD.
316. New Brunswick Student Aid offers the Women's Doctoral Scholarship Program. Ten scholarships a year at $5000 each are offered.
317. The Gender Equity in Education Award offered by the Department of Education recognizes, on an annual basis, individuals who have made a significant contribution towards the achievement of gender equity in the public school system.
318. The Innovation and Development Team of the Department of Education is a new branch formed to help develop innovative initiatives in education. Women's issues is one of the priority areas, and innovative programs for female students, teachers, and educational staff will be initiated.
319. In October 1993, the Department of Education sponsored a conference called "Young and Female: Challenging the Status Quo". The conference focused on exposing young women to non-traditional careers and facilitated discussions on obstacles that have kept women from pursuing these professions.
320. The Promotion of Higher Achievement for Female Students in Science and Technology, sponsored by the Department of Education, held two seminars and in addition, sponsored two summer science institutes in 1992 and 1993. Thirty-six students and six teachers worked with thirty-six female scientists for four days.
321. The Interdepartmental Committee on Family Violence held numerous workshops in school districts on Women Abuse Protocols and in high schools on Dating Violence.
322. Staff development projects for female teachers are designed to encourage and assist female teachers to take courses leading to the attainment of the principal's certificate. Upon completion, a bursary is allocated to cover tuition costs.
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323. In 1991, women over the age of 15 comprised approximately 54.4 percent of New Brunswick's total labour force.
324. A Day Care Assistance Program is offered by the Department of Human Resources Development New Brunswick. It is designed to provide assistance with the cost of day care services, purchased from licensed day care facilities, to families who meet the eligibility requirements.
325. In December 1993, the Department of Income Assistance (now the Department of Human Resources Development) publicly released a discussion paper entitled Creating New Options. The document suggested that significant reforms were needed with respect to the provincial social assistance policy and employment related services for unemployed New Brunswickers. A ministerial committee was established to oversee a three month consultation process throughout the province. A public consultative report was released in mid-1994 which outlines key themes and summarizes participants feedback.
326. In May 1992, the New Brunswick and federal governments launched a joint initiative called "NB Works". This six year national demonstration project provides a continuum of counselling, education, training, and work experience services to income assistance recipients. The project is designed to enable participants to obtain sufficient educational, employment and life skills to strive towards self-sufficiency. NB Works consists of a $177 million federal-provincial commitment to the project's implementation and goals, with the potential to impact future social policy and programming models in Canada. The government partners are the federal Department of Human Resources Development and the provincial departments of Human Resources Development and Advanced Education and Labour. The overwhelming majority of participants in the NB Works program are women, who represent over 80 percent of the total number of participants to date.
327. The Pension Benefits Act introduced a series of pension reforms which will enhance income security during retirement. The Act provides statutory eligibility rights for part-time workers, enhanced portability rights, and five year vesting. These provisions will assist in preserving pension membership for women who may have interrupted working patterns as a result of child care responsibilities. New requirements for the provisions of pre-retirement and post-retirement survivor benefits will also facilitate more employment pension benefits being delivered to spouse and beneficiaries, many of whom are women.
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328. The Department of Health and Community Services offers a reproductive health clinic program which provides counselling, clinical and outreach educational services. It is implemented in all seven regions of New Brunswick.
329. The Mental Health Commission's intervention services for victims of family violence has thirteen treatment groups throughout the province. These groups include adult female survivors victimized by childhood sexual abuse by someone in a position of trust.
330. In March 1991, The Department of Health and Community Services established the New Brunswick Breast Cancer Screening Committee and charged it with a mandate to explore the feasibility of establishing a provincial breast cancer screening program. It is anticipated that organized breast cancer screening services will be operational by January 1995.
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331. The By-law of the New Brunswick Arts Board Act came into effect in June 1991. The by-laws state that Juries for Artistic Merit must reflect a balance of the seven artistic disciplines as well as gender, language and region. The New Brunswick Arts Board is a branch of the New Brunswick Department of Municipalities, Culture and Housing.
332. The Sports Branch of the Department of Municipalities, Culture and Housing promotes national programs which encourage women to participate in sport activities. In particular, the Province supports the program of the Canadian Coaching Association which assists women coaches to further develop their skills.
333. In 1994, the Province adopted a sports and recreation policy which ensures equal opportunities for all persons.
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334. The New Brunswick Farm Women's Association receives funding from the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture. This Association lobbies for women and families living on farms in New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Women's Institute also receives funding from the Department of Agriculture. The Institute is a provincial organization which works to improve the quality of rural women's lives.
335. The Department of Agriculture has a farm management program. A national survey has found that in excess of 60 percent of New Brunswick farm women have taken business management courses.
336. The Department of Economic Development and Tourism has an ongoing entrepreneur program called Self-Start. One of the main target groups is women. In 1993, total approvals numbered 897, with 367 for females.
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337. The Saint John Regional Correctional Centre offers various ongoing female offender programs and workshops on such topics as parenting, self-esteem, anger management, assertiveness, self-awareness, community awareness and effective interpersonal communication.
338. Two half-way housing facilities are available for female offenders: Euphrasia House and the John Howard Society.
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339. The Department of Human Resources Development of New Brunswick will significantly increase activity in the enforcement of family support orders.
340. The Change of Name Act was amended. The consent of a spouse is no longer required for the other spouse's application for a change of registered name involving a surname. It is now replaced by a notification requirement only.
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