Introduction
426. This document summarizes and updates the measures that the Province of Ontario has taken since the third report up to March 31, 1994 with respect to provincial policies, legislation and programs relevant to the articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Articles 2 and 3: Equality
Ontario Human Rights Commission
427. The Ontario Human Rights Commission administers and enforces the Ontario Human Rights Code. The purpose of the Code is to eliminate discrimination in all forms and to provide for the equal rights and opportunities of every person in Ontario.
428. The Commission is implementing a series of eight organizational improvement mechanisms which are intended to effect tangible reforms in the way the Commission's work is conducted. Specifically, the Commission is: implementing a quality and quantity assurance system; establishing a coherent customer service program; streamlining and enhancing enforcement procedures; using technology to become more efficient and productive; creating a lean organizational structure; defining and preserving clear standards of accountability; supporting all staff through relevant training and development; and acting to ensure organizational health, including the use of sound anti-racism principles.
429. The Commission's Public Policy and Education Branch has developed a policy on sexual harassment and gender-related comments and jokes which is now being implemented.
Ontario Women's Directorate
430. The Ontario Women's Directorate is the central advocacy agency for women within the provincial government. The Directorate works to enable the government to achieve its commitment to economic, social and legal equality for all women in Ontario. The Directorate has continued to fulfil its mandate since its founding in 1983, and now has 80 employees and an annual budget of $22.6 million.
431. The Community Grants Program has an allocation of $750,000. Funds are targeted for time-limited projects which address the prevention of violence against women, economic equity, workplace discrimination, educational equity and training, and the balance between paid work and family. The criteria also focus on the needs of immigrant, racial minority, Aboriginal, elderly, disabled, rural, francophone, lesbian and young women. In addition, the Wife Assault Public Education Grants Program, with an allocation of $197,000 and the Sexual Assault Public Education Grants Program, with an allocation of $174,000, distribute funds to community groups for local public education on sexual assault and wife assault issues and are administered on the basis of fair regional distribution.
432. In 1993, a $1 million stabilization program was established for 20 women's centres to ensure their continued service and advocacy for Ontario.
433. The Directorate also implements and administers the Change Agent program. This program is designed to encourage innovative projects in the private sector which influence implementation of education and training equity, community economic development initiatives, balancing of work and family responsibilities, and reduction of workplace harassment.
434. The Directorate co-ordinates the Wife Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention Initiatives. Since the third report, the Directorate has been working with ministries and with input from community groups to integrate these initiatives into a comprehensive Violence Against Women Prevention Strategy.
Ontario Advisory Council on Women's Issues
435. The Ontario Advisory Council on Women's Issues advises government on matters relating to the status of women in Ontario. The Council is an independent arms-length organization that advises on government directions and policies.
436. Since 1993, members of the Council have been chosen by a community nomination process. By opening the process to input from women's groups, the Council recently welcomed 15 new members who represent the diversity of women and women's interests in Ontario.
Women who face multiple forms of discrimination
437. The Government of Ontario has enacted legislation and implemented programs to foster the equality of women who face multiple forms of discrimination. Outlined below are some of the specific policies and programs aimed at assisting these women. See also Article 4.1 with respect to employment equity.
(a) Women with disabilities and senior women
438. The Advocacy Act, 1992, proclaimed in force on April 3, 1995, helps all vulnerable people to exercise their fundamental rights, including the right to seek change in the way that services are delivered. An Advocacy Commission, controlled by the disabled persons and seniors communities will design and administer the system. This Act is part of larger legislation aimed to protect adults with disabilities from abuse and neglect.
439. The Office for Disability Issues of the Ministry of Citizenship and the Ontario Women's Directorate provide $285,000 through the community action fund to improve accessibility of services for women with disabilities who are victims of abuse.
440. In 1993, the Government of Ontario, in partnership with the Disabled Women's Network of Toronto, conducted a needs assessment related to wife assault of women with disabilities. The report was issued in April, 1993.
441. The Seniors Issue Group of the Ministry of Citizenship and the Ontario Women's Directorate recently published a research feasibility study on the issue of sexual assault of senior women. Elder abuse is an issue that affects women disproportionately. The Ministry has addressed this issue through community research and policy initiatives.
442. An Access Fund has been developed by the Ministry of Citizenship to increase physical accessibility by persons with disabilities and seniors to existing community room meetings and public facilities, including the provision of alternative formats such as braillers, telephone devices for the deaf (TDD's) and scanners. Approximately $200,000 was granted from the fund to 12 women's organizations from January 1991 to the end of the fiscal year 1993.
(b) Aboriginal women
443. The Government of Ontario has worked to fulfil its commitment to develop an Aboriginal family violence prevention and health promotion strategy. The Government launched an Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Strategy in 1994, in partnership with representatives of major Aboriginal organizations. The Strategy addresses the serious problems of family violence in Aboriginal communities and will improve access by Aboriginal persons to health care. $33.3 million in ongoing funding and $16 million in one-time capital has been allocated to fund this strategy over the next 5 years.
444. The Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat provides funding to the Ontario Native Women's Association for projects for Aboriginal women. In 1991-92, funds were provided for the Aboriginal Women's Self-Government Resource Centre ($240,000) and Environment Conference ($10,000). The Secretariat continues to support the implementation of the Statement of Political Relationship between the province and Aboriginal Nations ($125,000 per year).
(c) Lesbian women
445. Since 1992, the Government of Ontario has provided employee benefits to same sex partners of employees in the Ontario public service.
446. The Government of Ontario introduced legislation which would have granted same-sex couples equal rights, benefits and obligations as heterosexual common-law couples. However, the proposed legislation was narrowly defeated by a vote of the Legislature.
(d) Immigrant and visible minority women
447. See also responses to article 12.
448. The Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat of the Ministry of Citizenship has worked to build the capacity and increase the self-sufficiency of a number of women's organizations focused on anti-discrimination activity by providing operating funding during the last two fiscal years. In 1992-93, a total of $115,000 was allocated and in 1993-94 a total of $129,000 was provided.
449. In 1992, the Ministry of Citizenship announced funding of $1.2 million for seven Cultural Interpreter Services for 1992-93. These services support non-English speaking women, particularly those who are victims of violence, and assist them in getting necessary shelter, social, legal and medical support services.
450. In 1992, the Riverdale Immigrant Women's Centre received $106,785 to continue providing settlement and integration services, as well as English as a second language programs, to South Asian and Chinese speaking women and their families. New Experiences for Refugees Women in Toronto received $53,010 to continue providing similar services to refugee women from Latin American countries.
Article 2 - Links to Convention text and other sections
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Article 3 - Links to Convention text and other sections CONV | FED | NF | NS | NB | QC | MB | SK | AB | BC | NT
Article 4.1: De facto equality
Employment equity
451. In December 1993, the Employment Equity Act received third reading; it came into force on September 1, 1994. The Act legislates employment equity for four designated groups women, Aboriginal persons, racial minorities and persons with disabilities. These groups were found to be disadvantaged in the workplace and to have faced barriers, many embedded in workplace policies and procedures, that denied them equal opportunity.
452. The Act covers over 75 percent of Ontario's workers and includes the Ontario Public Service, broader public sector employers with 10 or more employees (i.e. publicly funded employers such as municipalities, hospitals, school boards, universities and social agencies) and private sector workplaces with 50 or more employees.
453. Under the Act, employers will survey their workforce to determine representation of designated group members; review their workplace policies and practices to identify barriers faced by the disadvantaged groups and develop an employment equity plan to eliminate the barriers and to initiate measures to overcome the disadvantages faced by members of the designated groups. Where workers are unionized, their representatives will have joint responsibility for developing these steps, while non-unionized workers must be consulted by their employers during the process.
454. The public and stakeholder consultation process was initiated in 1991, with the Minister of Citizenship's appointment of a Commissioner to carry out a public consultation on employment equity. The Employment Equity Commissioner received over 400 submissions and prepared a report, Opening Doors. Public and stakeholder consultation continued as the legislation was moved through three readings in Ontario's legislature and throughout the development of regulations.
455. The Act establishes an Employment Equity Commission to administer and monitor the legislation. The Commission will provide guidance, information and data to support the implementation of employment equity. Disputes about compliance and complaints of non-compliance will be mediated or decided by the Employment Equity Tribunal.
456. Between 1984 and 1992, the Ontario Government provided $16.6 million in the form of the Employment Equity Incentive Fund to encourage the development and implementation of employment equity funds in the broader public sector. The Fund provided financial assistance, on a cost-sharing basis with recipients, to conduct needs assessments, hire employment equity co-ordinators for program development and implementation, and carry out special projects. By 1992, a total of 401 organizations had received funding: 148 of a total of 183 school boards; 30 of 101 large companies; 23 of 23 colleges; 18 of 18 universities; and 182 of 223 hospitals with more than 100 beds. Prior to the Fund, only 19 public sector organizations had implemented employment equity initiatives for women.
457. The Government of Ontario has conducted a Government-wide Employment Systems Review to identify and remove systemic barriers in employment. Ministries have been implementing plans to make the government's workforce more representative of Ontario's community, especially in occupational groups where women are underrepresented.
458. The Employment Equity Plans Regulation of the Police Services Act requires Ontario's Police forces to establish mandatory employment equity policies, programs and timetables for designated groups, including women. As of 1994, at the entrance level in the Ontario Provincial Police Force, women represented 50 percent of the intake.
459. Since 1990, school boards have been required to develop and implement policies and programs to increase the representation of women in positions of principal, vice-principal and supervisory officer to at least 50 percent by the year 2000.
Article 4 - Links to Convention text and other sections
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Article 5: Sex-role stereotyping and family education
460. See also responses to articles 2, 3, 10 and 12.
461. The Government of Ontario is committed to eliminating violence against women. In 1994, the Government of Ontario co-ordinated spending of over $99 million for programs and services ranging from shelters and sexual assault centres to improvements in the justice system and public education campaigns through the Violence Against Women Prevention Strategy.
462. December 6 has been proclaimed as a Provincial Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Sexual Assault Prevention Month is observed every May. The May 1992 campaign was the first in Canada to focus on the issue of consent. The campaign featured dramatic television ads shown during sports programs, as well as candid radio ads which targeted teenagers.
463. The Ministry of Education and Training funds a number of projects and initiatives related to reducing the incidence of all forms of violence against women and girls. These include in-service training for school board staff, curriculum development on wife assault and sexual assault, and date rape prevention projects. Public education materials are now published in 28 different languages, including many Aboriginal languages. In 1992, the Ministry launched eight pilot projects to help children who witness the assault of their mothers. In-school workers provide counselling, promote family violence prevention activities and liaise with agencies to create a support network for students.
464. In 1992, the former Ministry of Colleges and Universities (now part of the Ministry of Education and Training) announced a year-long consultation with the college and university community and others, to implement a policy against harassment and discrimination on Ontario campuses. In 1991, the Ministry announced $1.45 million a year to make Ontario campuses safer for women.
465. The Ministry of Community and Social Services, through its "Better Beginnings Better Futures" initiative, funds a number of prevention demonstration projects to reduce the risks to children living in economically disadvantaged communities. These projects are based on a community development process which empowers women. The Ministry's spending on services to eliminate violence against women has increased by 39 percent since the last report. These services are intended to provide protection to victims of violence and to reduce the incidence of violence against women through counselling of the victims and children, public education and prevention strategies. The Government also supports "Batterers" programs to reduce recidivism against women.
466. The Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services funds 26 Rape Crisis Centres throughout Ontario, with seven more under development, including four francophone Centres. The Centres provide comprehensive services to women including 24 hour crisis intervention and support; hospital, police and court accompaniment; public and professional education; short and long-term group and individual counselling; information and referral services; diverse community outreach; and other services to urban and rural areas.
467. In January 1994, the Ministry released the Standards on Police Response to Wife Assault which provide guidelines for all Ontario police forces to respond to suspected cases of wife assault. The Standards were based on a model protocol that was developed after community consultations in 1992. To assist in providing in-service training for police on wife-assault, the Oxford Project: A Crisis Intervention Manual for Police Trainers was developed which supports the implementation of the standards.
468. Police training at the Ontario Police College also includes components on wife assault, sexual assault and gender sensitivity. The Ministry has developed and implemented training for correctional staff on wife abuse and the impact of sexual assault on female offenders. Staff training programs are currently being reviewed to ensure that the curriculum promotes an understanding of gender equality.
469. In 1991, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines provided funds for a number of programs aimed at preventing wife assault and sexual assault in Northern Ontario, and assisting survivors of such assaults. These included $360,000 in operating funds for a program to train sexual assault workers, $1,084,000 capital funding for two women's shelters in Thunder Bay, a fund to assist survivors of sexual assault and wife assault in Northern Ontario by improving the accessibility of outreach and self-help programs, and in 1992, a $35,000 grant for "Le Collectif des femmes francophones du nord-est ontarien" to host a conference in Sudbury to foster autonomy and equality for women. The Ministry also administered two programs that provide grants to assist survivors of sexual assault and wife assault.
470. The Office of Francophone Affairs reviews all Government policy proposals to ensure that the particular needs of francophone women, especially those living in Northern and rural Ontario, have been taken into account and has been involved in several interministerial initiatives which have significant implications for francophone women. The Office administers a Community Support Fund which provides grants to francophone groups, including women's groups and groups which serve women. Many of these groups work to prevent violence against women and to improve the health and economic status of francophone women.
Article 5 - Links to Convention text and other sections
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Article 7: Political and public life
471. Amendments to the Courts of Justice Act, which were introduced in 1993 and came into force on February 28, 1995, made the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee permanent. The Committee develops criteria for the selection of appointments to the Provincial Court and seeks candidates who will reflect the diversity of Ontario's population. Five of the ten Committee members are women.
472. When the Committee began to operate in 1988, only 4 percent of provincial judges were women. As a result of the Committee's recommendations, 93 judicial appointments have been made, 39 of which (42 percent) were women appointed between November 1990 and December 1993. Almost 30 percent of applicants were women. As of 1994, 45 of 260 Ontario Court (Provincial Division) judges are women.
473. Ontario's Legislative Assembly consists of 130 members, 27 of which are women. Of 27 cabinet ministers, 8 are women.
474. In 1993 and in 1994, 44 percent of school board trustees were women, a 5 percent increase since 1990.
475. The position of deputy minister is the highest position level an employee can reach in the Ontario Public Service. In 1994, nine of 25 deputy ministers are women and 45 out of 91 assistant deputy ministers are women.
476. In 1991 and 1992, 176 new postsecondary school graduates were hired under a special initiative as interns into the Ontario Public Service. Of those hired, 129 (73 percent) were women.
477. In 1991, 2,976 of 13,890 (21.4 percent) full-year, full-time university faculty were women. This represents a 1.2 percent increase over the 1989-90 figures.
478. One half of all new Crown Attorney appointees in Ontario are women.
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479. See also responses to articles 5, 7, 11.1(b) and 11.1(c).
480. The Ontario Government continues to develop programs to ensure equal opportunity for women in all areas of education, especially in non-traditional fields.
481. The Ontario Women's Directorate has co-sponsored an international Gender Science and Technology Conference and, in conjunction with the Canadian Teachers' Federation, has produced a book to address how cultural and gender bias affects the academic choices and performance of female students in science and in school.
482. The Directorate has been instrumental in developing community-based role-modelling programs and it supports education equity through the development and distribution of resource materials for teachers and students. To counter sex-role stereotyping, the Directorate has produced a guide which encourages young women to consider a full range of career options.
483. The former Ministry of Colleges and Universities (now part of the Ministry of Education and Training) published and distributed two background documents on the status of women in postsecondary institutions: Status of Women in Ontario Universities: Final Report (two volumes) and Status of Women in Ontario Universities: 1990-1991.
484. The Ministry of Education and Training is piloting a project to improve the climate for women studying in trades and technology at colleges of applied arts and technology and has completed a project involving 12 universities to improve conditions for women in engineering studies. The Ministry has supported a number of projects that developed audiovisual and print materials addressing the uneasiness many women experience at colleges and universities.
485. The Ministry supports a number of women in apprenticeship programs including counselling and outreach, programs for increased enrolment to address the fact that women comprise almost 50 percent of the workforce but only 5 percent of apprenticeships, and special outreach to encourage grade 11 female students to consider apprenticeship training. The Ontario Training and Adjustment Board which oversees broad training and re-employment strategies emphasizes the full and effective participation of disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, including women, in labour force development programs and services.
486. The Ministry is a member of the Ontario Committee on Trades, Technology and Operations Occupations for Women, a province-wide committee under the aegis of the community college system.
487. The Ministry has developed a gender equity support document "Engendering Equity" to help primary and secondary schools address gender issues. It is currently being validated.
488. The Ministry also provides child-care bursaries under the Ontario Student Assistance Plan to assist students with child care costs while they attend college or university and has increased the amount of funds available for student loans.
489. As of 1993, 56 percent of all undergraduate students in Ontario were women.
490. Since the last report, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has provided funding to various organizations to promote education for women, including a grant to Laurentian University for the development of a midwifery program, and a program designed to expose grade eight students, especially females, to science, engineering and technology.
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491. See also responses to articles 2, 3 and 4.1.
492. In 1993, 59.5 percent of women over age 15 were in the labour force. They constituted 45.6 percent of Ontario's total labour force. Women accounted for 63 percent of labour force growth from 1981 to 1993.
493. In 1993, Ontario women who worked full-year, full-time, earned on average 71.9 percent as much as men who worked the same time: a 7 percent increase from the 1988 figures. Almost 75 percent of Ontario's working women are employed full-year, full-time.
Article 11 - Links to Convention text and other
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Article 11.1(a): The right to work
494. See also responses to article 4.1. 495. The Government of Ontario believes that public policy and workplace practices must reflect the realities of work and family life and encourage workplaces in which the integration of work and family life is seen as beneficial to employers and employees. Various measures have been adopted throughout government, such as job-sharing and allowing women to work flexible hours to accommodate child care arrangements.
496. The Ontario Women's Directorate has developed materials to help Ontarians to balance work and family responsibilities and has helped to develop workplace policies through co-operative projects with unions, community groups, research institutions, advocacy groups and employers.
497. In 1994, the Directorate organized a three-day national symposium entitled "Families and The Economy: New Partnerships, New Strategies" in support of the United Nations International Year of the Family. Community advocates, practitioners, social, economic and public policy planners, trade unionists and employers worked jointly in this forum to develop collaborative strategies to reconcile and support work and family demands. The proposed actions resulting from the symposium for the various stakeholder sectors will be made available in a call for action paper.
498. Amendments to the Ontario Labour Relations Act, in force in 1993, make union organization easier and more effective, reduce conflict on picket lines, simplify the collective bargaining process and promote greater co-operation and partnership between employees and employers. Domestic workers are now able to organize, and part-time employees (largely women) can join the same bargaining unit as full-time employees. It is expected that women's working conditions will improve as more women become unionized.
499. In 1992, the Ontario Women's Directorate provided $85,000 to fund a project on domestic workers and industrial homeworkers. The project provides information and education for workers who do some form of piecework in their homes. In 1993, the Government announced changes to the Employment Standards Act to protect wages and working-conditions for homeworkers.
Article 11.1(b) and 1(c): Employment opportunities training
500. See also responses to articles 4.1 and 10.
501. The Ministry of Skills Development had developed creative projects to introduce young women to non-traditional trades through SKILLS OK. The Ministry has also developed programs to achieve equity goals in apprenticeship.
502. JobsOntario Training is a training and employment program, with a child care component, designed for social assistance recipients and other unemployed persons who are ineligible for unemployment insurance. By the end of 1994, more than 60,000 jobs have been created for unemployed people in Ontario. More than 24,000 employers are participating in the program. This program has helped save Ontario taxpayers more than $200 million in social assistance costs since its inception.
503. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology, in co-operation with the Federal Business Development Bank launched STEP UP, a mentoring program for business women. Small business women are paired up with owners of larger businesses who act as mentors.
504. The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines administers a $4.6 million Northern Training Opportunities Program which encourages employers to hire students or graduates who represent one or more of the equity groups, one of which is women.
505. In addition, the Ministry has provided grants to initiatives which included $125,000 to the Women in Community Economic Development initiative, which subsidized wages of women interns who were paired with a mentor involved in community economic development, as well as initiatives that provided entrepreneurship training and business start-up support for francophone women and youth and public education to assist women in business.
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Article 11.1(d): Equal remuneration
506. On June 28, 1993, the legislature of Ontario passed amendments to the Pay Equity Act, implementing recommendations made in the 1989 Report of the Pay Equity Office entitled Methods of Achieving Pay Equity in Sectors of the Economy that are Predominantly Female. These amendments, which came into effect on July 1, 1993, will enable an additional 420,000 workers in female job classes to achieve pay equity.
507. The amendments established two new methods of job comparison: proportional value comparisons and proxy comparisons. These methods complement the job-to-job comparison enacted in the existing Act. Both new methods, like the job-to-job comparison method, require gender-neutral comparison of skill, effort and responsibility and working conditions between male and female job classes. The new methods are available where there is an insufficient number of equal or comparably valued male job classes to make direct comparisons with female job classes using the job-to-job method.
508. The Act continues to require employers to pay any necessary adjustments at a rate of one percent of payroll per year until pay equity is achieved, except for public sector employers using job-to-job or proportional value comparisons who must achieve pay equity by January 1, 1998.
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509. The Government of Ontario has publicly affirmed its commitment to assist public sector employers with the cost of achieving pay equity. It anticipates that by the time pay equity is fully achieved, it will contribute $1 billion annually to pay equity adjustment costs. In 1994, the Government is spending $568 million to increase wages in some of the lowest paid women's jobs, like child care and shelter workers.
510. The Pay Equity Downpayment Program was introduced in 1993. It provides a "downpayment" or advance on pay equity adjustments using the proxy comparison method. The program is targeted to reach some of the lowest-paid female workers in the broader public sector.
511. The Pay Equity Commission continues to assist employers, employees and bargaining agents with implementing and resolving disputes concerning pay equity. The Commission has two parts: The Pay Equity Office and the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal.
512. The Pay Equity Advocacy and Legal Services Clinic provides free legal information, advocacy and advice, primarily to unorganized women, regarding pay equity. The Clinic also offers public education and outreach.
Article 11.1(e): Pensions and income support
513. A Fair Tax Commission was established to review a broad range of tax issues including women and taxation and low-income issues. The report was completed in December 1993. The provincial taxes of low income Ontarians, many of whom are single mothers, were reduced or eliminated for the 1991 taxation year.
514. The Ministry of Community and Social Services has implemented strategies to eliminate inequities in the treatment of people who seek social assistance services. The Ministry grants social assistance for three months or more to battered women who have fled home and who are in need; it has removed the waiting period before single parents (primarily women) become eligible for family benefits; and has it revised the calculation of the deduction for child care expenses under the Supports to Employment Program to ensure that the full value of the deduction is realized.
Article 11.1(f): Working conditions
515. See also responses to articles 2 and 3.
516. Since the last report, the minimum wage in Ontario has increased from $5.40 to $6.70 an hour (the highest in North America). This has had a significant impact on the livelihood of many women as 61 percent of Ontario minimum wage earners are women.
517. Policies protecting women from discrimination in the Ontario Public Service have been in effect since 1985. In 1991, the Government of Ontario initiated a comprehensive Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Policy to protect all government employees from harassment and discrimination by co-workers. The program established procedures for redressing discrimination and harassment against women as well as other designated groups. The Government also provides extensive training to staff on workplace discrimination and harassment prevention.
Article 11.2(a) and 2(b): Maternity, pregnancy and paternal leave
518. See also responses to article 11.1(a).
519. The Government of Ontario enhanced pregnancy and paternal leave in 1991. The legislation now gives mothers a right to take up to 35 weeks of unpaid leave, and fathers the right to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave, with the right to return to their jobs. The legislation also applies to adoptive parents. All employees are entitled to pregnancy or paternal leave after being employed for 13 weeks, as opposed to 52 weeks previously.
520. A monetary supplement for parental leave, available to both women and men, has been introduced for employees in the Ontario Public Service.
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Article 11.2(c): Child care
521. See also responses to article 11.1(a).
522. Public consultations were carried out on Ontario's Child Care Reform legislation in 1992. The Government is working to provide affordable yet flexible services, to support more parent participation, to provide options for funding, standards, licensing, and service planning, and to promote quality care by improving training and salaries.
523. Since the last report, the Government of Ontario has increased provincial funding for child care by 49 percent, to $544.6 million. Wage subsidy funding to child care staff has increased by 85 percent since 1991 to $114 million per year.
524. The Minister of Community and Social Services announced $5 million in capital funding to create 400 child care spaces on Indian reserves, non-profit child-care centres in Ontario receive an extra $2,000 for each staff member from the Government. This increases the pay of caregivers (most of whom are women) while maintaining affordability for families. The Government of Ontario encourages the conversion of private commercial centres to parent-controlled, non-profit boards. Over 300 centres are expected to be converted over the next five years.
525. All new job creation programs must now include a child care component. The jobsOntario Training Fund has provided 10,000 new child care spaces for participants (a 20 percent increase in the number of subsidized spaces) and has made a $44 million commitment to build 2,500 more. Funds have also been set aside to construct and repair child care centres.
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526. In 1991, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines provided $5,284,000 capital funding for renovations and construction of child care centres throughout Northern Ontario. In addition, $225,000 was spent to operate a program to train child care workers.
527. See also responses to articles 2, 3 and 5.
528. The Ontario Women's Directorate co-ordinates the Female Genital Mutilation Task Force which is co-chaired by government and community representatives. The mandate of the Task Force is to develop and implement policies to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation and to promote community development initiatives to support women and girls affected by the practice.
529. In Attorney General of Ontario v. Dieleman et al., the Ontario Court (General Division) granted an interlocutory injunction which prevents harassment and intimidation of abortion patients and providers and their families at certain doctors' homes and offices, and at three abortion clinics in Ontario. The Attorney General is bringing the action for a permanent injunction and damages in the public interest to protect the safety and privacy of patients and providers and to ensure continuing access to abortion services.
530. The Independent Health Facilities Act licenses free standing women's clinics which provide for the delivery of therapeutic abortions. In February 1994, the establishment of a new free-standing clinic in Ottawa was announced, as was a program to train physicians in the delivery of abortion services, funded by the Ministry of Health. The Government also provides full funding for 5 free-standing abortion clinics, including $420,000 over the last two years to improve security. Amendments have been made to the Northern Health Travel Grants Program to help cover abortion-related costs for women in remote areas.
531. The Regulated Health Professions Act was proclaimed in December 1993, making Ontario the first province in Canada to have registered midwives. The legislation is also historic as it recognizes traditional Aboriginal midwifery. Three Ontario institutions began to offer the first year of a four-year midwifery program, in September 1993. Three communities, Toronto, Sudbury and St. Jacob's, will have out-of-hospital birthing centres, the first of which is expected to be licensed by December 1994. In addition, the Ministry of Health and Nee-Gan O'Chee Community Services Inc. will be exploring how to meet the birthing needs of Fort Albany, a mainly Aboriginal community on James Bay.
532. The Regulated Health Professions Amendment Act was also proclaimed in December 1993. The purpose of this important health legislation is to eradicate sexual abuse of patients, often women and children, by members of regulated health professions. The legislation provides for funding for therapy and counselling of patients who have been sexually abused and requires mandatory reporting of sexual abuse of patients by regulated health professionals.
533. In July 1991, the Ministry of Health released a report entitled Cesarean Birth: A Quality Assurance Program to Increase the Appropriate Use of Cesarean Birth. An advisory group of the Ontario Medical Association/Ministry of Health Joint Management Committee, together with the Institute of Clinical Evaluation Sciences is developing a quality assurance program to reduce the inappropriate use of cesarean sections. The rate of cesarean sections in Ontario has dropped from 20.2 percent in 1989 to 18 percent in 1992-93.
534. In 1994, the Women's Health Bureau began to work with an advisory group of physicians, advocates and consumers to develop a patient education program for women on menopause.
535. Following the release by the federal government of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies in November 1993, the Ontario Government has re-established an Interministerial Committee on New Reproductive Technologies to review the recommendations of the Commission's Report and prepare a Government policy response.
536. In 1993, a Women's Mental Health Working Group was established. The mandate of the group is to ensure that women's mental health concerns are addressed in the implementation phase of the Mental Health Reform and to develop guidelines on women's mental health needs for the District Health Council's regional planning initiatives.
537. As announced in the third report, the Ontario Government has launched an initiative to address the issue of sexual assault of women. The Government now provides funding to 39 counselling services for adult women who are survivors of sexual assault and to Sexual Assault Treatment Centres in 27 hospitals and 12 satellite sites across the province. The Wife Assault and Sexual Assault Grants Program for the Education of Health Care Professionals provides money to help health care professionals treat survivors of wife assault and sexual assault.
538. In 1992, the Government of Ontario announced $900,000 in funding for 82 new programs to sensitize health professionals to the needs of battered and sexually assaulted women. Funded projects included workshops focusing on the special needs of lesbian, rural, minority, immigrant, and Aboriginal women.
539. As part of a comprehensive strategy to address the health needs of refugee women, immigrant women and women of colour, the Ministry of Health established a grants program in 1993-1994. A fund of more than $650,000 is available for community-developed and community-delivered projects to eliminate barriers to access in the health-care system.
540. The Ministry of Health, the Ontario Hospital Association and the Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat are developing a model for anti-racism organizational change to be used in Ontario hospitals. Self-assessment, communication and education tools and prototype policies and procedures will be developed as part of this project. This will benefit the largely female workforce in the health system as well as patients.
541. Since the last report, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has provided grants to various women's health organizations, including a $50,000 grant to the Ontario Native Women's Association in 1992, for a feasibility study concerning the development of a Healing Lodge in Thunder Bay.
Article 12 - Links to Convention text and other
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Article 13: Family benefits, credits and sports
542. See also responses to articles 5 and 16.
543. In 1994, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation introduced a provincial policy entitled "Full and Fair Access for Women and Girls in Sport and Physical Activity". The policy and its implementation steps are designed to provide women and girls in Ontario a full range of opportunities to participate, compete and lead in the field of sport and physical recreation.
544. In keeping with this policy, the Ministry has altered its funding for local government and community recreation projects to allow for increased funding for projects intended to benefit women and girls. In addition, this program will be altered to make recreation-related anti-sexual harassment initiatives of local government and community not-for-profit organizations eligible for government funding. Provincial sport and recreation organizations will also be encouraged to submit plans in support of this policy, with their annual funding applications. Two guidebooks, entitled "Walking the Talk" and "Level the Playing Field", will be distributed to sport and recreation leaders throughout the province of Ontario, to help address gender issues.
545. In relation to accommodation, the Government of Ontario is committed to providing non-profit housing to people who need it most, such as single mothers and women who have recently left a violent relationship. The Ministry of Housing has worked closely with the Ontario Housing Corporation to increase community economic development projects for its residents. Many of the residents in Ontario Housing Corporation units are single mothers. Among the projects being explored are building management/administration, business support programs (e.g. typing, data entry, delivery of services, teaching adult remedial literacy and numeracy, food co-operative, food catering, and child care and day care services).
546. The Ministry has implemented a policy to give specific priority for government subsidized housing to women who have been assaulted or threatened by an abusive partner. The policy recognizes that women in this situation urgently need safe and affordable housing.
547. The Ministry has worked closely with stakeholders in the arts and business communities to develop a package of possible changes to the Ontario Building Code that would make it easier to run a business from a live/work setting. These proposed changes are expected to form part of the next Ontario Building Code amendments.
548. Under the jobsOntario Housing program, 20,000 new homes are to be created. Legislation also allows homeowners to create an apartment in each of their houses as long as they meet all necessary safety standards. This legislation will increase the supply of affordable housing.
Article 13 - Links to Convention text and other sections
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549. See also responses to articles 2, 3, 5, 11.2(c) and 12.
550. In 1992, the Government of Ontario committed $1.1 million to stabilize the funding of 56 Community Information Centres throughout the province. These Centres are grass-roots organizations that provide information and referrals. It is estimated that more than one third of all Ontario women use these services.
551. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs works closely with farm and rural women to address their needs and to supply funding for programs. This is done predominantly through two provincial organizations: Ontario Farm Women's Network and Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario. Examples of initiatives funded include a provincial meeting which explored ways to build support for community action around the issue of rural domestic violence; a provincial conference which addressed rural child care; a weekend seminar on human resources which examined the contribution of all family members and effective communication; and a provincial conference for women and economic development which resulted in a number of pilot projects to set up regional networks and to provide training programs for women and rural entrepreneurs.
552. The Ministry's 1991 Enhanced Counselling Emergency Program provided one-time assistance to rural organizations to provide farm families with counselling and support services. The 1993 Enhanced Professional Counselling program provided stress counselling to farm families in financial difficulties.
553. The Ministry has produced a video entitled Above Suspicion, which is aimed at helping to explain and develop support for the screening process for candidates who wish to become volunteer leaders. The video also provides guidance on acceptable conduct and how to avoid discriminatory conduct. In its television programs, the Ministry takes care to ensure that both women and men are shown in various farm business roles to avoid stereotyping of women.
Article 14 - Links to Convention text and other sections
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Article 15: Equality before the law
554. See also responses to articles 2, 3 and 5.
555. The Government of Ontario has implemented a "gender neutral" drafting policy. With the completion of the Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990, all current general statutes and regulations are in gender-neutral language.
556. The Government provides free interpreter services for victims of assault in criminal and civil cases. The Ontario Legal Aid Plan provides two hours of free legal advice to women who have been assaulted.
557. Amendments to the Courts of Justice Act will ensure better access to the legal system by providing information on the system and on how the public can make complaints and by enacting judicial training and evaluation provisions.
558. The Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services continues to operate police-community victim assistance services through the Victim Crisis Assistance and Referral Service, funded primarily by the Wife Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention Initiatives. Alternate community co-sponsorship models of service are being explored and a pilot project involving an Aboriginal co-sponsoring organization is being implemented.
559. The Ministry currently operates eleven Victims of Violence Programs for women victims and survivors of abuse in provincial correctional institutions. The Ministry has established a task force, with joint community and ministry representation, to develop long-term policy to meet the diverse needs of women in the provincial correctional system and action plans to address the policy direction.
560. The Government of Ontario is implementing programs to address the needs of former residents of a training school for girls who have alleged abuse while at the school. The programs include victim and witness assistance, counselling services, financial support and vocational opportunities.
561. In 1991, the Attorney General directed Crown Attorneys to oppose attempts to make a victim's sexual history admissible evidence in sexual assault trials.
562. The Ministry of the Attorney General has prepared and distributed a Crown Policy Manual which includes guidelines and directives to Crown Attorneys for prosecutions for sexual and spousal assault. The Ministry has designated at least one Crown Attorney in each office to be a co-ordinator for wife assault, sexual assault or child abuse prosecutions. These Crown Attorneys receive training in the social, psychological as well as the legal issues associated with these cases.
563. The Ministry has also established the Victim/Witness Assistance Program, in 13 Crown Attorney offices. The Program provides information and support to victims and witnesses, community co-ordination and public education. Priority is given to cases involving wife assault, sexual assault, child abuse, and other vulnerable victim populations such as the elderly, disabled, Aboriginal, immigrant and visible minorities.
564. The Ministry and the Law Society of Upper Canada are developing pilot projects in the area of family law legal aid to improve access to justice for all Ontarians, particularly women.
Article 15 - Links to Convention text and other sections
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565. See also responses to articles 2, 3, 5 and 11.1(a).
566. The Family Support Plan (formerly the Support and Custody Orders Enforcement Program) continues to monitor and enforce court orders for spousal and child support as well as custody orders.
567. The Family Support Plan Act, enacted in March 1992, superseding the Support and Custody Orders Enforcement Act, provides for automatic deduction of support payments from the payor's (debtor's) income source (usually the employer) at the same time a court order is made. As well, any support orders made prior to March 1, 1992, or any domestic contracts for support, including paternity agreements are subject to the new legislation.
568. The Family Support Plan has a caseload of over 127,000. The caseload increases by approximately 1,200 new cases each month. Prior to the new legislation, only 40 percent of cases were receiving regular support payments. However, 70 percent of cases with automatic wage deduction under the new law are receiving regular support payments. Ninety-seven percent of all recipients filed with the Plan are women.
569. In 1991, the Ministry of the Attorney General announced a pilot project which provides provincial funding for supervised access services which are necessary when a court orders that a non-custodial parent's access to his or her children must be supervised. As of 1993, 14 centres, run by local community boards provided safer environments for non-custodial parents to meet with their children.
Article 16 - Links to Convention text and other
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