Sask. Party leadership hopefuls weigh in on issues key to women, families

Four Saskatchewan Party leadership candidates responded to a YWCA survey on issues facing vulnerable women and families in the province.

Tina Beaudry-Mellor, Alanna Koch, Ken Cheveldayoff and Gord Wyant responded to the 10-question survey, which addressed intimate partner violence, economic status of women, childcare subsidies and the high proportion of Indigenous children in care (85 per cent), among other issues.

The two other candidates, Rob Clarke and Scott Moe, were sent the survey but did not reply.

Here is a sample of their responses on some of the questions.

The surveys in full are available at ywcaregina.com.

On improving women’s economic status and developing training opportunities for women:

Beaudry-Mellor would focus on expanding economic development opportunities for women.

Koch said the private and public sectors should do more to address equal employment opportunities for women. The business community should lead training opportunities to encourage women to participate in the workforce.

Wyant would support the proposals of Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan, which is calling for an advisory council to examine the economic gender gap, and developing and investing in strategic initiatives to support women.

Cheveldayoff said the first step to improving women’s economic status is to find out exactly what barriers exist, then break them down. He said workplace training should involve local businesses and begin with education.

On recognizing women’s unpaid work:

Beaudry-Mellor said government can help shift the mindset from a “women’s issue” to a “parenting issue.”

Koch said any kind of work should “hold weight when applying for employment opportunities.”

Wyant suggested tax measures to help compensate unpaid work that often falls on women (child care and maintaining a home).

Cheveldayoff said he’d launch a media campaign to highlight the unpaid work of women, which would convey, among other things, “that unpaid work can be monetized by assigning a cost to hire out all the jobs involved,” and that men can also do unpaid work in a household.

On supporting the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry:

Beaudry-Mellor said First Nations women and girls are largely perceived as invisible, and celebrating those women can help dismantle stereotypes that lead to victimization.

Koch said the federal inquiry is a “valuable and substantial journey,” and the provincial government would be “prudent” to take its cues from the inquiry’s outcomes.

Wyant would engage with Indigenous communities to make the inquiry a success.

Cheveldayoff would work with families and communities to develop concrete strategies to support the Inquiry and reduce victimization of Indigenous women and girls, including “creating a network of ‘angel-mentors’ who will support young women in communities across Saskatchewan.”

On reducing intimate partner violence:

Beaudry-Mellor said the conversation needs to change from it being a “women’s issue” to “everyone’s issue.” As violence is more prevalent in situations of poverty, she wants to see a bigger focus on women’s economic opportunities. There should also be a strategy for northern Saskatchewan, where interpersonal violence and suicide rates are high.

Koch would work with agencies and advocacy groups to improve policy to protect women.

Wyant would prioritize a domestic violence strategy.

Cheveldayoff said education is the first step, which could be included in existing bullying prevention programs.