1. Ontario Arbitration Act
The
Arbitration Act of 1991 gives religious and cultural groups the authority to
resolve civil disputes and some family law matters based on their own laws,
which may differ substantially from Ontario law. The Arbitration Act is not subject to the Family Law
Act or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore the
Arbitration Act of 1991 undermines women’s equal rights and is a step backward
for all women in Ontario. Independent legal advice may not be accessible since parties who
choose the arbitration route are not eligible to receive Legal Aid. Lawyers acting on legal matters outside of
Ontario/Canadian Law are not covered by the liability insurance through the Law
Society of Upper Canada. Since parties
can choose any form of legal framework through the Arbitration Act, lawyers may be hesitant to represent any parties
choosing arbitration as a means to settle disputes.
Marion
Boyd was asked to investigate concerns regarding the Arbitration Act and her
report to the Ontario Government was released in December 2004 (Boyd Report).
The report contains a total of 46 recommendations to amend the Arbitration Act,
the Family Law Act, the Child and Family Services Act and conduct for
arbitration. Recommendations 14 & 36 of the Boyd report require arbitrators
to be members of a professional organization and the Ministry of the Attorney General
to monitor the codes of conduct for these organizations.
Boyd’s
recommendation # 21 requires that parties show a certificate of independent
legal advice about Canadian and Ontario family law and Ontario arbitration law prior to arbitration.
Therefore be it Resolved that BPW Ontario urges the
Government of Ontario to amend the Arbitration Act of 1991 to decree that:
- Prior to
consenting to participate in an arbitration proceeding, each participant involved
shall obtain independent legal advice, and legal aid where necessary,
regarding their rights and responsibilities under Canadian Laws and
applicable Ontario Acts, and
- All
arbitrators involved in these proceedings are to be knowledgeable in the
Canadian divorce, separation, custody and property laws and applicable
Ontario Acts.
Further be it Resolved that BPW Ontario
urges the Government of Ontario to implement the Dispute Resolution in Family
Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion Report recommendations 14 and 36
which requires training/education, standardization, and a professional registry
for all arbitrators and that only these certified professionals may act as
arbitrators on behalf of clients for the purposes of the Arbitration Act.
1. Ontario Arbitration Act continued:
Further be it Resolved that BPW Ontario
urges the Government of Ontario to legislate that, in matters to which the Family Law Act applies, the Arbitration Act be subject to the Family Law Act and therefore subject to
the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
Further be it Resolved that BPW Ontario
urges the Government of Ontario to require that all notes and records and
rationale for final ruling pertaining to arbitration under the Arbitration Act be kept no less than 10
years and be available to the parties or courts on demand.
Further be it Resolved that BPW Ontario urges the
Government of Ontario to require that all arbitration rulings under the Arbitration Act, for matters to which
the Family Law Act applies, be open
to appeal as if it was a decision under the Family
Law Act.
Further be it Resolved that BPW Ontario
urges the Government of Ontario to ensure that public education is made
available for all new immigrants in their own language to ensure they
understand their rights under Canadian Law.
1 Ontario Arbitration
Act on page 10
2. Legal Aid
Ontario-Access to Justice for Women
Legal Aid Ontario’s mandate in accordance with the Legal Aid
Services Act, 1998 is to promote access to justice throughout Ontario for low-income individuals. The cuts to legal aid
services and resources, especially in the area of family law, have a
disproportionate negative impact on the safety of women and children. In this area, as in so many others, working
poor women often slip through the cracks.
Legal Aid Ontario reports that “In 2001/2002 over 114,000 people were
issued a legal aid certificate.” The
breakdown of these legal aid certificates that are used to retain a private
lawyer to represent them in proceedings before the criminal, family or mental
health courts, and certain administrative tribunals, is as follows: Criminal
55%; Family 26%; Immigration 12%; Other Civil 7%. Since approximately 75% of criminal legal aid
goes to men and approximately 75% of family legal aid goes to women, this does
make it a clear gender (and therefore equality rights) issue. This means that a total of 62,700 people have
access to Criminal legal aid; 47,025 of them are men. A total of 29,640 people have access to
Family legal aid; 22,230 are women.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that BPW ONTARIO strongly urges
the Government of Ontario to restore funding of Legal Aid to the 1995 budgetary level, allowing for inflation, to
ensure women have access to the legal aid
they require, regardless of geographic locations or financial
considerations, in all family law matters.
2 Legal Aid Ontario – Access to Justice for Women on page 10
3. Breast Cancer Survivors
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian
women and an estimated 21,200 Canadian women were predicted to be diagnosed
with breast cancer in 2003. It is the
most common noncutaneous cancer affecting women in North America, with more than 237 000 new cases of the
invasive disease detected each year.
It is second only to lung cancer as a cause of death; in 2004
an estimated 45000 women will die of breast cancer;
Dr Paul Goss of Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto stated “More than half of the women who develop
recurrent breast cancer do so more than five years after their original
diagnosis". Dr Goss is a leading expert in novel hormone therapies for the
treatment and prevention of breast cancer.
Breast screening clinics (mammography, BSE, etc) are solely intended for
women who have not been diagnosed with breast cancer while long term breast
cancer survivors are excluded. Oncology programs are provided for the
newly-diagnosed and those who are currently in treatment and release breast
cancer survivors after a period of five to ten years of oncology checkups. There
are no programs in place to further monitor long-term (ten-plus years) breast
cancer survivors with continued extra diligence and that breast cancer
survivors have a greater chance of recurrence once cancer has been found in
their body, sometimes rising again many years later.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that BPW Ontario urges the Province of Ontario, and specifically, the Ministry of
Health and Long Term Care, that the long-term breast cancer survivor be part of
a specifically developed lifetime program, aimed at annual diagnostic
screening, including mammogram, m.r.i.
thermography, manual examination and any future diagnostic
techniques. The screening is to be
provided only by an oncologist or specially trained professional.
3 Breast
Cancer Survivors on page 10
4. Ovarian Cancer
In Canada, 2600 new cases of Ovarian Cancer are
diagnosed annually. Every year 1500 women will die from ovarian cancer in
Canada. Since ovarian cancer symptoms are
non-specific or mimic menopausal symptoms and there are currently no early
detection tests available, ovarian cancer is usually not diagnosed until the
later stages. Five-year survival
rates for ovarian cancer detected in stages 1 & 2 can be greater than 90 %, while five year
survival rates for those whose cancer is
not detected until stage 3 – 5 range from 10 – 20 %. Ovarian cancer is
both the fifth most diagnosed (accounting for 4 % of all new cancers) and the
fifth leading cause of cancer deaths (accounting for almost 5 %) among Canadian
women. The age and menopausal status of a woman plays havoc with detection
of this disease. 60 % of all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer are
between the ages of 50 – 79.
In preparation
for a national forum, a survey was initiated and the results found 504 Canadian
gynecologists indicating a need and desire for more information regarding
ovarian cancer. Currently there is no single screening method to detect ovarian
cancer. While a Pap smear test will diagnose cervical cancer, it will not
detect ovarian cancer. Three screening methods are currently used to
detect ovarian cancer -a bimanual pelvic exam, a trans-vaginal ultrasound and a
CA 125 blood test. While all of
these methods are performed on an at need basis, the CA 125 test currently will
cost a women anywhere from $ 75 - $ 125 dollars, as it is not funded by
OHIP. The CA 125 test will not specifically detect ovarian cancer, but it
will detect any tumors in the ovarian area. It would then be suggested
that an ultrasound be performed.
THEREFORE BE
IT RESOLVED that BPW
Ontario urges the Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care, to increase and continually fund the medical research
specifically intended for a more definitive testing process for the early
detection of ovarian cancer;
FURTHER BE
IT RESOLVED that BPW
Ontario urges the Government of Ontario and specifically the Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care to increase awareness of the public and medical profession
on the importance of early detection of ovarian cancer for long-term survival;
FURTHER BE
IT RESOLVED that BPW
Ontario urges the Government of Ontario and specifically the Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care to increase the medical profession and the public awareness
of the CA 125 blood test as one of the screening tests for Ovarian Cancer;
FURTHER BE
IT RESOLVED that BPW
Ontario urges the Government of Ontario and specifically the Ministry of Health
and Long-Term Care to institute and wholly fund a CA 125 blood test to be
included into a physical examination of a women deemed to be high risk
(including a genetic disposition of cancer) and/or symptomatic of ovarian
cancer.
4 Ovarian Cancer on page 10
5. Child
Care – Self Employment
People on social assistance
in Ontario may consider self-employment; i.e., starting a
business. If they do start a business
the provincial government pays for the coaching needed to set up the business,
support in ongoing business development and childcare expenses. However,
if someone who is not on social assistance sets up a business he or she is not
eligible for child care assistance until the year after they have reported
child care expenses as a business expense on their income tax. Considering
that it usually take two to three years for a business to become profitable and
that only half the businesses started last that long, anyone who needs child
care is at a distinct disadvantage at least for the first year, if not
longer. Trying to start a business,
home-based or otherwise, while looking after one or more children, is not only
stressful, but almost guarantees business failure.
6. Child Care in Ontario
According
to 2000 figures from Statscan, females who are working fulltime are earning 70
cents to every dollar made by men.
Information for the same year compiled on child care in Canada showed
that more than half of Canadian children under the age of five were receiving
child care, with a quarter of them receiving daycare from a daycare
facilities.
A large
part of family life includes some form of child care. In the last ten years,
none of the money transferred from the federal government to the province of Ontario was allocated to child care which
translated into no new child care spaces. The lack of funding from the
provinces and the federal government to increase day care spaces has forced
many municipalities to cut spaces for children.
Working women who require
child care, whether single or in double family incomes, would prefer to have a
place where their children can attend where it is safe, educational and
standards are legislated to ensure that children are getting the best care;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that BPW Ontario urges the Province of Ontario to
enter into negotiations with the Government of Canada to share the costs of a
National Child Care Program that would provide families, with an annual income
of less than $75,000, a subsidized child care program;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that BPW Ontario urges the Province of Ontario to provide more affordable spaces for child care to alleviate the
backlog currently in the system;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that BPW Ontario urges the Province of Ontario to make child care spaces available with payment being assessed on a
sliding scale according to family incomes.
Families with an income under $25,000 would not pay any cost and fees
would rise with income levels. Those
families with incomes over $75,000 would have to pay the full rate;
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the following Resolutions be reaffirmed:
(a) 1983/06 Funding Day Care Centres
That
BPWCO urge the Government of Ont. to initiate action in the current session of
the legislature to:
(a)ensure
adequate con continued funding for existing day care services in Ontario; (b)
provide funding to municipalities to increase yearly the supply of subsidized
daycare on a regular planned basis to meet existing and future needs; (d)
provide provincial child tax credit in addition to the federal exemption to
cover the full cost of payments made by working parents for daycare services.
6. Child Care in Ontario continued:
(b) 1985 Increase Funding for Daycare
(a) to remove the ceiling on funding increases for child
care; (b) to increase the number of subsidized child care spaces in
consultation with the municipalities; (c) to provide immediately a direct grant
of a least $7 per day licensed space; (d) to strongly urge the federal
government to match the provincial contribution to child care.
(c) 1990 Funding for Child Care and Staffing
(a) give high priority and set adequate goals in the next
3 year plan for 1991-93, to provide funding for the expansion of licensed
quality and affordable child day care services to catch up to the level of the
need for accessible day care services – especially to meet the needs of parents
who are shift workers, those who are receiving social assistance while
attending education institutions, those who live in rural areas, and parents
who need care for infants; (b) implement the proposals of the Pay Equity
Commission in Sept. ’89 for amendments for the Pay Equity Act which would provide a method of establishing an
equitable pay level for the predominantly female job of child care worker which
usually has no comparable male job within the same employer; (c) ensure that
funding for public not-for-profit child care services covers the costs of
meeting salary levels determined through pay equity processes- as well as
covering increases for cost of living factors and allow for a level of
flexibility in staffing, working conditions and benefits, all of which could be
expected to result in a decrease in turnover rates in this occupation.
(d) 1993 Daycare facilities: to examine existing facilities (i.e. schools
and public institutions) in the province of Ontario, with space that could be made available for the establishment of child
care centres for school-aged children to be supported by public dollars.
(e) 1993 Daycare Standardized: to develop and implement national standards
for early childhood educators, assistants and tall other paid child care
workers, while ensuring equity in the implementation of national standards.
(f) 1994 Daycare Centres within Educational Institutions:
(a)
increase the number of daycare centres within secondary schools or adjacent
educational institutions so that student mothers can complete their education,
enhance their opportunities for employment, and reduce the possibility of
future reliance on social services.
6. Child Care in Ontario continued:
(g) 1995/05 Clean Record Certificate for
Caregivers/Educators
(a) provide education to inform citizens in general and
care-giving institutions and organizations in particular, that the registry of
offenders is available; (b) amend relevant legislation and/or governing
regulations or guidelines to make it mandatory that all employers hiring
individuals to work in an employment or volunteer care-giving capacity required
a “clean record certificate” confirming that the individual has no prior
convictions for sexual assault; (c) ensure that this registry is complete by
addressing the issue of clandestine discharge of sexual crimes (e.g. within the
clergy) and to make it an offence to conceal information about known sexual
transgressors, similar to the existing laws which govern the teaching and
medical professions.
(h) 2000 Early Childhood Development: (a) making early child development a high
public priority through investment; parenting, involvement of the public
sector, education, support and communication; (b)set up provincial Ministry
Responsible for Children with the responsibility for leading the development of
early child development and parenting programs across Ontario and give them the
resources and strong mandate to do so; (c) since local authority will be
required to administer the programs required in communities, a task force
should be struck through the Ministry Responsible for Children to look at the
many facets and involvement of different tiers within the community and how
they would interact to provide the required services, (d) making sites
available through communities for parenting and early childhood development;
(e) continue funding the existing kindergarten programs and Early Learning
Grants; (f) ensure that educational programs that teach professionals how to
work with children and aware of new knowledge about early child development and
learning and that training programs are incorporated into the curriculum; (g)
that educators in Ontario introduce information about human development into
the curriculum; (h) enhance parenting
support through provincial and federal Acts, namely the Employment Insurance
Act (Canada) and Employment Standards Act (Ontario); (I) establish incentives
that build public-private day care centres; (j) develop benchmarks of learning
abilities that would be overseen by a body of individual at arms-length from
the government; (k) require all party support for the endorsement of providing
for these recommendations.
6 Child Care in Ontario on page 11
2005 Brief
Reference/Source Data
1. Ontario Arbitration
Act
Marion
Boyd Report
2. Legal Aid Ontario – Access
to Justice for Women
Legal
Aid Ontario Business Plan February 2003, Legal Aid Ontario,
Page
4 Pamela Cross, Legal
Director, Ontario Women’s Justice Network
3. Breast
Cancer Survivors
Journal of The National Cancer Institute,
Vol. 83, 260-265
National Center for Health Statistics Staff. Health, U. S. with urban and rural health chartbook,
2001.
Hyattsville, Md: National Center for Health Statistics, 2001.
4. Ovarian Cancer
Public Health Agency of Canada Website www.phac-aspc.gc.ca
National Ovarian Cancer Association
Government of Ontario Website www.ogov.newswire.ca
National
Forum www.brownridge.ca
Cancer
Care Ontario Website - www.cancercare.on.ca
5.
Child Care – Self-Employment
Reference/Source Data
5.
Child Care – Self-Employment
Copy:
The
Honourable Michael J. Bryant
Attorney
General
720 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5G
2K1
The
Honourable George Smitherman
Minister
of Health and Long Term Care
Hepburn
Block, 10th Floor
80 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2C4
The
Honourable Sandra Pupatello
Minister
of Community and Social Services
Minister
Responsible for Women’s Issues
Minister
Responsible for Ontarian’s with Disabilities
400 University Avenue, 6th
Floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9
The
Honourable Mary Anne Chambers
Minister
of Children and Youth Services
14th
Floor
56 Wellesley Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2S3
