Yesterday Joe Clark went on record saying that he would be voting for Paul Martin in the next election. Joe Clark said that he did not turst Steven Harper, and would vote for the devil he knew, rather then one he didn't. WOW.
This is an incredible statement from a past Conservative Prime Minister. A past Conservative Prime Minister is poised to vote Liberal!? I also find it interesting that other high profile Conservatives have not come to the defence of Mr Harper. Do these political insiders know something we don't?
History has shown that women need to ask about issues that effect them directly before casting their vote.
The Women's Choice March that happened this past weekend demonstrates how an elected representative can errode and take hard won rights backwards dozens of years.
"Roe v. Wade hangs by a thread," said National Organization for Women (NOW) president Kim Gandy, "and rumored anti-abortion replacements on the Supreme Court could serve for the next 40 years. In other words, the reversal of Roe would last for generations, and the entire reproductive life of my 10-year-old daughter hinges on what we do in the coming year. NOW will be mobilizing women and men across this country to March on Washington for our mothers, for our daughters, and for ourselves – there will never be a more important time to stand up for women’s lives."
Granted, this quote is American, but our laws generally follow the US pretty closely. With the ultra conservative Steven Harper poised to run for the Prime Ministers office, with top Conservatives such as Joe Clark denouncing him, you bet I am concerend perhaps we all should be a little concerned.
A study by a group of Canadian academics and poverty activists was recently released. The study showed that too often, women are choosing to stay in an abusive relationship because they know they won't be able to survive on welfare benefits.
The study suggests that the all levels government are forcing women to remain in abusive home because they can not support themselves and their children on welfare benifits in Ontario.
The study, which interviewed 64 women who were in abusive relationships and using welfare, states that increasing welfare rates is the most important thing the government can do to encourage women to permanently leave abusive relationships.
That is the part of the study that I wish to take issue with. Our society has become extremely violent. All you need to to prove this point is turn on an news cast. The war going on in Iraq, the war on drugs on our streets, the war on domestic violence. It seems that we are at war a lot.
As we most wars it would seem that some are advocating simply throwing more money at the problem. I am not against increasing welfare rates at all, I personally don't believe that anyone in this extremely rich country should be living below the poverty line. No one in our country should be going to sleep hungry. The fact that this happens is a deep shame to this wealthy country.
By all means, increase the rates given to families in need; however, saying that this is somehow going to help women who live in abusive relationships is very wrong.
Several years ago Ontario passed a law that took the responsiblity for charging an abusive spouse out of the hands of the victim. The police were instructed to lay assault charges if they saw any sign of physical violence at all.
It seems to me that assault is a criminal offence. If a spouse assaults his/her spouse they should be removed from the home. Zero tolerance.
Governments who really are serious about tackling the problem of Domestic Violence need to take a look at programs such as the one in Cambridge Mass. Here
Yes women fleeing violence may need some financial support, but its time we made the abuser responsible for their actions, and not simply say that government needs to throw more money at it.
March 8 was International Women's Day! I wanted to share with you this story about Missing Aborignal Women. Perhaps we can mark International Women's Day this year by remembering these women and asking our politicians why more isn't being done to stop this carnage.
MARCH 22 - SISTERS IN SPIRIT CAMPAIGN
Information compiled by SWAG:
Sisters in Sprit Campaign launches March 22, 2004 to draw attention to the tragedy of 500 missing aboriginal women in Canada and to the travesty that
there is so little awareness of this. Here in BC, 32 women have gone missing from the Highway of Tears between Prince Rupert and Prince George.
Information is from the following web site.
http://generalsynod.anglican.ca/ministries/committees/acip/sistersinspirit/getinvolved.htm
"Over the past 20 years, approximately 500 Aboriginal women have gone missing in communities across Canada. Yet government, the media, and Canadian society continue to remain silent.
"In Vancouver, more than 50 women went missing in that city's Downtown Eastside. Sixty percent were Aboriginal, and most were young. These were poor women involved in the sex trade. They struggled with drugs and alcohol.
Some suffered from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and many were victims of childhood sexual abuse. Every one of them grew up in a foster home. In other words, their lives bore all of the markings of the violence of colonization.
...
"The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) has been gathering the names and stories of Aboriginal women who have disappeared - not just in Vancouver, but also in Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Fredericton, and so many other communities, large and small, across this country.
"Since the time that the Gitksan and Wet'suwet'en peoples began their historic court battle in British Columbia for the recognition of Aboriginal title, Aboriginal women - thirty-two in all - have gone missing along Highway 16 between Prince Rupert and Prince George, now referred to as the Highway of Tears.
"Between 1988 and 1995, five young women -- Alberta Williams, Delphine Nikal, Ramona Wilson, Roxanne Thiara, and Lana Derrick - went missing along that stretch of highway.
"Despite community vigils and protests by the Terrace First Nations Council of Women and others, neither the police nor the media took seriously the disappearance of these women. Then in June of 2002, another young woman went missing. Nicole Hoar's disappearance immediately sparked media attention and government action. How did this case differ from the others? Nicole Boar was the first non-Aboriginal woman to disappear on the Highway of Tears