Excerpts from the report:
While women were far from equal in May 2001, there is no doubt that British Columbia women have lost ground under Gordon Campbell's New Era. The long history of gender inequality that Canada continues to struggle with has been long documented by social scientists and activists and leaves no doubt that much more needs to be done to achieve gender equity. In fact, this work is widely available and in substantial agreement; legislators and policy makers cannot claim ignorance of gender inequality. Not to address these realities is tantamount to being indifferent to the welfare of half the population.
The need for good quality daycare is well-documented. In spite of their pro-employment ideology, the Liberals have slashed funding for child care centres, reduced subsidies to low income parents, and eliminated the $7 per day cap on pre and after school care. They have undermined licensed facilities, particularly in poorer neighbourhoods where some daycares have closed. Social supports for the elderly have also been damaged with reduced access to home care and closures, reorganization, and staff reductions in hospitals and long-term care facilities. More unpaid caring work for children, the elderly, the ill, and those with disabilities &em; has been downloaded to women, who already do the lion's share of such labour.