April 15, 2004.

Dear Mr. Selinger,

We are writing to you on behalf of the United Nations Platform for Action Committee Manitoba, a women’s organization born out of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. UNPAC was formed as an organization committed to the implementation of the Platform for Action born out of Beijing, to which both the country of Canada and the Province of Manitoba are signatories. The Declaration which precedes the Platform for Action states: "We are convinced that women's empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace."

To this end, for the past several years, we have been working in the area of ‘women and the economy.’ As the Platform for Action states: “Women contribute significantly to economic life everywhere. However, women are largely excluded from economic decision-making.” As an attempt to counter this trend, we produced a large website (www.unpac.ca) featuring basic economic information, statistics and information on women’s experiences in the economy as well as a large section on Manitoba women’s own stories of the economy. We also produced a 26-minute video, Banging the Door Down, featuring the stories of Manitoba women which can be used as a discussion starter to encourage women to talk about the economy.

As we spoke with hundreds of women across the province about their experiences of the economy it became clear that the key economic issue for women in Manitoba and around the world is poverty. While women’s contributions are essential to the functioning of the economy, because women's contributions are not valued in the same way as men's, women consistently find themselves at the lower end of the economic scale.

It made sense to us to continue our work on women and the economy by engaging in a project that would influence the public policy that affects women’s place in the economy. Budgets are one of the most powerful tools that government uses, a tool that can be used to either exacerbate women’s inequality, or promote women’s equality. We did not have time to do a full or formal gender budget this year. Instead we decided to launch our Gender Budget Project with a public forum providing an opportunity for women across the province to brainstorm their ideas on the budget. We also invited people who were unable to attend the forum, to submit submissions in advance.

We were thrilled with the number of responses received. Women, and men, in Manitoba clearly had a lot to say about the budget. A diverse group of over 60 people from all backgrounds and experiences gathered and used their creativity to develop the attached list of 129 Suggestions for a Gender Budget for Manitoba. While UNPAC does not officially endorse this list, we do feel that many of the suggestions reflect our ideals for a gender-based budget.

We have two major comments which we feel summarize the entire list:

1. First of all we urge the Government of Manitoba to acknowledge that a truly balanced budget is not one in which the numbers are balanced. Rather, a balanced budget leads to equality of outcome. Because women are among the most vulnerable in our society, a truly balanced budget must work toward countering this trend.

2. Secondly, we recommend that the Manitoba Government adopt a participatory budget process as used in other parts of the world and in Canada. We know that since you became Finance Minister you have held budget consultations around the province, consultations which have not been well attended. We know that some have felt constricted by the parameters of your consultations. We recommend that you adopt a truly participatory process in which all in Manitoba feel they have the opportunity to contribute. Given your past work with the CHO!CES coalition and your experiences with the Canadian Centre on Policy Alternatives, you should be well-equipped to do this. In addition, we would be willing to dialogue with you further on what a truly engaged consultation might look like.

We look forward to continued discussion and dialogue around the Gender Budget Project and wish you all the best in your important work.

Sincerely,

Joan Butcher
Co-Chair

on behalf of the Coordinating Committee
United Nations Platform for Action Committee Manitoba
PO Box 36 Station L
Winnipeg, MB R3H 0Z4

cc: Premier Gary Doer, all Cabinet Ministers