Alternative courses of action

The Canadian Committee on Learning Opportunities for Women will need to discuss the information, policies and practices involved in the work of the Canada Employment and Immigration Commission further, in order to fully understand the implications involved in the various changes already implemented or proposed for the future. The solutions to the problems which will arise are not readily apparent. Some of the more contentious issues which need to be discussed further are:

• shifts in the allocation of training funds and the differential effect these will have on women in the various regions across Canada.

• changes in the rules and underlying philosophy involved in income maintenance plans, in particular how these affect Manpower allowances.

• the negative stereotyping of women evident in the literature of the Commission

• the role and worth of women in family units, in the labour force, and in the economic system as a whole.

• the problem of non-specificity in policy related to women, and how these are implemented at the discretion of local CMC counsellors.

• the need to provide financial, social, and emotional support services to women attempting to be the sole support of their family.

• the treatment of immigrant women by the Commission both before and after arrival in Canada, and the general lack of clear and specific guidelines for Commission personnel.

• the prevalent view that education and training have a solely economic/ employment value within the economic system and the ignoring of the essential social value of education in the entire society.

• the need for cooperative action between the federal, provincial and municipal governments on the issue of income maintenance schemes; between the federal and provincial governments and the unions and employers on the issue of equality of access to employment opportunities and to training programs in apprenticeships and industry; and between the federal and provincial governments on the issue of basic education and the constitutional conflicts involved in the field of education and training.

• the attitude that schooling and training are to prepare people for their rightful place in society -- the man's place being in the economic and employment system, and the woman's place being in the home, family and social system.

• the negative stereotypes held by educators, training instructors, counselors, and employers about "women" as a generalized category; and how these can easily be turned into sexual harassment or sexual discrimination.