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I INTRODUCTION Women's economic issues have been considered at First Ministers' Conferences for over two years. During the last federal election campaign, and subsequently since assuming office, Prime Minister Mulroney has indicated his intention to include women's issues in FMC discussions. During the same period, Status of Women Ministers have forwarded various recommendations to Canada's First Ministers in an effort to focus the discussions on means of achieving economic equality for women. At the February 1985 Regina FMC the intention was to integrate a discussion of women's issues throughout the agenda rather than having the issue discussed as a separate agenda item. General statements about women's concerns were made by Premiers. Manitoba's Premier Pawley tabled seven "Policy Principles for Ensuring Economic Equality for Women" (see Appendix-A). No specific considerations of policy impacts on women were discussed in Regina. Subsequent meetings and discussions of status of Women Ministers and officials resulted in the recommendation that the agenda of the November 1985 Halifax FMC contain a specific item on women, as well as an integration of women's issues into other agenda items. The Halifax conference resulted in First Ministers endorsing a paper recommended by Status of Women Ministers: A Framework for Economic Equality for Women (see Appendix B). This document contained a revised version of Manitoba's seven principles for women's economic equality and recommended a strategy for labour force equality as an area for future intergovernmental cooperation. Manitoba had serious reservations with both the content and the process of the paper, but after some revisions and in the interests of consensus, agreed to endorse the document. In preparation for the November 1986 Vancouver FMC, Status of Women Ministers have been attempting to produce a consensus document entitled Towards a Labour Force Strategy: A Framework for Training for Women. Manitoba has chosen not to endorse this paper - not because of its contents, but because of what has been omitted. Manitoba is concerned that the focus of the document is too narrow -- training being the primary consideration almost to the exclusion of any other policy considerations. This focus on training is particularly lacking in credibility given the federal reductions in direct purchase of training, which well mean a cumulative loss to Manitoba alone of almost 18 million dollars over the next 3 years. The document also makes only minor mention of the need for access to child day care services. Since women can only assume their rightful role as full contributors to the Canadian economy when day care is completely accessible to all, such services must be seen as an essential component of a labour force strategy for -women. A significant action plan is needed to build upon the commitments and strategies outlined in the previously mentioned 1985 Halifax FMC paper. This progress has not, in Manitoba's view, been achieved. To retain credibility with the women of Canada, First Ministers must endorse and commit themselves to action, not to repeated assessments of the status quo followed by infinitesimal policy changes in a limited context. Towards this end, Manitoba maintains that if the economic equality of women is to be realized, an integrated labour force strategy must include, at a minimum, four preconditions. They are:
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