FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2019
NL NDP COMMITS TO IMPROVING LIFE FOR WOMEN IN NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
The NL NDP has the solutions that will improve the lives of women around the province.
ST. JOHN’S – The NL NDP is committed to fighting to improve life for women and today, party Leader Alison Coffin reiterated that the NDP has the platform that will make a difference in women’s lives.
“Equality and justice for all is at the core of the NDP values,” Coffin said. “Today, women in this province are struggling with poverty wages, violence, costly childcare, and many other barriers. We need real action to address these barriers and the NDP will act.”
Liberal and Conservative governments failed to address the most significant challenges that women face in Newfoundland and Labrador. In their four years in government, the Liberals refused to increase the minimum wage to a livable standard. Women make up the majority of minimum wage earners. The current minimum wage at $11.40 is one of the lowest in Canada. When the Tories were in power, they cut the Family Violence Intervention Court, which the NDP fought successfully to reinstate.
The NDP’s election platform calls for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021, for an affordable childcare program, for pay equity legislation, investments in housing for low income families and seniors, and adding gender and diversity to the criteria for appointments to the province’s agencies, boards, and commissions.
“The facts are indisputable and should be a call to action,” Coffin said. “In this province, women earn 35% less than men. This is wrong. We also know that one in two women over the age of 15 will experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. These are stark statistics that confirm we need to do more to protect women and girls.”
Coffin also pointed out that significant policy changes are required to lift women from poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, tens of thousands of senior women rely on the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement because their pension is insufficient to cover their basic expenses.
“Measures that break down barriers and address gender inequality do not come on their own,” said Coffin. “Change requires political will, legislation, and the collective action of women and men concerned with fixing inequality and injustice. Together, we can make a difference.”
Click here for read the NL NDP response to the Provincial Action Network on the Status of Women questionnaire.
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For more information please contact the NL NDP Campaign Communications Team by phone 709-746-7455 or by email news@nl.ndp.ca
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