What a (Liberal) Woman Wants: The Pink Books

The Liberals will release Pink Book III tomorrow at 1145 at an event on Parliament Hill. The Pink Book is the policy ideas developed and advanced by the Liberal Women's Caucus and forms part of the party's platform during a federal election.

Here's a look back at the first two Pink Books –

Pink Book I

• Produced in the summer of 2006, Belinda Stronach, Chair, National Liberal Woman's Caucus.
• “While our discussions in 2006 were broad-ranging and detailed, the Liberal Women’s Caucus decided to focus on three broad policy areas where the impact on women and families can be the most far-reaching and profound. They are early learning and child care, income security and improved maternity and parental benefits.
• The Liberal Women’s Caucus recommends that a new Liberal government honour the previous bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories for $1 billion a year over five years in early learning and child care.
• To fully meet the needs of working women and young families, a new Liberal government needs, as a long term goal, to devote federal financial support equivalent to one per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to early learning and child care.
• To ease the burden on women and other caregivers, a new Liberal government should invest $1 billion over five years to develop a national caregiver agenda. The provinces and territories need to be partners with the national government to move forward in this area.
• The Liberal Women’s Caucus is committed to the reinstatement of the Court Challenges Program.
• The Liberal Women’s Caucus has been and continues to be a strong supporter of the national gun registry.
• Honour the bilateral agreements signed with provinces and territories to provide a system of early learning and child care across the country. These agreements should be protected by legislation. The original Liberal commitment was for $1 billion a year for five years – this level of support must be reinstated as a minimum starting point.
• As a longer-term goal, establish a schedule for federal funding of child care so it reaches one per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as recommended by the OECD report, Starting Strong II.
• Re-invest the $1,200 per year, per family, provided under the Conservative government’s policy in the Canadian Child Tax Benefit (CCTB). The Canadian Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) is already in place and works efficiently and effectively. By increasing the base benefit by $1,200, the overwhelming majority of Canadian failies would receive – and keep – a $1,200 increase in their Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB).
• Direct the value of the Spousal Credit – the tax deduction for a spouse at home – to be paid directly to the spouse, who, in most instances, will be a woman.
• extend the Canada Pension Plan drop-out provision to unpaid caregivers. This measure will address the future economic security of those who drop out of the labour force to provide care.

Here's the highlights from Pink Book II:

• The proposals in Volume II deal with violence against women, housing, Aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women and rural women.
• Book II released in 2007 when Stronach was still chair of the women's caucus.
• Change Divorce Act to protect woman and children from situations where divorce is precipitated by acts of violence.
• Recognizing that women and girls form a disproportionate number of homeless, Liberals should develop a National Housing Strategy. “One solution to this persistent problem is a portable shelter subsidy20 that is tied to need rather than to designated units. The portability allows a woman to choose where she would like to live, be it closer to family, social support networks, schools, etc. It also avoids the stigma that can come with living in social housing. This change would significantly increase the number of women who could receive the assistance they need to live in adequate, affordable housing.”
• “Women’s Caucus endorses the creation of a Liberal taskforce that would travel across the country meeting with organizations and individual women from rural Canada to discuss their concerns and priorities. … The National Liberal Women’s Caucus re-affirms their commitment to the policy options proposed The Pink Book: Volume l to provide a system of early learning and child care (ELCC) across the country.”
• “To address the rising number of Aboriginal children in care, Women’s Caucus recommends the approach proposed by the National Council of Welfare. The council states that Aboriginal peoples are best positioned to make decisions about Aboriginal children and youth. To do this, there is a need for adequately funded, Aboriginal controlled, culturally-based models.”
• Women’s Caucus supports changing the work permits under the Livein Caregiver Program from employer-specific to sector specific. The Program allows workers from overseas to provide support for children, elderly and disabled persons, and enables approximately 3000 to 5000 caregivers to work in Canada each year.

Since that document was released in 2007, we've had a general election and the national Liberal women's caucus has new leaders and new members (and, of course, there's a new Liberal leader).

Stronach, Lucienne Robillard, Colleen Beaumier, Brenda Chamberlain, and Nancy Karetak-Lindell did not seek re-election. Sue Barnes, Bonnie Brown, Tina Keeper, and Karen Redman were defeated in the fall of 2008.

There are several new members of the women's caucus, elected for the first time in 2008: Siobhan Coady, Bonnie Crombie, Kirsty Duncan, Judy Foote, Alexandra Mendes, Michelle Simson, and Lisa Zarac.