Category: Blog: Miscellaneous

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Written by Natty Klimo 

A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada: Making the Economy Work for Everyone was recently published by the YWCA Canada and the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

The recovery plan explains ways that systemic racism and unequal distribution of power, wealth, and resources have made particular populations, such as women, gender diverse individuals, people with disabilities, immigrants, Indigenous peoples, and Black people more vulnerable during COVID-19.

The report proposes an equitable post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan that considers everyone’s needs, including women and other underrepresented groups, built on eight pillars. The report offers corresponding policy recommendations for all levels of government to consider when planning for Canada’s economic recovery.

The Gendered Impacts of COVID-19

Previous recessions have generally impacted male-dominated industries. During these “he-cessions,” women were able to help provide for their families when their partners were laid off, but COVID-19 has triggered a “she-cession” because more women than men have been affected by the current economic downturn. As of July 2020, more women have been infected by COVID-19 (56% of cases) and more have died (54% of deaths) as a result of the pandemic. These numbers are not surprising given that more women work frontline jobs. More women have lost their jobs (63%) since March 2020, and as the economy began to reopen in May 2020, more men were able to return to work (2.4% increase) compared to women (1.1% increase).

The service and caring sectors, which predominantly employ women, have been significantly more impacted than other sectors. Canadian women make up 81% of the health care and social services workforce, and 51% work in occupations that involve supporting others (e.g. cleaning, clerical, cashiering, etc.), which are considered essential to society and the economy. More women than men work in these types of essential jobs which has resulted in more women losing their jobs, while others are less likely to return to the workforce due to limited job availability or an increase in their caregiving responsibilities as result of school and daycare closures.

Eight Pillars for a Feminist Economic Recovery Plan

Pillar 1: Intersectionality: Understanding Power

A recovery plan for Canada must be developed using a gender-based and intersectional approach that considers race, class, gender, and other intersecting identities that may exasperate marginalization, oppression, privilege, and power dynamics. A gender-based and intersectional approach provides an understanding of how policies affect people differently and how to reduce social inequities when developing COVID-19 related policies and measures.

Pillar 2: Addressing Root Causes of Systemic Racism

COVID-19 has affected many racialized groups, including Black and Indigenous communities. Systemic racism and prejudice limit the socio-economic opportunities for Black and Indigenous people. This is especially the case for racialized women who typically earn less than their male counterparts and work essential and frontline jobs.

Pillar 3: Care Work is Essential Work

The pandemic has highlighted the value of paid and unpaid care work that women have traditionally taken on, and who are now experiencing additional unpaid work through home and home-schooling responsibilities. According to studies, Canadian women spend more time than men on cooking and cleaning, and racialized women are disproportionately affected by having to provide extra care at home and are therefore less likely to return to work due to caregiving responsibilities.

Pillar 4: Investing in Good Jobs

Job inequity between those who have employment that offers a stable income and the ability to remain safe, and those who lack the same workplace protections has been evident. This is especially the case for Black and other racialized women, and immigrant women who often work as support workers, custodial workers, or have other low paying occupations without sick leave benefits, and for gig workers who may be ineligible for government income supports.

Pillar 5: Fighting the Shadow Pandemic

Before the pandemic, violence was a concern for many communities, such as trans women, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse individuals. During the pandemic, there is evidence of an increase in domestic violence cases reported by women, and a surge in shelter use. Other underrepresented and racialized groups, such as East Asian and Chinese communities, have also experienced an increase in racism and violence due to the pandemic. A survey of 500 Canadians of Chinese ethnicity revealed that they had been insulted (50%), threatened (43%), and exposed to racist comments on social media (30%) as a result of the pandemic.

Pillar 6: Bolstering Small Businesses

Many small business owners have been significantly affected by COVID-19 and require support, especially women and other underrepresented groups who often own businesses in the service industry.

Pillar 7: Strengthening Infrastructure for Recovery

The pandemic has highlighted the need for safe and affordable housing, universal access to clean water, and equitable access to the internet. Increasing the supply of affordable housing is key, especially with critical physical distancing measures in place. Clean water is essential to health, especially for Indigenous communities, and ensuring everyone has access to the internet is vital for low-income individuals and rural communities during a time when more businesses have transitioned to remote work.

Pillar 8: Diverse Voices in Decisions

Planning and implementing Canada’s economic recovery requires a gender-inclusive strategy that considers perspectives from Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities; women; people with disabilities; the LGBTQ2S+ community; as well as newcomers, immigrants, and refugees.

Conclusion

Understanding how our current economic downturn affects different populations and communities is important to ensure current and future policy development is conducted equitably—to see that everyone’s unique needs are considered and accommodated.

Within the federal government, there is a growing recognition that women and other underrepresented groups are at a greater disadvantage during the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 23, 2020, the Speech from the Throne acknowledged the negative impact the pandemic has had on women. The government has committed to creating an Action Plan for Women in the Economy guided by a feminist and intersectional approach to respond to the “she-cession.”

The Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada comes at a good time, providing the federal government with an opportunity to consider the proposed pillars and recommendations when developing new policies and action plans for a more equitable recovery.

About the Author:

Natividad (Natty) Klimo holds a Master of Arts in Integrated Studies with a focus in Equity Studies and is currently a freelance writer. She has eight years of previous experience working for the Alberta Government as a policy analyst focused on research, writing, and policy development. Natty Klimo has also written for ESPC’s August 2020 edition of the Research Update!

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Written by Aastha Tripathi, Practicum Student 

Crime is an offence that merits community condemnation and punishment, often by the way of fine or imprisonment. An alternative way to address conflict and crime that enables a community to facilitate a meaningful solution for the offences and the harm caused to the victims is referred to as restorative justice. Restorative justice ensures that the offender is held accountable for his/her actions and directly works to repair the harm. Additionally, the victims are central to the process of resolving a crime. The ultimate goal of a restorative justice program is to reconcile between both parties. As opposed to the traditional justice system where in, the offender is held accountable only through punishment, the primary focus is on establishing guilt and blame and finally, the course of action is based upon the offender’s past behavior. I believe that solely focusing on  punishment is not an effective method of changing criminal behavior especially when it comes to young offenders. When addressing crimes committed by young offenders, it is essential to repair the community’s harmony and promote good relationships in order to better the young adult’s future.

A study prepared by the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime dissects the topic of Restorative Justice in Canada and the many components of this view on crime. According to the study, the Canadian criminal justice system requires many readjustments in order  to fully build peace within communities by serving the victims through restoring their losses and ensuring that the offenders are held accountable for the harm that was caused. Thus, Restorative justice programs are focused on four key values; encounter, amends, reintegration and inclusion.

However, it is important to remember that there is always a need for the traditional justice system. An individual may still be dangerous even though the offender has complied with the restorative justice program and therefore, must spend time in a prison. The traditional justice system also provides the offender an opportunity to prove his/her innocence in the court if he/she has been wrongfully accused.  Restorative justice can only take place under circumstances where the offender admits guilt and accepts responsibility, the victim voluntarily agrees to participate in the program and trained facilitators are available in the community where a restorative program is put in place. Therefore, a restorative justice program is not suitable in every setting.

The study educates that organizing restorative justice for young offenders is a prominent movement in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Providing this opportunity for young offenders ensures that the community and the comforts of the community facilitate short term mentoring and supervision. There are eight such programs available for youths and adults in Alberta.

The Correctional Service of Canada Dispute Resolution Unit outlines these restorative justice programs throughout Canada. One program that promotes the belief that the central responsibility of addressing the disputes of criminal nature lies within the community and not just with the victims and their immediate family is called Peacemaking Circles. Rooted in Indigenous experience and tradition, peacemaking circles endorse the importance of addressing the criminal problem at hand as well as building a community. Peacemaking circles brings individuals together and builds trust, respect, intimacy, goodwill, belonging, generosity, mutuality and reciprocity. This process invites the individual to change his/her relationship with the community and thus ensuring a harmony within it.

Another program available to youth offenders is Family Group Conferencing. This concept directly involves the offender’s family and the victims holding the offender accountable, in teaching individual responsibility and addressing the harm caused. The primary focus of Family Group Conferencing is to repair the damage caused by an offence and to decrease the likelihood of future damage. This program is often facilitated before court sentencing and brings together young offender, their victim along with family members and community supporters. The conference follows a simple structure: offenders share about incident, their thought process and who they affected, victims, family of the offender and supporters describe the event and how they have been affected and finally, a “Restorative Action Plan” is set in motion so that the offender can take responsibility and move forward from the situation. In this way, this program achieves the goal to repair the wounded relationship of the offender with the community and his/her family members while increasing the likelihood of the offender to commit crimes in the future.

A prominent success rate of the restorative justice program can be observed in British Columbia. Starting in 2011, minor youth crimes have been referred to a panel of police and social workers who determine whether the young offender should go to court or be referred to a restorative program. If the recommendation is for a program, a youth support worker reaches out to the victim and offender to discuss this approach. Since the program was introduced, more than three thousand cases of crimes which accounts seventy to eighty percent of the offences, have been dealt with in this fashion. An independent study conducted by the Social impact Analytics attested that restorative justice programs reduced the rate of reoffending by eighteen percent. Additionally, less than 1,160 young adults have received a criminal record.

Moreover, restorative programs in British Columbia “provided value for money to the public purse”. The independent analysis concluded that these programs cost the public one million dollars fewer in administration costs for the police and youth support service. Furthermore, it is estimated that three million dollars were spent on court order whereas, now less than a million is spent. A benefit of saving so much money is that it can be reinvested into the future of the youth. And such plans have been implemented. The government has reinvested 2 million in preventative services, like strengthening family relationships, preventing homelessness and ensuring young people are gaining the skills needed to be employed. In this way, restorative programs work to ensure that the young person’s life is not entirely altered due to a minor youthful indiscretion.

In conclusion, the study prepared by the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime suggests that the restorative justice program can be beneficial for victims, offenders and the community as, as the program enable them to express their emotions as a result of the crime and harm because of it. It is clear that sole punishment is not an effective method of addressing criminal behaviour when it comes to young offenders. A restorative approach ultimately heals the community and promotes healthy relationships for the youth.

References

Peacemaking Circles: A process for solving problems and building community

Bawden, A. (2014). How restorative justice is steering young offenders away from crime | Anna Bawden. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/17/restorative-justice-young-offenders-crime

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