News Release
Office of the Official Opposition

Oversight blunder in consultation process appalling: Opposition
June 12, 2007

Liberal Opposition Critic for the Status of Women and MHA for the District of Cartwright-L=Anse au Clair, Yvonne Jones, says that the failure of government to initially consult with seven women=s groups on  implementing the Safer Communities legislation is disturbing given its implication for  what may be other unsuccessful gender inclusive analysis of public policy within government.

In response to a question on the issue of why government had not contacted the seven women=s groups before the bill was shaped, the Minister of Justice Tom Osbourne admitted that it was an Aoversight@.  The department has since been pressured to hold consultations with these groups to receive their valued input.

Jones says the oversight is appalling and worrisome for several reasons. AFirst of all, it means that current guidelines that are in place to conduct gender analysis were not applied in the development of this legislation, which undoubtedly will significantly impact women and children in the community.  It calls into question just exactly how committed this government is to ensuring that such analysis is applied to other significant or less significant policy development issues that affect women.@

The fact that this oversight comes on the heels of the minister responsible for the status of women recently coming out to stress the importance of gender analysis to government is also cause for concern says the Liberal MHA. She points out that it is ironic that several gender analysis training sessions were provided this winter to create greater awareness of this issue.    AThis blunder underscores just how non-diligent this government is when it comes to ensuring that the perspectives of women in this province are valued and integrated into the public policy process.

AThis omission also certainly calls into question the leadership role being provided by the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women Joan Burke in incorporating the realities of women's lives and views into the economic and social policy decision-making process.

AConcerns were not only raised about the lack of meaningful consultations during the hasty development of this Act that is intended to create safer communities, but also about the lack of necessary resources and supports now available in the communities to deal with the fall-out from this program.@   Jones also  points out that respected community groups such as Turnings were not only never consulted, but were turned down for funding by this government. The organization was looking for $30,000 to help shore up its efforts in tackling crime-related problems that are increasingly plaguing communities.

Media Contact:
Kim Ploughman
Caucus Communications
Office of the Official Opposition
709-729-6427