NB Women’s Council seems paralyzed, but need for feminist resistance remains

[Editor’s note: A slightly different version was published in French on our website on Jan. 9. 2022.]

Let’s imagine.

You’re a feminist in a place that has some of the worst family and child poverty rates in the country, that shames itself with its rate of violence against women and its lackluster action on the causes, that has a history of abysmal minimum wage, that provides minimal access to abortion services and little concern for other aspects of women’s health.

You’re a feminist in a place that rarely publishes data on the status of women and does not conduct gender inclusive analyses of its policies and budgets.

You’re a feminist in a place where there are few feminist groups, and almost all groups that do feminist work deliver services rather than work for change, because of a lack of resources and support.

You’re a feminist in a place where the levers for change are limited for a variety of reasons, including the fact that much of the media and successive governments are under the influence – almost admittedly – of a corporation that controls most of the economy and natural resources.

So, you’re a feminist in the province of New Brunswick. 

You learn that for the past few years there has been an independent entity with a dream mandate and a budget of half a million a year – a New Brunswick Women’s Council (NBWC). It was created by legislation that directs it “to bring to the attention of government and the public issues of interest and concern to women and their substantive equality”; “to be strategic and provide advice on emerging and future issues” and to “represent New Brunswick women” by conducting “research on those areas or matters of importance, interest or concern to women and their substantive equality that the Council considers appropriate”, publishing “those reports, studies and recommendations that the Council considers necessary”. 

And, you learn that there are strong feminists working on the Council.

In fact, the NBWC exists in some form for the last seven years and in its current form for almost six. Its situation could allow it to be a real player in the provincial political arena, but the NBWC seems paralyzed. It has not issued an annual report since early 2018 and does not appear before the legislative committee on public accounts, so has not had to discuss its work or defend its budget. It has little presence in the public arena, in the media or on social media. 

According to media accounts and their website, its main accomplishments have been: 1) a questionnaire offered online in 2017, which gave interesting results but with survey respondents not representative of N.B. women in terms of age, region, language, education and income levels; 2) a 2017 document written in response to the Brian Gallant government’s Plan for Families; and 3) a public discussion with political party leaders held during the week of the 2018 provincial election. I would add to this list its promotion of the adoption of gender and intersectionality analysis – although the Council itself should adopt it in its documents, because its recommendations and analysis often ignore the linguistic and regional diversity of this province.

Our NBWC does not publish a newsletter like its sister councils in Quebec and Prince Edward Island and, unlike other councils, it does not appear to have activities or programs.

When a Council is not very present, it becomes easier for a government to abolish it without fear of reaction. I write this because of this real danger. I was an employee of the predecessor of the NBWC, the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women (NBACSW), for several years. 

I was also there when it was abolished almost 11 years ago under a Conservative provincial government, for ideological reasons in my opinion. Because supposedly equality had been achieved, then Minister of Finance Blaine Higgs said something had to be cut and it was either the NBACSW or transition houses, as if the rest of the budget was off-limits to women. The women ministers at the time said they supported the decision.

The reaction to the NBACSW’s abolition from women, groups and the media was strong and it surprised the government to the extent that it created a semblance of a Council before the next election. It took the next government to make it a “real” Council with “real” independence and budget, the current NBWC.

The NBACSW did a good job most of the time during its 30 years of existence, but there were times that I would have loved – and I said this to some at the time – if someone had criticized our absence, our timidity, so that an existential discussion would have to be put on the agenda. 

Currently, mainstream media don’t often report on the NBWC’s work, and the Council rarely seems to call on them. There are few stories about actions, publications or events that are NBWC-initiated, stemming from its own priorities, and not the government’s. 

Much is expected of the NBWC because it is rare among activist groups to have such assets and to be free to choose, and act on, its own priorities. Almost all activist groups are constrained, if not bound, by the terms and objectives of the grants that keep them alive. The NBWC has a law that says it is its duty to bring public attention to issues of concern to women. It is failing in its mandate if it does not act strategically to represent New Brunswick women. 

But who will say there is a problem?

The government will not complain that it’s not being monitored by this independent agency. And the NBWC does not complain about its situation. They have a symbiotic relationship.

Women are not complaining about the NBWC either, although they do complain about their situation as women in New Brunswick. This could be related to the fact that few women are aware of the NBWC ‘s existence.

Women’s groups do know about the NBWC and most don’t complain, except on occasion and in confidence. Yet, these groups know that New Brunswick women are doing poorly, and that the NBWC could champion their feminist work. With its autonomy and assets, this NBWC could say and do the things that other groups cannot, it could provide tools and create opportunities for these groups to increase their impact. Why the silence? I should note that the handful of groups represented on the Council are bound by some sort of confidentiality clause.

Some people, including me, believe that part of the NBWC’s lethargy stems from its structure. It has two types of members: representatives of organisations, and women. This is not an easy or even democratic formula if you’re representing citizens.

Currently, the Council has seven female citizens and six group representatives. The Council’s co-chairs are both representatives of groups. Currently, the appointed member groups are the New Brunswick Multicultural Council, YWCA Moncton, Regroupement féministe du Nouveau-Brunswick, Sexual Violence New Brunswick, Coalition for Pay Equity, and the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council (which represents off-reserve Aboriginal people with or without status). 

Women are the ones that the law creating the NBWC wants to help. Women create groups, but those groups are not women. Women alone have rights. Women have all the interests. Groups have specific interests, even potentially different from the interests of women. Groups certainly work for the good of women, but they must also defend the interest of their members and the survival of the group. Representatives want to consult their group before making a decision. They are not as free to act and decide as full members. The NBWC, on the other hand, exists to look after the collective interest of women.

Returning to the potential causes of the NBWC’s lethargy, flaws in its structure may account for some of the problem, but likely not all. Is it due to role confusion? Disengagement of members? Fear of confrontation? Interference? The confidences that I have received from former members mention many things, but mostly a weariness with the fact that the NBWC is not thriving.

An activist NBWC is vulnerable to being abolished by the government, like a lethargic one, but for different reasons. An activist NBWC can irritate the government by simply fulfilling its responsibilities, but there is no other way to bring about major change than to speak up. If the government abolishes an organisation that has acted within its mandate, that speaks to the government’s goals, not the organisation’s. 

Times have changed, but the need for feminist resistance remains strong

Rosella Melanson is a Fredericton-based Acadian feminist and blogger.