LE3 .A278 2019

2019

Brickner, Rachel

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Politics

Politics

The objective of this thesis was to examine how the Nova Scotia Liberal Government’s economic and labour policies undervalue work traditionally done by women through the Government’s treatment of public sector unions. Since the Liberal Government came into power in 2013, they governed on a mandate that prioritized balanced budgets, and have passed legislation that either limited the ability for workers to strike—for example, by deeming them essential—or by curtailing their bargaining power by placing a cap on wage increases. In order to determine the impact of the NS Government’s economic and labour policies, this thesis examined three case studies. The first being Bill 37, or the “Essential Health and Community Services Act.” The second case analyzed Bill 148, the “Public Services Sustainability Act,” and the third and final case study analyzed an amendment made by the McNeil Government to an Act titled the "Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act." In reviewing these case studies, I have found that a gender-based analysis of economic and labour policy is necessary. Because even when the impacts are inadvertent, without focusing on the gendered impact of policy, governments run the risk of negatively affecting women. And without critically examining the priorities of government—such as the need to balance budgets by cutting the public sector—we may inadvertently uphold patriarchal structures of the political economy.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3335