About 200 people marched through the streets of downtown Fredericton from city hall to the lawn of the legislature to mark International Women’s Day.
One of the organizers, Genvieve Latour, said this year’s theme is resistance, as marches called for concrete actions from the provincial government.
“(We’re here) to ask for better working conditions for women and gender minorities as well as reproductive rights for all of us,” she said.
New Brunswickers will head to the polls in a provincial election this year, a fact that Janelle Leblanc, the provincial co-ordinator of the Common Front for Social Justice, says gives this year’s march extra special resonance.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” she said.
“It’s an election year, we want to put these issues at the forefront.”
Marchers are calling for equal pay legislation, a living wage, legislated sick days and greater access to reproductive care.
Jovial Orlachi Osumdo, an international student, says she sees first-hand the need for action to ensure people coming to the province are able to succeed.
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“In my case, I see many international students are working in lower-paid sectors, so I’m really happy to be part of this movement today,” she said.
The provincial government is set to table this year’s budget in less than two weeks. Krysta Cowling, the chair of the Coalition for Pay Equity, said her group is hoping to see meaningful strides toward achieving equal pay, beginning with boosting wages in the care sector.
“That’s something that when the budget comes out, we’re really going to be looking at investments that are being made directly into wages, particularly into wages that are predominantly done by women,” she said.
And while International Women’s Day is often a day for celebration of what has been won, Leblanc says the work isn’t done yet.
“Listen to us,” she said.
“There’s work to be done, structural changes to be done.”
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