You will notice that this chapter is called a herstory instead of a history. It is important to me that as women we recognize the valuable contribution women make to the human story. Remember in school when we studied history and we memorized the dates of wars, battles and other male achievements? Well, herstory is the human story that includes women and recognizes the importance of women’s work and achievements.

There have always been single mothers in Nova Scotia. We are not some new “problem” that has come up in the last couple of years as a result of rising divorce rates. In Nova Scotia we are widowed, divorced, separated, single by choice, unwed, lesbian, disabled, immigrant, young, and old. We are black, native, yellow, white, and all mixes there of. We are every sort of interesting, strong women. As women and as single mothers, we need to know our herstory to know ourselves. To give you an idea of where Nova Scotian single mothers have come from, I have put together a brief history of single mothers-as much as I could find.

The “history” books I have read on this topic do not specify that the policies for the poor were restricted to only white people. I feel that with the current and historical racism prevalent in this country, these policies would have been restricted to white women only. Also, the Association for Improving the Conditions of the Poor (A.I.C.P.), which originated in the United States and later came to Nova Scotia, made a policy of not helping blacks and natives. Therefore, I must conclude that this policy was carried forth into Nova Scotia. If you are a non-white single mom, I would suggest that the history of the poor laws did not include you until the mid -20th century. From what I have been able to find about native and black single mothers, your ancestors survived because of strong family supports.

At the turn of the nineteenth century the vast majority of single mothers were widows. Death, war, illness, harsh living and working conditions took away the lives of many people but when it took the life of a husband and father, wives and children were often left in poverty. Before divorce laws loosened up, many men simply abandoned their wives and children. Unwed mothers have always been among us but we were punished and charged under the law for having children out of wedlock. Many unwed mothers, who were the most persecuted of mothers, were either forced to give up their children for adoption or commit infanticide (the willful death of an infant shortly after its birth) because they were afraid and felt they had no other choices open to them.

During the last hundred and fifty years there have not been many ways for a single mother to support herself and her children here in Nova Scotia. The government of Nova Scotia, then as now, did not look upon women in poverty with much sympathy. They blamed the woman’s “moral” or “poor judgment” for the situation she found herself in. The woman who was a widow was often considered more “deserving” than other poor woman. Perhaps she was considered deserving because the father of her children didn’t abandon her. Whatever the reason, Nova Scotia has been particularly cruel to single mothers.

What was available for single mother families before the so-called “modern” state or ‘welfare’ evolved? Some mothers were forced to become prostitutes on a part basis. In 1860, the number of prostitutes in Halifax was estimated to be between 600 to 1000. Some mothers had to sell themselves and their children as a source of unpaid labour. The mother was sold to one buyer, the children to another and they become known as “the poor for a year”. They could put their children into orphanages or send them to either the poorhouse or the workhouse. Poorhouses and workhouses were large institutional buildings where people went to live and work. The conditions there were extremely harsh; this was considered a last resort. Eventually government policy makers decided it was best to try to keep families together and give aid to families instead of splitting the family up by sending them to a poorhouse or selling the children. Two poor relief organizations were set up. One was the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which was founded in 1853, and the other was the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (A.I.C.P.) which was established in 1866 in Halifax.

At first only windows were given financial assistance, as they were considered the most deserving of poor women. They received money for traditional work such as scrubbing, cleaning, and needlework. Today this is called a “workfare” program. Then, as now, the women received barely enough to live on. Women who had worked as prostitutes did not qualify for assistance under the policies of the A.I.C.P. as they were considered “unfit”. Eventually, wives of prisoners were given aid. Unwed mothers were denied aid and were sent to “homes” for unwed mothers.

The Home of the Guardian Angel was founded in Halifax in 1887. Most of the women who went there gave up their children for adoption as they simply did not have many choices. If she did decide to have the child and raise it herself she could be charged under the criminal laws for having an illegitimate child. Unwed mothers could go to the poorhouse where they would give birth to their babies. The children would live as inmates and were made to work as soon as they were old enough. This continued through the 1920s and 1030s.

In 1930, a new assistance program was set up, again, available only to widows. It was called “Mother’s Allowance.” It wasn’t until 1958 that financial assistance was extended to cover other categories of single mothers such as abandoned or divorced single moms. Unwed mothers were still not given any assistance. In 1966, the Federal Government developed a cost sharing agreement with the provinces for financial assistance for people in poverty. This is known as the Canada Assistance Program (C.A.P.) This program made it mandatory for the provinces to provide people on assistance with the basic minimum standards of living.

It was not until 1971, just 25 years ago, that the Province of Nova Scotia passed legislation which gave unwed mothers financial assistance. No longer did they have to face the bleak choice of giving up their child for adoption or starving while trying to raise the child. Since that time most unwed mothers have been keeping their children and raising them by themselves. This has caused concern in the past couple of years with some couples, politicians and church leaders who have claimed that there are no longer any children available for adoption.

In 1983, the Social Services Minister introduced Bill 61 which “cut” unwed mothers under 19 years of age off assistance. This was supported to discourage young girls from having sex. It was also a way of forcing young mothers to give up their children. In 1988, after five years of protest from single mothers’ groups and activists who pointed out that this bill was violating the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, Bill 61 was amended to give teen mothers easier access to Family Benefits.

Paul Martin’s 1995 federal budget indicated massive cuts to health care, post-secondary education, ‘welfare’ and social services, through the demise of the Canadian Assistance Plan (CAP) and the introduction of the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) which began on April 1, 1996. The CHST means the end of specifically allocated funds for the provinces for social services and ‘welfare’ and combines the federal transfer of funding for provincial social programs (healthcare, post-secondary education and social services) into one block fund to be spent at the Province’s total discretion. The CHST has no rights or standards for social assistance and social services, except the no-residency requirement (which is already in the Charter). The government has agreed to enshrine in the new law the basic rights to health care contained in the Canada Health Act. No such agreement has been made about the basic rights to ‘welfare’. With the rights gone in CAP, there is no guarantee that Canadians in need will get financial assistance. In Nova Scotia, these changes will mean a loss of about $328 million of federal funding over three years leaving health programmes, post-secondary education and social services to wrestle among themselves for the few available dollars. (RECAP, 1996.)

RECAP (Real Expectations of Communities Against Poverty) was organized in the summer of 1995 to increase awareness among the public, consumers and social service agencies about the consequences of the funding cuts, the demise of CAP, and the introduction of the new CHST. RECAP has met its own demise and is no longer together. However, HCAP (Halifax Coalition Against Poverty) now exists in this region to assist individuals in defending themselves against abuse by landlords, the ‘welfare’ system, employers, and others. They are also involved in advocacy work.

We single mother families are among the fastest growing family unit in Canada. We are growing at a faster rate than two-parent families. Between 1971 and 1991, the number of married couples had decreased by 16%, while the number of single-parent families (82% of which are headed by women) had increased by 3.5%. Married couples accounted for 80% of families in 1980, but only 73% in 2001. What’s interesting to note is that family structure was not taken into account in the most recent 2001 Census. We know that poverty rates for single mothers reached points as high as 57.2% in 1996, but this figure is no longer available or updated in the new Census. . The Vanier Institute of the Family has estimated that 40% of new marriages will end in divorce. This means that most women in Canada will spend at least some part of their life as a single mother. Most likely she and her children will live in poverty. In her Report Card on Women and Poverty, April 2000, Monica Townson cites the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, as reporting that today, 56% of families with children headed by sole-support mothers are poor.

The poverty is not her fault. It is the fault of old beliefs, fears, and attitudes toward women who are independent. Although the number of single mother families is growing at a faster rate than two-parent families, we are in poverty much more than they are. Why is this? This is because we don’t have a second income or even the male income. This is also because we can’t afford the costs of daycare for our children which would enable us to go into the work force. The fathers of our children often don’t pay their court ordered child support after they have left or have been removed from the relationship. Women are also paid much lower wages than men and are not awarded promotions as often, or as many well-paid positions as men. All of these conditions and others contribute to us and our children living in poverty.

The most important thing for us to remember is that single mother families are not “broken families.” To say that we are broken is to imply that there is a piece not working. We do not have to be the traditional nuclear family in order to “work.” There are many other types of families other than the “nuclear” family (which always sounds like it’s going to blow up anyway!).

We have been and continue to be strong. Our children are growing up in an atmosphere of independence. They are no different from millions of other Canadian children. So be proud! We will continue to create herstory! We will create herstory by and for ourselves and together with other groups that have been systematically put down. Be proud and share your pride!