Equality-seeking women’s groups, including BPW Canada, have actively lobbied against such changes:

• In December of 2006, BPW Canada sent a Brief to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women (Word) to oppose these changes.
• BPW Canada joined the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights Put Equality Back on Track campaign. http://womensequality.ca/index.html
• BPW Canada issued new releases:
  • BPW Canada shocked at closing of SWC offices 2006-12-3
  • BPW Canada choquée par la fermeture de bureaux de CFC 2006-12-10
• BPW Canada urged members to write Minister Oda and their MPs.
• BPW Canada approved emergency resolutions from BPW North and East Toronto and BPW London, calling on the Harper government to reverse the changes:
  • Urgent resolution Status of Women Canada BPW London (Word)
  • Résolution urgente Condition féminine Canada BPW London (Word)
  • Urgent resolution Status of Women Canada BPW North & East Toronto (Word)
  • Résolution urgente Condition féminine Canada BPW North & East Toronto (Word)

Because of the backlash from equality-seeking women’s groups, Minister Oda reinstated the $5 million, although not to the administration budget. Twelve of 16 offices were closed, and staff cut by half. Groups doing advocacy and research are still no longer eligible for funding. Why is this important?

The Statistics Canada report, Women in Canada 2005, and the federally commissioned report of the Expert Panel on Accountability Mechanisms for Gender Equality, Equality for Women: Beyond the Illusion / L’égalité pour les femmes : au-delà de l’illusion, released in July 2006 both reiterate the challenges still faced by girls and women and the important role of equality-seeking groups in addressing those challenges:

"In 2005, only one in five Members of Parliament is a woman. The same holds true, in general, across the legislatures of the provinces and territories. Girls are the victims of more than four out of five cases of sexual assault on minors. Four out of five one-parent families are headed by women. The employment income gap between male and female university graduates who work full time has widened. Women working full time still earn only 71 cents for every dollar that men make. Women do the large majority of unpaid work in Canada. (p. 15)…The most recent figures show that 38 percent of Aboriginal women live in low income situations. So, too, do 35 percent of lone mothers and 27 percent of immigrant women. Immigrant women working full time earn 58 cents for every dollar earned by Canadian born men” (p. 17)."

Women’s groups and other equality-seeking organizations that have received funding via the Women’s Program throughout the years and (during both Conservative and Liberal times) have played a vital role in Canadian democracy, ensuring that the concerns of women are brought to the attention of policy makers, and that their input is provided in the law reform process.

In addition, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in its 2003 report recommended to Canada that it:

• Make funds available for equality test cases in all jurisdictions (paras. 355-356)
• Accelerate its efforts regarding equal pay for work of equal value at the federal level (para. 376)
• Expand affordable child care facilities under all governments (para. 380)
• And make gender based analysis mandatory for all governments (paras. 353-354).

The changes to the Status of Women budget and mandate appears to be moving in the opposite direction, bringing into question the commitment that Prime Minister Stephen Harper made to women in Canada in January of 2006 when he said, "If elected, I will take concrete and immediate measures, as recommended by the United Nations, to ensure that Canada fully upholds its commitments to women in Canada."

• Fall 2006: Status of Women Minister Bev Oda announces a $5 million cut to the Status of Women budget, representing 40% of the total budget. The SWC mandate is changed from supporting groups advancing equality for women to “facilitate women’s participation in Canadian society by addressing their economic, social and cultural situation through Canadian organizations.” Equality is no longer at the core of the Women’s Program. Ineligible activities include “research and polling activities” and domestic advocacy activities and lobbying of federal, provincial and municipal governments.”(See www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/funding/wp/wpguide_e.html)
• March 8, 2007: On the eve of International Women’s Day, Minister Oda announces an additional $5 million to the Women’s Program, effective April 1^st, 2007, and the creation of two components of the Women’s Program: the Women’s Community Fund to support projects at a local, regional and national level; and the Women’s Partnership Fund for collaborative projects that receive funding from other departments or agencies, different levels of government and non-governmental organizations.
• April 2007: Twelve of 16 Status of Women offices across the country are closed. Staff is cut by almost half.
• May 2007: The Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO), an all-party committee, released its report on the impact of funding and program changes at Status of Women. It recommended that SWC reverse the decision to close 12 regional officers; that SWC maintain its Policy Research Fund to fund independent policy research; that SWC reinstate the goal of equality in the mandate of the Women’s Program; and that SWC remove limitations on funding for research and advocacy activities in the revised terms and conditions of the Women’s Program. Read the full report:
  • The Impacts of Funding and Program Changes at Status of Women Canada http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=205036
  • Les Impacts des changements au financement et aux programmes de Condition Féminine Canada http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=0&SourceId=205036&SwitchLanguage=1