Hi Dennis,

Could you post our submission to Status of Women Canada re cuts and funding
criteria changes to the SDOH list?  The Standing Committee on the Status of
Women is accepting one page (500 word) submissions until December 13.  For
details, go to:
http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=184976

Submission to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women
Regarding the Impact of Recent Funding and Program Changes – December 13,
2006

The Community Social Planning Council of Toronto (CSPC-T) is a non-profit
agency engaged in research, policy analysis, community development and
capacity building work.  CSPC-T works to improve the lives of Toronto
residents through close partnerships with agencies from Toronto’s extensive
community service sector.  The sector includes 1,342 community-based human
service organizations directly serving hundreds of thousands of Toronto
residents, and touching the lives of all who live here. Working with diverse
communities across Toronto constantly reinforces the Council’s awareness of
the centrality of women’s equality to the social development and quality of
life of all Toronto residents.

The federal government’s recent decision to cut Status of Women Canada (SWC)
funding, close offices, and fundamentally change funding criteria represents
a radical reversal of Canada’s commitment to women’s equality.

Women’s Equality is Essential to Achieving Social and Economic Equality for
All
It is widely acknowledged that gender equality is a vital precursor to
achieving broader social and economic equality, and fundamental for any
country’s growth, social development, and political sustainability.  A
federal commitment to improving the quality of life of Canadians cannot be
met without a corresponding commitment to women’s equality.

United Nations Takes Leap Forward on Women’s Equality, as Canada Abandons
Commitment
Similar to its abandoning of the Kyoto Protocol, the federal government’s
recent SWC actions are entirely out of step with the global community.
While the federal government implements its cuts and abandons women’s
equality, the United Nations is strengthening its gender equality
architecture by establishing an independent women-specific body to ensure a
voice for women at the United Nations decision-making tables.  Instead, the
federal government is taking actions that will silence the voices of women
and further marginalize the position of disadvantaged women at the federal
level.

Silencing Dissent Critical to Setting the Stage for Another Round of
Cutbacks - $7.4 Billion in New Cuts Revealed
Recent changes to SWC Women’s Program that prohibit funding for general
research, lobbying and advocacy effectively silence women’s voices and
voices of dissent – both critical to the proper functioning of a strong
democracy.  Federal moves to eliminate the Court Challenges Program and the
Law Commission of Canada serve similar purposes.  We are deeply concerned
that these moves to silence dissent are designed to set the stage for more
program cuts. Recent revelations that the federal government will cut $7.4
billion without any announcement give credence to these concerns.

Program Review Misused to Fundamentally Alter the Women’s Program
The federal government radically altered the nature of the SWC Women’s
Program through the misuse of program review.  The stated goal of program
review, introduced in the 1990s, was to ensure that core programs met their
goals, and that emerging needs could be addressed.  Program review was not
established to provide minority governments with a backdoor to make sweeping
changes to programs that offer core support to equity-seeking communities–
changes that would be unlikely to pass in the House of Commons if they had
been introduced through proper legislative mechanisms.

Federal Surplus Provides Golden Opportunity to Advance Women’s Equality
Canada has enjoyed a unique and priviledged position within the
industrialized world, posting nine back-to-back federal surpluses of
substantial size.  This bounty has provided the federal government with a
golden opportunity to commit additional resources into programs to advance
women’s equality.  Instead, the government is closing SWC offices across
Canada and abandoning its commitment to achieving women’s equality.  We urge
the federal government to reevaluate its current direction, reverse the cuts
and changes to SWC and the Women’s Program, and join the rest of the global
community in taking real action to advance the goal of women’s equality.



Beth Wilson
Researcher
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
2 Carlton Street, Suite 1001
Toronto, Ontario M5B 1J3
Tel:  (416) 351-0095 x257
Fax:  (416) 351-0107
Email:  [log in to unmask]

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