December 1, 2006
BPW Canada shocked at
Status of Women office closings
The Canadian Federation of
Business & Professional Women’s Clubs (BPW Canada) is dismayed with the
announcement that Status of Women Canada will close 12 of its 16
regional offices across the country next April.
This move follows an announcement earlier this fall that the
department’s budget had been cut by $5 million, almost 40%. This,
despite Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s statement during the January
2006 election campaign that “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.”
BPW Canada is shocked with
the Prime Minister’s seeming change of heart, especially given that the
closures will mean few women across
Canada will then
have access to or information about Status of Women programs.
In contrast, the United
Nations High-Level Panel on System-Wide Cohesion in the Areas of
Development, Humanitarian Assistance and the Environment recently
released a report, recommending that the UN create an independent
women-specific agency at the UN to address issues of women’s health,
equality and security.
This recommendation
followed lobbying efforts by Canadian Stephen Lewis, Special Envoy to
the UN on HIV/AIDS, who has consistently argued that the UN has not
fulfilled its mandate in addressing gender equality issues.
December 10, 2006 will mark
the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), of
which Canada was a signatory. CEDAW goals have yet to be met.
BPW Canada finds it curious
that while international organizations are moving in one direction –
towards greater equality for women in the world – the Canadian
government is moving in the other – cutting budgets and closing offices
that have promoted efforts towards gender equity.
Moreover, we are shocked
that the Conservative government seems prepared to walk away from its
international commitments, like CEDAW.
BPW Canada finds this
situation totally unacceptable. Our national Board of Directors, along
with our membership across the country, plans to work hard to put these
issues on the agenda in the next federal election. The women of Canada
deserve better.
Fran Donaldson
President, BPW Canada
613-476-1700
fdonalds@magma.ca
Sue Calhoun
1st
Vice-President, BPW Canada
506-532-9295
scalhoun@nbnet.nb.ca
|
