News

2007

Wed, 19 Dec 2007

Advocacy groups to fight cancellation of legal aid program

By Colin Perkel, THE CANADIAN PRESS
December 17, 2007

TORONTO - A coalition of advocates for minorities, women and the disabled is seeking to join a court challenge to the widely criticized federal Conservative government's decision to cancel a decades-old program that provided money for equality-focused legal fights.

In an application to be filed Tuesday in Federal Court, the coalition argues the death of the court challenges program will damage efforts to ensure charter rights are respected.

Mon, 10 Dec 2007

Unions call on government to halt the anti-equality agenda

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2007

Ottawa—Several major unions are stepping forward to give financial support to women’s organizations that have been punished under the Conservative government’s anti-equality agenda. Their announcement coincides with the 26th anniversary of Canada’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Wed, 05 Dec 2007

Women shut out of Employment Insurance: Study

CCPA Release: November 22, 2007

TORONTO - Most women are getting shut out of Employment Insurance (EI) coverage in Canada, says a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

The gap between men's and women's EI coverage is significant: 40 percent of unemployed men received EI benefits in 2004 while only 32 percent of unemployed women did.

Tue, 20 Nov 2007

National Children’s Day

For Immediate Release
November 20, 2007

The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) acknowledges National Children’s Day by highlighting some areas in which Canada needs to move forward if we are to reflect more adequately the needs and interests of our children.

Considering the federal government has had a multibillion dollar surplus each year since 1998, Canada has no excuse to ignore the following:

Thu, 15 Nov 2007

Unique Study Finds Women in Canada’s North at Alarmingly High Risk of Homelessness.

Unique Study Finds Women in Canada’s North at Alarmingly High Risk of Homelessness. Study Results to be Released at Ottawa Press Conference November 14.

Ottawa, November12, 2007 – The first-ever pan-territorial study on homelessness sheds a stark light on the bleak realities facing many women and their children living in Canada’s North. You Just Blink and It Can Happen: A Study of Women’s Homelessness North of 60 concludes that thousands of women and their children live in absolute or “hidden” homelessness.

Mon, 05 Nov 2007

MP JOY SMITH TO SPEAK IN BURLINGTON ONTARIO ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Ottawa, ON: Joy Smith, Member of Parliament for Kildonan – St. Paul, will be making a presentation on human trafficking on November 5, 2007 at a public meeting arranged by Member of Parliament for Burlington, Mike Wallace. Mrs. Smith will be speaking about the current situation of human trafficking in Canada and abroad as well as how the public can get involved in combating human trafficking.

Thu, 25 Oct 2007

UN's Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Releases his Preliminary Report on Canada

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing finished his visit to Canada on October 22nd, with a press conference in Ottawa, where he released his preliminary report. His reports flags many serious concerns on the state of adequate housing in Canada, with particular attention paid to women and single mothers who are disproportionally affected by the issue of affordability or discrimination. A number of important recommendations are proposed.

Mon, 22 Oct 2007

Women still cool on Harper

Throne speech does little to court female voters, garnering much higher approval among men

Toronto Star
October 21, 2007
Susan Delacourt
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives didn't do much last week to improve their chances with women voters, according to some pollsters and opposition critics.

Parliament Hill was awash in events to mark the 78th anniversary of the famous "persons case," when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on whether women could be appointed to the Senate.

Wed, 17 Oct 2007

Throne Speech slams the door on National Child Care Program

Media Release
October 16, 2007

OTTAWA, Oct. 16, 2007 – It is news to Canadian families that Stephen Harper’s government has delivered on child care, say child care advocates responding to tonight’s Throne Speech.

“Any parent knows that a $100 monthly voucher doesn’t create child care and without child care there is no choice,” says Morna Ballantyne of the advocacy group Code Blue for Child Care. “Harper’s claim is particularly misleading given that the Tories have not delivered a single one of the 125,000 child care spaces they promised.’

Tue, 16 Oct 2007

LEAF Ottawa's Persons Day Breakfast - "Recognizing Women's Equality Under the Law!"

100 years ago, women weren't considered people under the law. They weren't allowed to vote and they weren't allowed to own property in their own right. They weren't allowed in law school or in various other professions. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

On Thursday, October 18, the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) is holding its annual Persons Day Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Ottawa! The Speaker for this event will be Yvette Brend – Investigative Journalist.

Mon, 24 Sep 2007

FAFIA Dismayed by the Closing of Key Women’s Group

September 20, 2007: The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) expresses its dismay at the closure of the offices of the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL). As a long-standing member group of FAFIA and collaborator on key policy issues affecting women, this closure represents a significant loss to women in Canada.

Fri, 21 Sep 2007

Amnesty International Canada expresses concern about the closure of the NAWL in the face of government funding restrictions

Public Statement

Amnesty International Canada expresses concern about the closure of the National Association of Women and the Law in the face of government funding restrictions

September 20, 2007

Fri, 14 Sep 2007

Northern leaders slam Canada's rejection of UN native rights declaration

CBC News
September 13, 2007

Aboriginal and northern leaders say Canada's opposition Thursday to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has marred the country's reputation in the international community.

Canada was one of four countries that opposed the non-binding declaration, which recognizes indigenous peoples' basic human rights and rights to self-determination, language, equality and land, among other rights.

Fri, 14 Sep 2007

Feds try to make 'advocacy' a dirty word

Ginette Pettipas-Taylor
A woman's view
Published Thursday September 13th, 2007
Appeared on page D8

It has been almost a year now since the federal government announced that funding for women's groups would no longer support equality and advocacy work.

We can start assessing the damage.

It's a sad sight. The losses are mounting among local, regional and national non-profit organizations dedicated to fighting discrimination and injustice.

Fri, 07 Sep 2007

A '25-and-5' goal to fight poverty

Editorial from the Toronto Star

September 4, 2007

Some 18 years ago, Parliament voted unanimously to eradicate child poverty by the year 2000. Today, the percentage of children in Canada and in Ontario living in poverty is higher than it was back in 1989. As well, the percentage of all Canadians in poverty is as high as ever.

Thu, 06 Sep 2007

NDP launches women's "equality challenge" plan

OTTAWA – The NDP issued an “equality challenge” to political leaders today in Ottawa. Recently, women have been losing ground in their fight for equality as the Harper Conservatives and Liberals in Ottawa have dramatically cut programs and moved backwards on women’s issues.
NDP issues challenge to political leaders of all parties to address women's issues.

September 5, 2007

Mon, 20 Aug 2007

Progressive CHOICES: Women in Business magazine supports fast-growing part of Canadian economy

Nancy Thompson has turned a gift for seeing entrepreneurial potential in others into an inspiring, motivational magazine.

Progressive CHOICES: Women in Business features stories of Canadian women who are succeeding in the world of business. With four out of five businesses started by women, these entrepreneurs make up one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian economy.

Fri, 10 Aug 2007

Put Poverty on Premiers' Agenda

As they meet in Moncton this week, we urge the premiers to ensure that no child suffers the debilitating effects of poverty. More than 1 million children and their families still live in poverty in Canada despite prosperous times - that's one out of every six children. We can, and must, do much better.
August 09, 2007
The Toronto Star

LAUREL ROTHMAN
PENELOPE ROWE

As they meet in Moncton this week, we urge the premiers to ensure that no child suffers the debilitating effects of poverty. More than 1 million

Thu, 28 Jun 2007

Women's Needs Overlooked

Sanitsuda Ekachai
Bangkok Post

June 28, 2007

When women call for gender sensitivity in state policies, the male-dominated decision makers almost always respond that it is not necessary because men and women are the same.

When women call for equality in pay and allocation of top jobs, however, the decision makers will most always discount women as irrational, indecisive and thus unfit to join the men's club.

Isn't it ridiculous?

Mon, 18 Jun 2007

Indian status can be traced through mother, court rules

Bill Curry
Globe and Mail
June 16, 2007

VANCOUVER - The B.C. Supreme Court has wiped out one of the most contentious aspects of the federal Indian Act, striking down part of Ottawa's definition of a status Indian and opening the door to hundreds of thousands of new applications for native services.

The court rejected part of the existing legal definition on the grounds that it discriminates against Canadians who trace their aboriginal roots through their female relatives rather than their father or grandfather.

Thu, 14 Jun 2007

Commonwealth women in dire straits

Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Times of India
June 14 2007

KAMPALA: In a moment of truth for the 53-country Commonwealth, which counts every third human being on the planet as a Commonwealth citizen, it has just acknowledged that the majority of its women are in dire straits.

Women's affairs ministers from 32 Commonwealth countries, including India's Renuka Chowdhry, ended a two-day meeting here on Thursday with a dispiriting laundry list of the problems faced by women and girls across the Commonwealth, from Belize to Bangladesh.

Tue, 29 May 2007

CAEFS applauds Amnesty International

May 28, 2007

(Ottawa)–The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) emerged from its Annual General Meeting in Montreal with a clear direction from its membership to commend Amnesty International for their report on The State of the World’s Human Rights. CAEFS is a federation of 26 local, community based service providers who work with and on behalf of marginalized victimized, criminalized, and imprisoned women and girls.

Wed, 23 May 2007

Why do men have 80% of the seats in the House? Do the math, says Raylene Lang-Dion, then do something about it.

Janice Kennedy, The Ottawa Citizen
May 20, 2007

Raylene Lang-Dion sighs deeply, her exhalation sounding like one part regret and two parts frustration.

"Other countries seem to just get it," she says, "while Canada is slipping further and further behind."

Fri, 11 May 2007

The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) celebrates National Elizabeth Fry Week

NATIONAL ELIZABETH FRY WEEK
May 7 to 13, 2007

The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) celebrates National Elizabeth Fry Week annually. Elizabeth Fry Societies across the country organize public events in their communities throughout the week.

Our goal is to enhance public awareness and education regarding the circumstances of victimized and criminalized women involved in the criminal justice system.

We hope to gradually break down the negative stereotypes that exist about women who are imprisoned and institutionalized.

Tue, 08 May 2007

Child poverty – this is not as good as it gets

Laurel Rothman and Armine Yalnizyan
Special to Globe and Mail Update
May 8, 2007

Canada's child and family poverty rate is down to 11.7 per cent in the latest Statistics Canada report, released last week. So why aren't anti-poverty activists breaking out the bubbly?

Because that rate is exactly what it was in 1989, when parliamentarians unanimously declared it unacceptable, vowing to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000.
Laurel Rothman and Armine Yalnizyan
Special to Globe and Mail Update
May 8, 2007

Mon, 07 May 2007

Opposition parties declare support for new pay equity law

All three opposition parties spoke out today in favour of a new federal pay equity law after meeting with representatives of the Pay Equity Network, a coalition of central labour bodies, unions, women’s organizations and provincial pay equity groups, who were in Ottawa to lobby for a new law.
Pay Equity Network
Pay Equity: at the heart of equality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2007

Wed, 02 May 2007

Bertha Wilson, the first woman named to the Supreme Court of Canada, dies at 83.

Former Supreme Court of Canada Judge Bertha Wilson - who died Monday
after a long illness - played a historic role in Canadian law both as
a pioneering female jurist and as a primary architect of Charter of
Rights jurisprudence.
Bertha Wilson, 83
First woman named to the Supreme Court of Canada was a 'lawyer's lawyer'

SANDRA MARTIN
Globe and Mail Update
April 30, 2007

Had Bertha Wilson meekly followed the patriarchal advice handed down
to her when she inquired about doing a law degree in the mid-1950s,
the Canadian judicial system might have looked very different today.

Mon, 30 Apr 2007

Minimum wage laws – The state of pay in Canada

CBC News
February 2, 2007

Most Canadians have had only fleeting contact with the minimum wage. Perhaps that first job as a teenager in a fast food restaurant or working at the cash register of a local store. Then, it was on to bigger and better-paying jobs.

But minimum wage employment is still the reality for many in this country. Some never manage to rise above those so-called entry-level positions. In 2007, for someone working full-time, that means an annual income of less than $16,000. Some try to support a family on that.CBC News
February 2, 2007

Wed, 25 Apr 2007

Parliamentary Committee recommends support to women's advocacy

On April 17, 2007, the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women released its seventeenth report, urging the federal government to support advocacy groups that address the challenges women face, particularly in regards to economic insecurity and poverty.

Supporting and promoting women's equality, working towards the full
participation of women in Canadian society and addressing the issues of
violence towards women and girls were also identified as areas requiring
funding.

To view the full report, click here:

Thu, 05 Apr 2007

Corporate Canada still a boy's club

Women hold the position of chief executive officer or president at only 4.2 per cent of Canada's top 500 companies, up from 4 per cent in 2004, according to a survey released Wednesday by Catalyst Canada.VIRGINIA GALT

Globe and Mail Update

April 4, 2007

It's still lonely at the top for women in corporate Canada.

Thu, 05 Apr 2007

Modify Employment Insurance Rules to Eliminate Discrimination Against Women, says Federal Standing Committee

The Standing Committee on the Status of Women presents its Fourteenth Report on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in the Employment Insurance Committee. The Standing Committee on the Status of Women has the honour to present its

Fourteenth Report:

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied the elimination of discrimination against women in the Employment Insurance Program, and has agreed to report the following:

Whereas women account for the majority in jobs that: are seasonal; are part-time; are paid minimum wage; offer little security;

Fri, 30 Mar 2007

Working poor get little relief from Flaherty

Written by John Stapleton

Upon closer inspection, the Conservative finance minister's Working Income Tax Benefit falls way short of the original proposal first floated by his Liberal predecessor Ralph Goodale.Written by John Stapleton

Originally posted on March 23 2007 in the Toronto Star

March 23, 2007

Fri, 30 Mar 2007

Harper’s $1 billion cut deepens Ottawa’s child care crisis

OTTAWA – Parents, child care workers and advocates joined together on a major Ottawa bridge this morning to protest the biggest child care cut in Canadian history – cut that makes an already bad situation worse for families in the nation’s capital.For immediate release

30 March 2007

Fri, 30 Mar 2007

Ottawa set to sign UN treaty: Decision to join 53 other nations ends months of uncertainty

OTTAWA – The federal government appears ready to end months of uncertainty and add its signature to a landmark United Nations treaty on protecting the rights of people with disabilities.Mar 30, 2007
Bruce Campion-Smith

OTTAWA – The federal government appears ready to end months of uncertainty and add its signature to a landmark United Nations treaty on protecting the rights of people with disabilities.

Fri, 23 Mar 2007

UNICEF flagship report says gender equality benefits both women and children

NEW YORK, USA, 10 December 2006 – On its 60th anniversary, UNICEF is launching a report that says gender equality is critical to child survival and development. By Rachel Bonham-Carter

NEW YORK, USA, 10 December 2006 – On its 60th anniversary, UNICEF is launching a report that says gender equality is critical to child survival and development.

“The lives of women are inextricably linked to the well-being of children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “If they are not educated, if they are not healthy, if they are not empowered, the children are the ones who suffer.”

Fri, 23 Mar 2007

Many families left out of pre-election budget

By Armine Yalnizyan

Toronto Star - Page A21 Print Version

Mar 21, 2007

The Harper government wants you to believe that average families are squarely at the centre of their budget spending this year.

Before you celebrate this "something for everyone" approach to politics, consider this: A striking number of Canadians actually won't benefit from much of what is promised in this budget.

Most Canadian tax filers – 59 per cent – report incomes of less than $30,000. Most of them will not be eligible for this budget's billions in promised tax credits.

Fri, 23 Mar 2007

FAFIA’s CEDAW Campaign: 25 Years, Ready or Not?

FAFIA is featured in the Spring edition of the Canadian Women’s Studies Journal

York University

Read the Abstract

Mon, 12 Mar 2007

Groups Call on Harper Government to Deliver Federal Budget that Benefits Women

At the end of a historic two day conference this past weekend which brought together representatives from Québec, Aboriginal, and other Canadian and international women’s and human rights groups, women agreed that stronger social programs and increased social spending are key to combating discrimination and achieving equality for women. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 12, 2007

Wed, 28 Feb 2007

Canada’s Statement to the UN Commission on the Status of Women Misleading and Disappointing

On February 28, 2007, Canada delivered its statement to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), the United Nations body responsible for promoting the equality of women and girls, and monitoring the implementation of international agreements and commitments to women’s equality, including the Beijing Platform for Action. The focus of this year’s UNCSW is the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against girls.

Tue, 27 Feb 2007

Amnesty International Report: A Human Rights Agenda for Canada

Canada has played an important role in both developing and strengthening the international human rights system and backed that up with important laws and institutions for the protection of human rights within Canada. But there is more that Canada must do to ensure that when it comes to human rights protection, there are no exceptions.

Amnesty International has layed out a range of vital recommendations for action by governments in Canada, across a wide variety of areas:

- counter-terrorism
- the rights of Indigenous peoples
- women’s rights
- refugee protection

Thu, 18 Jan 2007

A Promise Made, A Promise Broken: Women protest on anniversary of Harper’s pledge

A year ago today, in the midst of a heated federal election campaign, Stephen Harper promised in writing to improve the situation of women’s rights in Canada. A year later, the work of women’s and human rights groups is threatened and under attack.

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