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Conservatives Close Down 75% of Status of Women Offices Across Canada

Re-evaluation of program showed it was not offering concrete help directly to women

By Gudrun Schultz

OTTAWA, Canada, December 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Status of Women Canada will lose the majority of its offices by April 1, 2007, the Conservative government said Wednesday, in a follow-through to the program of funding cuts announced in this fall’s budget.

Heritage Minister Bev Oda said 12 of the agency’s 16 offices will be shut down across the country, after a re-evaluation of the program showed it was not offering concrete help directly to women, the CBC reported yesterday.

“What these offices don’t necessarily provide is the help directly to women. There was a lot of lobbying groups, there was a lot of advocacy," Ms. Oda said.

"We don't need to separate the men from the women in this country.… This government as a whole is responsible to develop policies and programs that address the needs of both men and women."

The office closures will save money on rent and utility bills, the Health Minister said, increasing available funding for other women’s programs. At least an additional $700,000 will be added to the $5 million already saved through funding cuts to the program.

As well, the offices cuts will remove 61 of the 131 jobs at the Status of Women, according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

The move has raised an outcry from feminist groups who say it constitutes a direct attack on the rights of women in Canada.

Not all women’s groups are opposed to the move, however.

REAL Women of Canada, a pro-family women’s rights organization that has been calling for an end to the Status of Women agency for years, said the decision to shut down much of the program was “long overdue.”

“Status of Women is a make-work project for radical feminism,” said Gwen Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women, in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com.

“All these women were on the government pay to promote an ideology, not to promote women. The vast majority of women today are competent, capable, industrious and are quite able to participate in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada on their own initiative.”

Landolt said the needs of those women who do require help, such as immigrant women who need assistance in integrating into society, and single mothers, are met by provincial programs.

“Welfare, integration of immigrant women, and women’s shelters all fall under provincial jurisdiction. Why on earth did SOW even  have regional offices in the first place? They are really not serving women, they are doing advocacy work for feminism.”

Landolt pointed out that the federal government was paying rent and utility costs for regional SOW offices when space in federal office buildings was available, in a clear misuse of tax funds.

REAL Women sent a letter to Canada’s MPs in April of this year, calling for the defunding and disbanding of Status of Women. Although the mainstream media largely ignored the questions raised against the agency, grassroots bloggers picked up the subject and raised public awareness of the issue.

Health Minister Oda responded to criticism of the cuts by saying women’s needs would be better served by allocating funds elsewhere, the CBC reported.

“I’m very surprised that the opposition would say, ‘Put money back into inefficiencies,’ when you can find inefficiencies and streamline the operations.”

Status of Women Canada will retain offices in Edmonton, Montreal, Moncton, N.B., and Ottawa.

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Canadian Conservative Government Slashes Funding to Wasteful Anti-Family Programs
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06092606.html

Grassroots Blogger Reaction against Canada’s Status of Women Prompts Media Action
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06082504.html

Canadian Taxpayers Funding Radical Feminist Counter-Offensive
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06081501.html

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