Urgent call for solidarity from women’s movements in Canada

Podpořte kanadské ženy, aby i nadále existovaly fondy na podporu kanadského ženského hnutí. Zde si můžete stáhnout dopis předsedovi kanadské vlády.

Recently, the Canadian government made some very worrisome changes to Status of Women Canada, an important federal program dedicated to advancing women’s rights.  They have deleted the word « equality » from their mandate and changed the rules applied to funding women’s organisations.  It is now impossible to use federal funds for any activity that aims to defend rights and influence the government.  They also reduced by 40% the functioning budget of Status of Women Canada.  These decisions are added to other ones such as the abolition of the Court Challenges Program, an essential program that has allowed women’s groups to use the justice system to put forward certain rights, and the cancelling of agreements with the provinces to offer affordable childcare services all across the country, as well as the lack of political will to adopt a proactive law on pay equity.

These decisions will have extremely negative impacts on women in Québec and throughout Canada.  It means that some women’s groups are now struggling for their own survival!

These changes will have serious repercussions for women.  The coming period will be very difficult for women’s organisations working in the fields of women’s political and legal equality, doing research or working for policy changes according to Canada’s current commitments regarding equality.  The voices of women will be stifled.  Claiming our rights remains essential because while women in Canada have achieved equality under the law, equality has yet to be achieved in practice.

Women’s groups across Québec and Canada are mobilized.  The crowning point of our action campaign will be December 10, International Human Rights Day and the 25th anniversary of Canada’s ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

We urgently need support from the women’s movement around the world.  We are asking you to join us in writing to the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, in order to denounce his decisions, which are a huge step backwards for the work of advancing the rights of women in Canada. We are convinced that your gesture will make a difference!

You will find attached a proposed letter that you could send by email, fax or regular mail.  Of course you can modify it as you see fit.  We also request that you send a copy of your letter to the President or Prime Minister of your country, the Canadian Ambassador in your country (for the list of Canadian foreign embassies you can visit the following web site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/world/embassies/menu-en.asp ) and the Fédération des femmes du Québec (Québec Women’s Federation) at info@ffq.qc.ca who will let women’s groups and the media know of your support.  Please note that the parts of the letter that appear in red are to be personalized by you.

It is very important that you send your letter before December 8, so that we can make public your support during a rally that will be held in front of the Canadian parliament on December 10th.

Women’s groups in Québec and all across Canada are counting on you.  Thank you in advance for your solidarity and support!

Best wishes in solidarity,

Charlotte Thibault
Feminist Aliance for International Action (FAFIA)