Minister Beverley Oda to Meet with Women after Vancouver Office Occupation

OTTAWA and VANCOUVER, Jan. 19 /CNW Telbec/ -

Women in British Columbia have obtained a meeting with federal Minister Beverley Oda after occupying the Status of Women (SWC) office in Vancouver yesterday. The meeting between BC women and the federal Minister responsible for the Status of Women will take place this afternoon, Friday, January 19th at 3:30 (PT).

Following a noon time rally yesterday, women occupied the Vancouver office to protest its closure by the federal government. They remained in the office until 11 p.m. last night at which time Minister Oda's staff agreed to the hour long meeting today.

The federal government announced this past December that it will close twelve of its sixteen regional Status of Women Canada offices, including the one in Vancouver. Women in BC say that these closures contradict a campaign promise made by Stephen Harper during last year's federal election. At that time, he committed in writing to the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) to improve the situation of women's human rights in Canada.

A year later, the work of women's and human rights groups is threatened and under attack. The office closures are part of a previously announced $5 million (43 per cent) reduction to the operating budget of Status of Women Canada (SWC), the lead federal department for gender equality. The Harper government has also announced the elimination of the Court Challenges Program, the termination of funding for all advocacy related work by women's groups and the removal of the word equality from the mandate of SWC's Women's Program

Provincial and Territorial Ministers have also expressed their dissatisfaction with Minister Oda's leadership. According to a report from the Ontario Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Sandra Pupatello, the Harper government has shown such little interest in women's issues that provinces and territories will meet on their own in early February to plot a national strategy.

Since the federal government's announcement of the office closures, women across the country have undertaken a variety of actions to signal their concern with the federal government's approach to Status of Women in Canada.



For further information: Nancy Peckford, (613) 292-7941; Shelagh Day,
(604) 872-0750; Shauna Paull, (604) 209-5776