What It Cost To Get a Meeting with Bev Oda

BC Campaign for Women's Equality and Human Rights in Canada

(Vancouver, BC - 2 February 2007) After almost two weeks of waiting and following a question put to her in the House of Commons about it, women's groups in BC finally heard back from Minister Oda's office and confirmed a meeting date. The Minister responsible for the Status of Women will be in Vancouver March 3, 2007.

Minister Oda promised to meet with BC women's groups after a demonstration and a brief occupation of the Status of Women Canada office in Vancouver on January 18, the first anniversary of her government's broken promise to promote women's equality and address CEDAW recommendations.

"Despite days of telephone calls and messages, miscommunications and incorrect statements in Parliament, we now have a date," states Shauna Paull of GAATW-Canada. "Last night we got started preparing for the Minister's visit with us."

Coalition representatives have expressed disappointment with Minister Oda's explanations and defence of the Harper Government's decisions to:

slash $5m dollars from the SWC budget

close 12 of 16 regional offices of SWC, including those in Vancouver and Toronto

remove women's equality from the program mandate

make research, advocacy, and lobbying ineligible for funding

cancel the Court Challenges Program

refuse to move forward on proactive pay equity legislation

cancel the Pan-Canadian child-care program

fail to move forward on its CEDAW obligations

But the Coalition's work to promote the principle of women's equality and redouble its efforts to have Conservative cuts reversed continues. "The Government says it wants to uphold Canada's commitments to women under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women," stated Shelagh Day of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA), "but their decisions disable women from participating in advocacy for equality rights."

"Women in BC will have a lot to share with Minister Oda on March 3rd about how the spectrum of cuts and changes are actually impacting their right to be full participants in Canadian society," states Alison Brewin of West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF). "The minister is obliged under the Charter to change historic disadvantage, to promote women's equality, and to ensure justice is done. I expect her to come prepared to listen to the evidence of women's continued disadvantage."

For More Information, Contact:

Shelagh Day (FAFIA) Tel: 604.872.0750
Shauna Paull (GAATW-Canada) Tel: 604.209.5776
Alison Brewin (West Coast LEAF) Tel: 604.684.8772