Critics slam Tory decision to close most Status of Women offices

Professur

Professur

Well-Known Member
OTTAWA (CP) - The Conservative government is taking an axe to Status of Women Canada, closing three-quarters of its regional offices and outraging critics in the process.

Heritage Minister Bev Oda revealed Wednesday that 12 of the federal agency's 16 regional offices will be shut down by April 1.

The blow is part of a cost-cutting program announced in September that will see the agency lose $5 million from it's $23-million annual budget over two years.

Status of Women Canada works to advance women's economic equality and human rights and eliminate violence against women.

Oda said the regional offices do little to serve women directly and money can be better spent by streamlining services.

But Liberal MP Maria Minna called the move "reprehensible."

"Canadian women are still only earning 71 cents to every dollar earned by their male counterparts, more and more women are living in poverty, and we are still waiting for the government to create child-care spaces," she said. (pardon me while I vomit)

"With the closure of these regional offices, the government is taking away one of the very few remaining resources for women."

Minna said the closures are a clear sign that Stephen Harper's Conservatives plan to completely dismantle Status of Women Canada.

Oda insisted that women will be better served despite the budget cuts and the office closings.

"I'm very surprised that the opposition would say, "Put money back into inefficiencies," when you can find inefficiencies and streamline the operations.

"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.

"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."

Oda said the closures will save on unnecessary rent and utility bills and she claimed that even with $5 million in cuts, there will be $700,000 more for women's programming.

She also said women in regions will be able to get service from office of the Canadian Heritage Department.

However, New Democrat MP Irene Mathyssen wasn't buying it.

"These closures will not improve women's status in Canada, nor will it make Status of Women more efficient. This is part of a wider assault on ordinary Canadians and will result in numerous job losses.

"This minister is not fulfilling her mandate. She is not protecting Canadian women, nor is she pushing for their equality. Rather, she is abandoning them altogether."

The Commons status of women committee plans to hold two extra meetings in early December to discuss the situation.

Of the 16 regional offices, only Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal and Moncton will be spared.
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Source
 
groovy. just like many "conservatives" in the states. halfway to taliban, and itching to regress further.
 
Canadian women are still only earning 71 cents to every dollar earned by their male counterparts, more and more women are living in poverty, and we are still waiting for the government to create child-care spaces," she said.
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Barefoot AND pregnant then it's the governments fault?
Bout time somebody explain that in order to have babies it take two to tango and no government agency is forcing the two to do the mattress mamba..
It's called personal responsibility...
 
highwayman said:
Barefoot AND pregnant then it's the governments fault?
Bout time somebody explain that in order to have babies it take two to tango and no government agency is forcing the two to do the mattress mamba..
It's called personal responsibility...
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This has SFA to do with pregnancy.
It's equal work for equal pay, single moms and creating child-care spaces so single parents can go to work instead of being on welfare and families that NEED two incomes to be able to have them.
 
highwayman said:
Barefoot AND pregnant then it's the governments fault?
Bout time somebody explain that in order to have babies it take two to tango and no government agency is forcing the two to do the mattress mamba..
It's called personal responsibility...
Click to expand...

no, it's called rationalizing archaic beliefs.
 
Actually, I call it responsible parenting. You bred them, you stick around a raise them. I've said it many times ... if the missus could make as much a year as me, I'd happily stay at home and raise my kids. But not only do I pay to raise mine, I have to pay more taxes so that some other fucker can be subsidized to not raise their??? Fuck off.
 
So were is the man in all this? Down here there is such a thing as paternity and finacial supprt from the father of the child, Granted there would be a percentage that will dodge out or not able to pay but why would it be the governments total resposibility to support child care? There is a big diference between a hand up and a hand out..
 
Professur said:
Actually, I call it responsible parenting. You bred them, you stick around a raise them. I've said it many times ... if the missus could make as much a year as me, I'd happily stay at home and raise my kids. But not only do I pay to raise mine, I have to pay more taxes so that some other fucker can be subsidized to not raise their??? Fuck off.
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Not any more sunshine...now you get the same/child as everyone else does..working or not.
 
Seventy one cents per one whole dollar my ass. Compare apples to apples. A woman who doesn't take time to be a woman earns as much, and more than, a man. Too bad those biased stories get buried.

Women who take 2, 5, 10, 20 years out to raise & care for their family are compensated fairly. Sorry folks, but men & wimmins are built for different responsibilities.

Status of Women Canada works to advance women's economic equality and human rights and eliminate violence against women
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Equality or special advocacy?
 
it's amazing how any discussion of women's rights ends up in some hogwash moralizing about the role of the father and taking responsibility... or some quivalent moral theme.

news flash - the vast majority of people that want equal rights for women feel strongly about personal responsibility too. but they don't use rhetoric about it as a crutch to rationalize archaic beliefs about gender roles.
 
Sure baby...here's a nice corn casserole I made to go with your soy burger and some oatmeal cookies.
 
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