For Immediate Release
September 26, 2007
Conservative Government Slams Door in Women's Faces;
Fry and Minna Meet Women's Groups in Vancouver
VANCOUVER – Hon. Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre) and Liberal Status of Women Critic Hon. Maria Minna (York-Beaches) will hold a roundtable with women's groups in Vancouver, following the announcement that the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL) is being forced to shut its doors after being denied funding by Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government.
NAWL has won many groundbreaking legal cases for women's rights in Canada, including sections 15 and 18 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, amendments to sexual assault laws, rape-shield legislation and criminal harassment legislation.
"Stephen Harper has, once again, left Canadian women out in the cold by denying access to the law," said Fry. "We can see Harper's ideology at work; his 'new' government closed 12 out of 16 Status of Women Canada offices, refuses to fund women's advocacy groups, cancelled the Court Challenges program, and removed 'women's equality' from Status of Women Canada's mandate. Canadian women have been abandoned by this government."
Minna noted that many women's groups that rely on federal funding are unsure of what the future holds for them. The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, a promoter and clearinghouse for research and action to advance social justice and equality for women, had to lay off most of its already-small staff earlier this year.
"Canadians must understand that the organizations that have fought for their rights in the past are under attack by this Conservative government," said Minna. "Harper's right-wing ideology is setting the women's movement back decades. If this is how the Conservative government feels about women, every group that has fought for equality rights should feel threatened."
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Contact Office of (Hon.) Dr. Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P. 604 666 0135
