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this link to Suggest an Addition 
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here to access a link to the latest issues of FemmeVox
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WATCH
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Women
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|
It summarizes “facts” and “current government
policy” for six issues.
Read text here,
highlighting one detail from each section.
November
24, 2006 |
Text
of Legislature Debates over McGuinty's Motion to Shut Down Bill 107 Public Hearings
Here we set out the text of the debates in the Ontario legislature surrounding
the McGuinty Government's shutting down further public hearings on the widely-criticized
Bill 107. Bill 107 would weaken the Human Rights Commission and take away
key rights that we fought for and won 25 years ago, rights regarding public investigation
and public prosecution of discrimination cases. This
is a lot of material. (some 62 pages) We provide it all to ensure everyone can
see what is said on this important topic on the floor of the Legislature. You
will see: There
are a good number of other mentions of this topic scattered in debates over other
topics over this week. We have not included those here.
We again express our deep appreciation to the NDP and Conservative Party for continuing
to press this issue. As
you read these debates, you will see that the Conservative leader John Tory
repeatedly offered that if the Liberals restore the cancelled public hearings,
the Conservatives will support a swift vote on the bill when the legislature resumes
in March. The Liberals never give a reason for turning this offer down. The Liberals
claim that this matter has been debated or considered for over 200 days. However,
there have not been 200 days of debate in the Legislature or the Standing Committee
on this bill. Throughout the vast majority of those 200 days, we had all been
relying on the McGuinty Liberals' commitments regarding the public hearings, and
preparing for them. By this closure motion, the McGuinty Government breaches those
commitments. The
Liberals say they have heard enough at the hearings. Yet the clear message from
a majority of the presenters to date is that the bill is seriously flawed. Here
is a list of all the
Liberal MPPs who voted on November 21, 2006 for the McGuinty muzzle motion.
You may wish to call these MPPs to let them know how you feel about the muzzle
motion, and to urge them to get the Government to reverse itself and re-open the
promised public hearings. Read More
November 24, 2006 |
| | |
|
Commentary
on Sept. 26th Announcement of $1-Billion Funding Cuts
Canadian
Association of University Teachers (CAUT)
CAUT
commentary on Treasury Board funding cuts 
(PDF, 4 pgs, 20 kb)
On
September 26 Stephen Harper’s Conservative government announced a series
of cuts totaling $1 billion over the next
two years. The cuts were announced on the same day the government made a $13.2-billion
payment on the national debt. The cuts affect a vast array of departments but
are concentrated primarily on aboriginal programs, skills and literacy training,
social policy research, legal assistance and research, and funding for Status
of Women Canada. Read More November
5, 2006 | |
|
In
Spain, women are shaping a cultural revolution
Molly Moore, The
Washington Post
MADRID
- When Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega graduated from law school in the 1970s,
Spanish law prohibited her -- and any other woman -- from becoming a judge, serving
as a witness in court or opening a bank account. Today,
the angular, outspoken 57-year-old is Spain's first female vice president, helping
orchestrate a cultural revolution in the boardrooms and living rooms of the country
that coined the word machismo -- male chauvinism -- five centuries ago. "We
have a prime minister who not only says he's a feminist -- he acts like a feminist,"
Fernandez said in her cavernous office of polished wood floors and cream-colored
sofas. "In 2 1/2 years, we have done more than has ever been done in such
a short time in Spain." Her
Socialist government is requiring political parties to allot 40 percent of their
candidate lists to women and is telling big companies to give women 40 percent
of the seats on corporate boards. Half of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero's
Cabinet members are women -- the highest proportion in any European government. New
divorce laws not only make it easier for couples to split, but stipulate that
marital obligations require men to share the housework equally with their wives.
Read
full article here
October 8, 2006
|
Harper's
social Darwinism
Silver
Donald Cameron, ChronicleHerald.ca
OPPOSITION PARTIES don’t win elections,
says the old maxim; governments lose them. In 1957, Louis St. Laurent lost. In
1984, John Turner. In 2006, Paul Martin. On each occasion, the over-ripe Liberals
yielded to a new-ish Conservative leader — Diefenbaker, Mulroney, Harper. New
Tory prime ministers always believe they won the elections, and thus have a mandate
to reshape the country according to their dark fantasies. Wrong: Canadians did
not suddenly decide to cleave unto the National Citizens’ Coalition and the
Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute. They mainly wanted to punish the Liberals.
Failing to understand that, the Tories soon make themselves loathed, and are firmly
propelled into the wilderness for another generation. The
Harper Tories have started already, with their brainless budget cuts. With a surplus
of $13.2 billion, the government is "swimming in money," notes former
Liberal Revenue Minister John McCallum. The national debt as a percentage of GDP
is at its lowest level in 24 years. No matter. Without even a fig-leaf of necessity
to cover its naked social Darwinism, the government gleefully mounts a sly, mean-minded
assault on civil society — the voluntary and non-commercial activities which
glue the country together. Read
full article here
October 8, 2006
|
Funding
Cuts to Women's Programs 'Profoundly Undemocratic'
Feds targeting the most vulnerable groups say elementary teachers
Funding
cuts to federal programs protecting and promoting women's equality rights are
profoundly undemocratic, charges the Elementary
Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO). In
a letter sent to Prime Minister Harper today, ETFO president Emily Noble stressed
that the reductions in funding are "shamefully targeting the most vulnerable
and marginalized groups in our community." "Reverse
these cuts and policy changes," Noble urged the Prime Minister. Read
More
October 8, 2006 |
Liberals
Stand Up For Canadian Women
Liberal Party release dd Sept.
28, 2006
The
Liberal Opposition today stood up on behalf of all Canadian women today and called
on the Conservative minority government to respect the rights of women and promote
their equality in Canadian society.
“This government has gutted
the funding for equality seeking groups that help raise awareness and fight discrimination,
including those for women” said Liberal Critic for Status of Women Maria
Minna. “Moreover, we are saddled with Conservative Minister for Canadian
Heritage Bev Oda, who won’t rule out the possibility that the Status of Women
Agency might wind up on the Conservative chopping block. Read
More
September 28, 2006 |
Support
for Court Challenges Program (CCP)
Dear
Friends of the Court Challenges Program
As
you know by now the Court Challenges Program has been cancelled by the Conservative
minority government. This is a blow to all those in Canada who believe in fairness,
equality and language rights for French and English minorities. Please help us
reverse this decision.
Below
you will find links to a letter to the Prime Minister and several background documents
regarding the Court Challenges Program. A
Steering Committee representative of both language rights and equality rights
communities has prepared these materials and is asking that you do the following:
- Inform
CCD by noon of Monday, October 2nd if
you or your organization are willing to be listed as either a supporting organization
or individual on this letter, or both.
|
An
axe that harms democracy
Court Challenges
Program played key role in settling equality rights
by
Lorne Sossin, Op/Ed, Toronto Star, Sep. 28,
2006 On
Monday, after announcing more than $1 billion in reduced federal government spending,
including the axing of the Court Challenges Program, Treasury Board president
John Baird said, "I just don't think it made sense for the government to
subsidize lawyers to challenge the government's own laws in court." At
first glance, Baird has a point. Why should the government fund lawsuits against
it? The Court
Challenges Program provides selective funding to "test cases" which
seek to advance equality and language rights under the Constitution. The
rationale for the fund lies in the fact that access to justice requires resources
— both in terms of court fees and fees for the lawyers who argue these cases. The
Court Challenges Program has over the years offered a voice in the debate on the
scope and nature of language and equality rights to individuals and groups, which
would otherwise not be able to bring these issues to court. Equally
important, this program has conferred legitimacy on rights-seeking individuals
and groups. The program stands for the proposition that it is in the public interest
to have courts clarify the nature of the constitutional constraints on government.
... Read
More
September 28, 2006 |
Tories
defend end to law program benefitting seniors, women, gays, minorities
by
Alexander Panetta (CP), Wed Sep 27, 2006
Donated by The Canadian Press
OTTAWA (CP) - The Conservatives are under fire for killing a legal-aid program
that has assisted Canadian minority groups in a series of historic court victories
over the last three decades. The
cancellation of the Court Challenges Program was slammed Wednesday by the country's
largest legal organization, opposition parties, and at least one Tory provincial
government. The
Trudeau-era program has helped fund successful court challenges that broadened
the rights of Canadian seniors, women, the disabled, homosexuals, religious groups,
aboriginals, and minority-language groups. The
federal Tories announced this week that cutting the program would save taxpayers
$5.6 million over two years. Newfoundland
Premier Danny Williams - a provincial Tory and a lawyer - called the cuts
worrisome and distanced himself from the "right-wing" federal Conservatives.
Read More
September 27, 2006 |
| |
Court
Challenges: Mary's story
Dad tells how axing program will hurt disabled Canadians
Winnipeg Free Press, Wed Sep 27 2006, by
Kevin Rollason
WE'RE
not gay, and my nine-year-old daughter and I have never been jailed in a federal
prison. We're ordinary Canadians who have been helped by a federally funded legal
program the Harper government now wants to axe. The
Harper government's spin on shutting down the Court Challenges Program of Canada,
to save $5.6 million, is that this is the organization that has been part of controversial
cases including funding the advocates for gay marriage and the right of prisoners
to vote. In announcing
the axing of Court Challenges, along with numerous other programs as part of $1
billion in spending cuts yesterday, Treasury Board president John Baird said those
initiatives "weren't meeting the priorities of Canadians" or providing
"value for money." Scarier
still, Baird went on to say about Court Challenges that the federal government
is no longer interested in funding opposition to legislation it believes is right.
But if not for
Court Challenges, I would not have been able to fight the government when our
family was discriminated against by the federal employment insurance program.
Read More
September 27, 2006
|
Cuts
reveal Harper Conservatives agenda - For women and Court Challenges
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Press Release
The government
has announced a series of cuts to social programs - so they can save $2 billion
over the next 2 years. "Likely the money from these programs will be designated
for some type of tax cut that the Harper Conservatives will announce in the next
federal election - probably sometime this spring," said Paul Moist, national
president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. "When
we look at just 2 of these program cuts $5 million from the Status of Women and
$5.6 million from the Court Challenges program, a clear message is being sent.
The government is essentially saying that any voice given to
addressing gender
inequality in this country will be further silenced - furthermore any voices wanting
to challenge the current status of the laws of this land will be muzzled,"
added Moist. Read
More
September 27, 2006
|
Canadian
Conservative Government Slashes Funding to Wasteful Anti-Family Programs
LifeSiteNews.com, John-Henry Westen, dd September 26, 2006
OTTAWA,
September 26, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The budgets of some of the most wasteful
and at the same time biased Canadian government funded programs have been slashed
by the new Conservative Government. Three organizations which have been overtly
pushing for same-sex marriage have been denied millions of tax-dollars they have
been receiving for years under the previous Liberal government.
<SNIPED>
REAL Women Canada,
a conservative women's group said in a press release today that they were "especially
pleased" at the cut to Status of Women. "This is a good start,
and we hope that the Status of Women will eventually be eliminated entirely, since
it does not represent 'women', but only represents the ideology of feminists,"
said the group. "The Status of Women was established in 1973 under
Prime Minister Trudeau and over the years, it has funded feminist groups to serve
as agents of change, never recognizing that other women have different views and
have no wish to be represented by these feminist organizations."
Hold
your nose & read more
R.E.A.L
Women of Canada, Press Release, September 26, 2006
Conservative
Government Bringing Common Sense to Public Finances
September
27, 2006 |
National
Council of Women of Canada (NCWC) Responds to Federal Budget Cuts
Stephen Harper promised
to “take concrete and immediate measures …to ensure that Canada fully
upholds its commitments to women.” The
elimination of the Court challenges Program will deny legal redress to
poor and marginlized women: the Conservative Government is abrogating CEDAW
Article 2 (c) To establish legal protection of the rights of
women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals
and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act
of discrimination. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not include
the financial means by which to access the courts on an equal basis with the wealthiest
citizens or corporations when a individual’s rights have been violated. Harper’s
Government cut $5 million from the Status of Women budget despite the recommendations
of the Parliamentary Committee, representing all parties in the house, to an increase
in the budget of at least 25%. How does this action live up to his promised commitment
to Canadian women?
September 26, 2006
|
Government's
real priorities revealed - Media Statement
We
are deeply concerned about the gutting of the only federal agency that addresses
critical questions pertaining to equality and about what it suggests about what
this government's true intentions are for equality matters in Canada.
Announced Monday, the 5 million dollar cut to Status of Women Canada (SWC) is
a serious attack on the lone federal department engaged in the development of
gender responsive policy and in the fulfillment of Canada's human rights obligations
to women at the international, domestic, and inter-governmental levels. We
now see the government's real priorities revealed. Read
More
September 26, 2006 |
Federal
Conservatives Betray Commitments to Women's Equality: Provincial
Advisory Council Responds to Cuts to Status of Women Canada
The Provincial
Advisory Council on the Status of Women is alarmed by the federal government's
decision to cut 1 billion dollars in spending. "The federal government signaled
its intention to make these cuts last spring, and our worst fears are being realized,"
says Leslie MacLeod, President. "They are eliminating 1% of their
overall spending by eliminating or reducing critical social programs."
The Advisory Council denounces the decision to cut the federal Department
of Status of Women Canada by $5 million over two years. These cuts will
be taken from its modest budget of $13 million per year. It is one of the smallest
federal departments but has a huge role in advancing women's equality. This department
provides critical analysis of the effect of policies and programs on women.
... The Advisory Council
also condemns the decision to shut down the Court Challenges Program of
Canada. Yesterday, federal Treasury Board President John Baird stated, "I
just don't think it makes sense for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge
government's laws in court." The Advisory Council disagrees. Read
More
September 26, 2006
|
Sue
Genge Responds to Edmonton Sun column 'Despair over cuts to women's groups'
I read and disagree with
much of Ms.
Jacobs' article. But, in particular, I thought she should be clear that when
women's organizations talk about the wage gap, we are not talking about the difference
between men in highly skilled and higly paid professions vs women in low skilled
and low paid professions. In particular, I'm refering to the following assertion
in her article.
"The
paper harps about the ongoing pay gap between men and women, without pointing
out that men tend to choose higher-paying jobs because they're socialized to be
the breadwinners. It's
disingenuous to complain that women working full time only earn about 70 cents
for every dollar men make if you've deliberately chosen to work as, say, a low-paid
restaurant hostess."
I've
forwarded the attached Chapter
1 - Wage Inequities from the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force Report. If you consult
Table 1:4 and Table 1:5 you will see a number of interesting and telling facts,
based on Statistics Canada data. One, women are concentrated in lower paid occupations,
which you will undoubtedly attribute to life choices. We will have to disagree
about how much real choice many women have in our society. The other fact you
should notice is that within each broadly defined occupational category, without
exception, there is a significant gap between the wages of men and women ... the
only "profession" where women earn more than men is as "babysitters,
nannies and parent's helpers".
Read More
September
26, 2006 | |
|
Conservatives
make their mark on government spending with tough choices
by: Jennifer Ditchburn,
CP
The Conservatives put their mark on government spending Monday with
the announcement of $1 billion in cuts to programs they did not consider priorities,
from funding to Canadian museums to research on the use of medical marijuana.
... Some of the cuts, over two years, included:
* $4.6 million in assistance
to museums;
*
$5 million from Status of Women Canada;
* Elimination of the $4-million medical
marijuana research program;
* Elimination of Law Commission of Canada;
* Elimination of $9.7 million in support to Canadian Volunteerism Initiative;
* Elimination of $10.8 million First Nations/Inuit tobacco control strategy;
September
25, 2006 | |
|
Notes from Pay Equity Press Conference, Ottawa, Sept. 21, 2006
Andrée Côté,
National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL)
Bonjour,
my name is Andrée Côté,
and until a few weeks ago I was Director of Law Reform at the National
Association of Women and the Law. NAWL has been forced to lay off it's
staff in the last few weeks and is waiting for the renewal of our funding application
from Status of Women Canada.
The
Harper government response on pay equity this week demonstrates why it
is so important that women's groups receive adequate and stable funding: we need
to have the capacity to defend women's rights, and to respond to retrograde and
ineffective policies that bring us back 20 years. Read
More Bonjour,
je m'appelle Andrée Côté,
et j'étais jusqu'à il y a quelques semaines directrice des affaires
juridiques de l'Association nationale
Femmes et droit. L'ANFD a dû fermer ses portes il y a quelques semaines
à cause de retard dans le renouvellement de notre demande de subvention
auprès de Condition féminine Canada. La
politique annoncée cette semaine en catimini par le gouvernement Harper
sur la question de l'équité salariale illustre de façon
non équivoque l'importance d'accorder un soutien financier stable et suffisant
aux groupes de femmes . Il est très important que nous puissions continuer
à intervenir pour dénoncer des politiques rétrogrades qui,
comme celle-ci, nous ramènent plus de vingt ans en arrière, et qui
seront d'aucune utilité dans la lutte contre la discrimination sexuelle
au travail. plus en français
September
22, 2006 |
Pay
Equity: at the heart of equality
Canadian
Labour Congress & Public Service Alliance Of Canada
Press
Release dd Sept. 21, 2006
The
federal government announced yesterday that it is taking a giant step backwards
on the question of equal pay for women workers. More than thirty years after the
adoption of the Canadian Human Rights Act, women still earn less, on average,
than men regardless of their occupation, age or education. Today, a woman earns
72.5 cents for every dollar a man earns. Our equal pay legislation is not working.
The wage gap is even greater for Aboriginal women, women of colour and women with
disabilities. Read the full release in English
L'équité
salariale... au coeur de l'égalité
Congres
du Travail du Canada &
Alliance
de la Fonction Publique du Canada
Le
gouvernement fédéral a annoncé hier qu'il prenait un énorme
pas en arrière dans le dossier de l'équité salariale pour
les femmes. Plus de trente ans après l'adoption de la Loi canadienne sur
les droits de la personne, les femmes gagnent encore moins que les hommes en moyenne,
peu importe leur profession, leur âge ou leur scolarité. A l'heure
actuelle, une femme touche 72,5 cents pour chaque dollar que touche un homme.
Notre législation sur l'équité salariale ne fonctionne pas.
L'écart salarial actuel est encore plus important chez les femmes autochtones,
les femmes de couleur et les femmes handicapées. Read
the full release en français
September
22, 2006 |
Women's
groups fear federal cuts coming
by
Norma Greenaway, CanWest News Service, Vancouver Sun, Sept. 22, 2006
A
leading Canadian women's rights group has been forced to close its office for
lack of money and other federally financed organizations fear a similar fate as
the Conservative government zeroes in on a promise to cut spending by $1 billion
this fiscal year. The
prospect cheers Gwen Landolt, vice-president of the pro-life, pro-family conservative
lobby group REAL Women Canada and a fierce critic of federal funding of ''feminist''
and other special interest groups. ''It's
simply an abuse of taxpayers' money to fund only one ideology,'' Landolt said
in an interview. Suspense
over how much, if any, money will flow to women's and other groups should end
within the next week or so when the government tells Canadians what programs it
plans to curb or kill to meet its budget commitment. Opposition
MPs accuse the government of using the spending review to dismantle by ''stealth''
the 30-year-old agency known as Status of Women Canada, which, among other things,
hands out almost $11 million a year to groups committed to promoting gender equality
and the full participation of women in society. Read Full article at: http://tinyurl.com/fl9aw
September
22, 2006 |
PM's
pick for bench draws fire
Social
activists cite conservative views
Globe
& Mail, Kirk Makin
The
appointment of an Ontario judge who is seen as an opponent of pro-choice and gay
rights has created a stir among social activists. Spokesmen
expressed concerns yesterday about the appointment of Mr. Justice David Brown,
a Toronto lawyer who has represented Christian family-value positions in several
cases, and has written papers dealing with legal developments involving the sanctity
of life. ... He represented Focus on the Family (Canada) and REAL Women
of Canada in a court intervention against the constitutionality of same-sex
marriage. Read
full article
September 21, 2006
|
Conservatives
Take First Step Towards Dismantling Ministry for the Status of Women / Les Conservateurs
Amorcent Le Démantèlement De Condition Féminine Canada
NDP / NPD Press Release dd Sept. 20, 2006
Excerpt: OTTAWA – The future of women’s organisations
across Canada is being threatened as the Conservative Government is taking too
long to review Status of Women Program applications – forcing prominent women’s
organisations to close their doors.
“By
not responding to funding applications, the Conservatives are allowing programs
to shut down, one by one.,” said NDP MP critic for the Status of Women Irene
Mathyssen. "What's next? The entire department? It looks like Bev Oda is
spoiling to dismantle the Status of Women department."
As
of Sept. 12, The National Association of Women and the Law, has closed their doors
due to insufficient federal funding. The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International
Action (FAFIA) will shut down on Sept. 26. Organizations have put in applications
for funding, but have heard nothing from the Minister responsible for Status of
Women, Bev Oda.
English
version
en français
September 20, 2006 |
New
Data Offers Hope to Patients With Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia
Bipolar disorder
is the sixth largest cause of disability worldwide in people aged 15-44 years(1)
and is commonly mistaken for other diseases such as acute depression. Consequently,
people may suffer with symptoms for years before receiving appropriate treatment
and up to half of all individuals with bipolar disorder may make at least one
suicide attempt in their lifetime(2). Data
presented at the 19th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Paris has
highlighted the significant impact of this disease and demonstrated the efficacy
of an 'atypical' antipsychotic known as quetiapine (SEROQUEL). Read
More
September 18, 2006 |
|
 Introduction
The
Women`s Program Standing
Committee on the Status of Women Recommendations to improve the Women`s program
The
Context : women's inequality remains deeply entrenched A
Lack of Political Will to Address the problem And
this was Brought to you by the Women's Movement Past
Federal Acknowledgment of the Important Role played by Women's Groups International
support for the funding of Women's Groups Conclusion
TAKE ACTION |
Straight.com,
dd September
14, 2006 Queer
film fest under attack The
Department of Canadian Heritage should cut $23,000 in funding to the Vancouver
Queer Film Festival because the films are “degenerate and degrading to humanity”,
according to conservative lobby group REAL Women of Canada. Read
More
September 14, 2006 |
| | |
September
13, 2006 | |
|
AODA
Alliance's Latest News Release on Controversial Bill 107
Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Update dd September 1, 2006
The AODA
Alliance has just issued its latest news release on the controversial McGuinty
Government's bill to weaken the Human Rights Commission.
Legal Aid Ontario
(LAO) documents disclose six months after the McGuinty government announced its
Bill 107 would strip the Human Rights Commission of key powers to enforce the
Human Rights Code, it still doesn't know how it will deliver legal representation
for all discrimination victims. An LAO internal consultation paper recently made
public on the internet reveals Attorney General Michael Bryant has just recently
asked LAO to make a proposal on this controversial role. LAO won't decide for
weeks whether it wants to make a proposal. The McGuinty government extravagantly
pledged its human rights reforms will ensure publicly-funded free independent
legal counsel for all human rights complainants, regardless of income. Read
More
September 4, 2006 |
Help
Raise Controversial Bill 107 In Upcoming Hotly-Contested September 14 Toronto
By-Election
Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update dd August 31, 2006
An
important provincial by-election has been called for Thursday, September 14, 2006
for the hotly-contested west Toronto riding of Parkdale--High Park. The riding
was vacated when Liberal MPP Gerard Kennedy resigned to run for the federal Liberal
leadership. We urge everyone to help raise the McGuinty Government's controversial
plans to weaken the Human Rights Commission via Bill 107 in this by-election campaign.
You can help whether or not you live in the riding. This by-election gives us
an excellent chance to show that the controversial Bill 107 will be a serious
issue in next year's general provincial election if the McGuinty Government persists
in its plans to weaken the Human Rights Commission despite strong community opposition
to Bill 107.
As
always, the non-partisan AODA Alliance doesn't tell anyone who to vote for, nor
does it support or oppose any party. We encourage everyone to let voters in the
riding know about the Bill 107 issues, to inform people about the parties' position
on Bill107, and to encourage voters to take it into account when deciding how
to vote. Read More
September
4, 2006 |
Blair:
"clamp down on antisocial children before birth"
Setting
out plans for state intervention to prevent babies born into high-risk families
becoming problem teenagers of the future, Tony Blair said teenage mothers could
be forced to accept state help before giving birth, as part of a clampdown on
antisocial behaviour. Read More
September
1, 2006 |
Fighting
the Blues - What the Social Conservative Agenda Means to Women
The CLC 13th National Women’s
Conference Paper
REAL
Women Canada is a key partner in the alliance of social conservative groups
which strongly supports the Conservatives. In this statement, REAL Women acknowledges
that the future they have planned for us is something that will alarm Canadians.
What is their agenda? Should we be alarmed? “Social
Conservatives to Sell Tory Daycare Plan”, read the headline of a
Globe and Mail story on April 19, 2006. The Globe and Mail reported
what many in Canada may have known intuitively. On April 3, the day Parliament
re-opened — the Conservative government had met with far right-wing groups
to strategize around how to convince the public that a taxable $1200/year/pre-school
child was preferable to setting-up a public system of early childhood learning
and care. Their ideological base of support is really the far right. The most
vocal critics of public child care come from small, fundamentalist religious-based
groups; the Conservatives are relying on them to counter the voices of working
families and child care advocates. And they now have a direct link to the
Prime Minister’s office.
Read
More
August
30, 2006 | |
|
Hospitalizations
due to traumatic head injuries down 35% over a decade
Children and youth have seen the largest improvement
New data released
today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) show that fewer
Canadians are admitted to hospitals due to traumatic head injuries than were a
decade ago. In 2003-2004, 16,811 were admitted to hospitals compared to 25,665
in 1994-1995, a 35% decrease. Read More
August
30, 2006 |
McGuinty
Gov't Still Doesn't Know How to Keep Promise of Free Lawyers for All Discrimination
Victims
AODA
Alliance takes action in response to recently-revealed Legal Aid Ontario document
showing McGuinty government still doesn't know how it will deliver on its pledge
to ensure publicly-funded independent legal counsel to all human rights complainants
We
report on several key developments. - Legal
Aid Ontario LAO documents, recently revealed to the public on the Internet, disclose
that six full months after the McGuinty Government announced it would strip the
Human Rights Commission of most power to enforce the Human Rights Code, it still
doesn't know how it will ensure its promised legal representation for all discrimination
victims. An internal Consultation paper that LAO recently sent to Ontario legal
clinics documents that Attorney General Michael Bryant, who pledged that all human
rights complainants will have publicly-funded legal representation, still doesn't
know how it will deliver on this extravagant promise.
It says Bryant asked
Legal Aid whether it would take on this controversial role. LAO won't decide for
weeks whether to make a proposal. To see the Legal Aid consultation paper and
correspondence to Ontario legal clinics, visit: http://www.aclc.net/full-lao-letter.html
- The McGuinty
Government pledged free publicly-funded independent legal counsel throughout Human
Rights Tribunal hearings to every human rights complainant(annually some 2,500).
It pledged to establish a Human Rights Legal Centre. The bill's supporters and
critics agree that the bill doesn't guarantee this. Facing mounting criticism,
the Attorney General committed on June 8, 2006 to amend the bill to address this.
However in an August 3 letter to the AODA Alliance, he didn't act on the AODA
Alliance's request that he reveal his amendments before the public hearings. See
the Attorney General's letter to the AODA Alliance, below.
- Legal
Aid Ontario's Consultation Paper states that LAO has explicitly decided not to
consult with the public, and instead only to consult with legal clinics, on the
issues set out in that Consultation Paper. The AODA Alliance has written LAO to
urge it to open up its consultation process to include not only legal clinics,
but the end-users who would use the legal services that the McGuinty Government
has promised. This letter also sets out some preliminary input from the AODA Alliance
to LAO on its Consultation Paper.
See
the AODA Alliance's August 25, 2006 letter to LAO, set out below.
- The AODA Alliance
has also written to Attorney General Michael Bryant as a result of these recent
developments. In its August 25, 2006
letter to him, set out below, the AODA Alliance asks that public hearings
on Bill 107 be halted until LAO decides whether it will offer to deliver free
legal counsel to all human rights complainants, and until the Government makes
public specifics on its proposed amendments to bill 107.
August
29, 2006 |
Autism
Fact Sheet
Friends of Children with Autism (FOCA) - August
2006
Autism
is now a National Epidemic
*
Less
than 20 years ago the prevalence of autism was 2 to 5 in 10,000 births.
*
1 out of 165 babies born today will receive the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
* Number of diagnoses for children under 5 has increased 150% over the last 6
years.
* Autism diagnoses continue to increase at a rate of 10 to 17 percent
each year.
* Autism
treatment specifically ABA/IBI is one of the few medical treatments that derive
a cost savings to taxpayers.
Misconceptions
in Ontario Being Presented to the Public
Summary of Facts & Providing
Solutions August
29, 2006 |
Conservatives
Must Come Clean on Agenda for Status of Women Canada
Liberal
Party of Canada Press Release dd August
25, 2006
OTTAWA
– Liberal Critic for Status of Women and Multiculturalism Maria Minna
today called on Heritage Minister Bev Oda to reveal the Conservative government’s
true intentions for the future of Status of Women Canada.
“The
Conservative grassroots community is actively campaigning for the demise of this
important agency which promotes the rights of women in Canada,” said Ms.
Minna. “Ms. Oda must come clean and reveal whether or not she will bow to
the pressure of these extreme right-wing groups or if she will take a stand and
publicly distance herself from their position.”
Recent media reports
indicate that several socially Conservative blogs have begun a campaign to eliminate
the federal agency for the Status of Women. The group REAL women of Canada, which
also opposes same-sex marriage and legalized abortion, launched the campaign because
of their belief that the agency “promotes feminist policies on the false
premise that women in Canada are victims of a patriarchal society.” Read
More
August
25, 2006 |
Law
Society Silences Non-Advocacy Paralegals
Imagine
having your ability to make a living severally changed or eliminated, and you
are not able to use your constitutional right to speak out in protest. That
is what the non-advocacy paralegal faces, as the McGuinty government moves forward
with its controversial Bill 14, The Access to Justice Act. The bill,
if passed, would have paralegals regulated by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Read More August
25, 2006 |
Federal
Court orders sign language services In
a landmark ruling, the Federal Court of Canada has ordered the federal government
to make professional sign language interpretation services available on request
when providing services to people who are deaf or affected by hearing loss. Read
More
August
25, 2006
|
Still
Time to Sign Up to Present at Public Hearings on the Controversial Bill 107 for
this Fall in Toronto - Act Now!
Accessibility
for Ontarians With Disabilities Act Alliance Update dd August 22, 2006
It's more important than ever that as many of you as possible, either
organizations or individuals, sign up as soon as possible to make an oral presentation
this fall at the continued public hearings on the controversial Bill 107 before
the Legislature's Standing Committee on Justice Policy. Bill 107 is the McGuinty
Government's proposed new law that will take away from the Ontario Human Rights
Commission most of its power to investigate and publicly prosecute discrimination
cases. Below we help you with information on how to sign up. Read
More
August 22, 2006 |
Strong
Opposition to Bill 107 Dominates First Three Days of Public Hearings
Strong opposition
to Bill 107 dominated last week when the Legislature's Standing Committee on Justice
Policy held its first three days of public hearings on Bill 107, the McGuinty
Government's proposed new law to weaken the Ontario Human Rights Commission. These
hearings have so far dealt a powerful blow to the controversial bill 107. They
have shown that Ontario's Attorney General Michael Bryant was incorrect when he
claimed last spring that there is a community consensus in support of the kind
of reforms the McGuinty Government has proposed. Hearings will resume in Toronto
at as-yet unspecified dates after the Legislature resumes sitting on September
25, 2006.
Read More
August 21, 2006 |
Women
and HIV: The promise of microbicides
Randy
Sheppard, CBC News Online
According
to the World Health Organization, women account for nearly 70 per cent of HIV-AIDS
cases worldwide.
When
most people think about AIDS, they see it primarily as a problem of the gay community
or of those who share needles. And they wouldn't be wrong. But
over the past half-dozen or so years, the face of AIDS in Canada and the United
States has begun to change quite dramatically. More and more of those acquiring
the disease turn out to be young heterosexual women, infected
by their partners.
Read
More
August 21, 2006 | |
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Four
Steps for Canada: Stephen Lewis & Canadian civil society groups demand action
on global AIDS crisis
Platform presented to Prime
Minister Stephen Harper in advance of the XVI
International AIDS Conference
Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa,
today joined the Global
Treatment Access Group (GTAG) and the Make
Poverty History Campaign
in calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take decisive action
in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The
Global AIDS Crisis: Four Steps for Canada is a civil society platform for
action to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS globally and to improve the quality of life
of people living with HIV/AIDS. The platform has already been endorsed by more
than 80 organizations across Canada, including the labour movement, faith groups,
AIDS organizations, student groups, human rights advocates, and humanitarian and
development organizations. Read More
August 10, 2006 |
Women
and HIV/AIDS: The Barcelona Bill of Rights As
we enter the third decade of HIV/AIDS, women, especially the young and the poor,
are the most affected. Because gender inequality fuels the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
it is imperative that women and girls speak out, set priorities for action and
lead the global response to the crisis. Therefore, women and girls from around
the world unite and urge all governments, organizations, agencies, donors, communities
and individuals to make our rights a reality. Read
More
August 8, 2006
|
A Dose of Reality: Women's Rights in the Fight against HIV/AIDS
The global HIV/AIDS pandemic
is taking a catastrophic toll on women and girls. The number of HIV infections
among women and girls has risen in every region in recent years, and in sub-Saharan
Africa, women and girls constitute nearly 60 percent of those living with HIV.
In some countries, the HIV infection rates for girls are many times higher than
for boys. The rising number of HIV infections among women and girls is directly
related to violence against women and their unequal legal, economic, and social
status. Abuses
of women's and girls' human rights impede their access to HIV/AIDS information
and services, including testing and treatment. Those who do obtain HIV services
sometimes face disclosure of their confidential HIV test results by public health
officials without the women's consent. This heightens women's risk of being ostracized
by their communities and abused by their intimate partners.
Governments
around the world have done far too little to combat the entrenched, chronic abuses
of women's and girls' human rights that put them at risk of HIV. Misguided HIV/AIDS
programs and policies, such as those emphasizing abstinence until marriage, ignore
the brutal realities many women and girls face. By failing to enact and effectively
enforce laws on domestic violence, marital rape, women's equal property rights,
and sexual abuse of girls, and by tolerating customs and traditions that subordinate
women, governments are enabling HIV/AIDS to continue claiming the lives of women
and girls. Read
More
August
8, 2006 |
ATHENA:
Advancing
Gender Equity and Human Rights in the Global Response to HIV/AIDS
As the world
enters the third decade of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, women — especially
the young and the poor — are increasingly affected. Because gender inequity
fuels HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS fuels gender inequity,
it is imperative that women and girls speak out, set priorities for action, and
lead the global response to the crisis. The ATHENA
Network was created to realize this imperative.
ATHENA
strives to bridge the communities around the world that are addressing gender,
human rights, sexual and reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS. Further, ATHENA
promotes the leadership and participation of women and girls, especially those
living with HIV/AIDS, as central to the global response. Through these efforts,
we are guided by four central mandates for our collective work – the indivisibility
and intersectionality of issues and experiences; the need for independence and
integrity; the inclusion of grassroots and indigenous groups; and the importance
of intergenerational exchange, new voices, and the involvement of youth. Read
More
August 8, 2006
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How
you can participate online (free) in the 16th International AIDS Conference -
Aug. 13 to 18, 2006
In
preparation for the 16th International
AIDS Conference taking place in Toronto from Aug.
13 - 18th, 2006, (and to help inform both myself as a conference delegate
and other DAWN members) we've assembled some information on Women
and HIV/AIDS (see below) from the International
Women's Health Coalition (IWHC). Please
note that portions of the AIDS 2006 Conference will be available for viewing on
the Internet at no cost and with no registration... Webcasts and transcripts,
along with additional coverage, will be accessible at a later date. You can now
sign up now to receive a daily update email during the week of the conference,
providing summaries of each day's developments and direct access to all of the
online coverage. Sign up at www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2006.
For those of
you living in or near the Greater Toronto Area, please note that there are a number
of women's events that will be held in the Global
Village at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. These are open to the general
public (free of charge) as well as to conference delegates. Here
is the link to the Programme available online: www.aids2006.org/PAG/ProgrammeAtAGlance.aspx.
Any event marked with GV as the venue is scheduled to take place in the
Global Village and does not require a conference badge to attend. As
an example, here are 2 events scheduled at the Global Village (which I am anxious
to attend):
1).
An interactive session hosted by Association for Women's Rights in Development
(AWID) Where's
the Money for Women's Rights and HIV/AIDS?
AWID will share its 'hot
off the press' research on resources for women's rights organizations and HIV/AIDS.
Come share and learn if women are being short-changed and become part of the strategies
to mobilize more resources for women's rights. For more info, contact awid@awid.org.
When: Sun.
Aug. 13, 2006 from 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Where: Global
Village, Main Stage, Metro Toronto Convention Centre This
panel will expose rights violations that have led to the growing number of women
who are now living with HIV, calling for greater respect and promotion of women's
rights within the HIV/AIDS response. Panelists from different parts of the world
-- HIV+ women activists and policy analysts -- will identify where appropriate
policy or program interventions might have made the difference in terms of HIV
status, treatment and community response. For more info, contact Cami Hilsendager
at chilsendager@iwhc.org.
When:
Mon. Aug. 14, 2006 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm
Where: Global
Village, Main Stage, Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Read
More
July 29, 2006
|
The
Context: Women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS Worldwide
In January 2002, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that
for the first time, women represented half of HIV-positive individuals worldwide,
and more than half in sub-Saharan Africa, the region of the world hit hardest
by the epidemic. HIV/AIDS had become a generalized epidemic in many African countries,
moving from high-risk groups such as sex workers and injection drug users to the
general population, largely because of pervasive gender inequality. The combination
of social and political inequalities and severe poverty is lethal to women in
the developing world, rendering them disproportionately vulnerable to the virus.
... Read
more
The
Commitment: Addressing Women's Realities Despite
women's disproportionate vulnerability, few programs aimed at curbing the pandemic's
spread target them or reflect the realities of their lives. If we want to stop
HIV/AIDS—in Africa, in Asia, in Latin America, in Eastern Europe, and in
Canada and the United States — we must do two things: ... Read
more
Colleagues:
Empowering Women on the Ground
IWHC's
colleagues worldwide are providing young people with the information, skills,
and strategies to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, and advocating for policies
that mandate the gender-sensitive comprehensive sexuality education that will
enable future generations to reach adulthood in good health. They are also working
to erode the gender inequalities that fuel the epidemic's spread by advocating
for women's sexual and reproductive rights and focusing attention on the realities
of women's lives. For example: ... Read
more
July
29, 2006 |
With
Women Worldwide: A Compact to End HIV/AIDS
Outlines
priority actions for making global HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care strategies
work for women. Developed by a group of women advocates for use in 2006 negotiations
on HIV/AIDS and beyond. ... Read More
July 29, 2006 |
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How
Much Longer? by Eduardo Galeano
07/28/06
"IPS" -- One country
bombed two countries. Such impunity might astound were it not business as usual.
In response to the few timid protests from the international community, Israel
said mistakes were made.
How much longer will horrors be called mistakes?
This slaughter of civilians began with the kidnapping of a soldier.
How much longer will the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier be allowed to justify
the kidnapping of Palestinian sovereignty?
How much longer will the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers be allowed to justify
the kidnapping of the entire nation of Lebanon?
For centuries the slaughter of Jews was the favorite sport of Europeans. Auschwitz
was the natural culmination of an ancient river of terror, which had flowed across
all of Europe.
How much longer will Palestinians and other Arabs be made to pay for crimes they
didn’t commit?
Read More
July
28, 2006 |
The
stigma surrounding abortion continues in New Brunswick - Open Letter from Dr.
Henry Morgentaler
The
New Brunswick government continues to deny women access to publicly funded abortions.
Under the current Medical Services Payment Act, to have an abortion covered by
Medicare, women are obliged to have the approval of two doctors in writing and
the abortion must be performed in a hospital by a gynecologist. This leaves women
with no family doctor or an anti-choice doctor no option other than the Morgentaler
Clinic in Fredericton. This discriminatory practice must stop. Read
More
July 28, 2006 |
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Is
the McGuinty Gov't thinking that some new “quick fix” funding will repair
the controversial Bill 107? Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Update dd July 27, 2006
The
McGuinty Government has been under fire for Bill 107’s serious problems.
We must be on alert for the possibility that it may try an inadequate “quick
fix” to deflect this criticism.
Specifically, it is possible that
the Government may soon announce the funding it will provide to the human rights
legal clinic it promised to establish. Last February, the Government said it would
eliminate the Human Rights Commission’s core role of investigating human
rights violations, and prosecuting where evidence warrants. The Government said
it would instead provide legal representation for discrimination victims who take
their case to the Human Rights Tribunal. When it introduced Bill 107 last spring,
it made the extravagant promise that each and every human rights complainant would
be given legal representation at the Human Rights Tribunal, regardless of their
income. A new Human Rights legal clinic would do this work.
Read More
July 27, 2006 |
Inflammatory
Breast Cancer (IBC): The Silent Killer
Inflammatory
Breast Cancer (IBC)
is an advanced and accelerated form of breast cancer usually not detected by mammograms
or ultrasounds.
Inflammatory breast cancer requires immediate aggressive treatment with chemotherapy
prior to surgery and is treated differently than more common types of breast cancer.
African Americans have
a higher incidence of IBC than do Caucasians and other ethnic groups (10.1%, 6.2%,
and 5.1%, respectively)."
Watch
the KOMO TV 4 video: The
Silent Killer: Inflammatory Breast Cancer 
(6:00)
Read
the KOMO 4 News Special Report dd May 7, 2006: |
|
(PDF file)