FemmeVox Ezine: WOMYNSVOICES
Web Version: http://www.womynsvoices.ca Volume 15 19 December 2006
WHAT’S NEW
Oda makes closures official. After weeks of speculation about how, exactly,Minister Oda’s cuts to the Status of Women Canada (SWC) administrative budget would play out, the announcement came down this week that the federal government will be shutting down twelve of its regional Status of Women offices. These include offices in St. John’s, Halifax, Charlottetown, London, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Vancouver, and several others.
These closures will result in the creation of four regional centres: one in Edmonton (serving Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon); one in Montreal (serving Quebec and Nunavut); one in Moncton (serving New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador); and one in Ottawa (serving Ontario and national organizations).
Reaction from around the country has been swift, though eclipsed by seemingly bigger political stories and the Liberal leadership convention.
In the meantime, SWC has posted the new funding guidelines for its Women’s Program, along with the revised funding application.
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/funding/wp/wpguide_e.html
WHAT’S HOT
the women are angry. Campaigning in support of Status of Women Canada has increased exponentially as information rolls out regarding the extent to which the federal government is retreating from support of women’s equality.
Much of this mobilization is taking place on the internet.
The reactions of some women are well expressed in a new on-line initiative: the women are angry is a website promoting ideas for both virtual and actual activism. In addition to downloadable items for people interested in utilizing down-home campaign tactics, the ‘angry women’ offers a popular on-line activist tool - the promotional web banner.
the women are angry is just one example of how a simple on-line presence can help generate interest in and action around a particular issue.
http://www.thewomenareangry.org/
WHO TO WATCH
keep an eye on women’s equality. The Coalition for Women’s Equality (CWE), a grouping of national and regional women’s organizations, has launched a FemmeVox Ezine: Web Version: http://www.womynsvoices.ca Volume 15 19 December 2006