UPDATED March 7, 2007
2007 Press Release on International Women's Day
-International Women's Day (March 8) is an occasion marked by
women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the
United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national
holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national
boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political
differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back
to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of
struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.
International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of
history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to
participate in society on an equal footing with men. ''March 8 is an
important day for all women because we are celebrating our victories
but also looking at the challenges ahead. In Canada, we still face many
challenges because the Harper Government has introduced many changes
that will remove women's voice from the public policy process'' states
Linda Dockendorff, Vice-President of the PEI Federation of Labour
Women's Committee.
March 8th is International Women's Day, and women are responding to a
series of bad decisions by the Harper government which, if not
reversed, will set women's equality back twenty years! The Harper
government began with the cancellation of the federal-provincial child
care agreement - at a time when 70% of women with children under the
age of five are working.
They moved to totally eliminate funding to the Court Challenges Program
which was the major base of support for those fighting to ensure their
equality rights under the Charter. They also announced they will not
implement the recommendation of the federal Pay Equity Task Force to
introduce a proactive pay equity law; instead, they say they will
educate people about pay equity and instruct labour inspectors to
investigate workplaces to make sure equal pay
practices are followed....something that was tried thirty years ago and failed.
Furthermore, they cut funding to Status of Women Canada, the federal
department responsible for advancing women's equality by $5 million
dollars or 40% of the budget. They are closing 12 out of 16 regional
Status of Women offices and cutting 61 out of 131 jobs. They also
eliminated the Women's independent policy research fund which has
provided a useful resource to government and women's groups for years.
And, they then eliminated "equality" from the mandate of Status of
Women Canada. They also changed the rules so that women's groups which
do research or advocate for equality are no longer eligible for federal
financial support.
It's no wonder that women are angry.
''Although Prime Minister Harper’s decisions will make our road
towards equality more difficult, women are resilient and will not give
up. We will continue to fight for quality child care programs, federal
pay equity legislation and the end to violence against women. It is
that spirit that we celebrate every year on March 8. Join me in
celebrating March 8th - we need to start planning how we can put
women's equality back on track'' concluded Linda Dockendorff.
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