Status of Women Committee on Feb. 29th, 2012

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Ladies, thank you for joining us today. I also want to thank you for all the work you are doing. It appears to be good work, and it is very appreciated.

I have not been sitting on this committee for very long. Considering your age, perhaps you have not been with Status of Women Canada for very long either.

[Linda Savoie]

That's nice of you to say.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

In 2007, the committee produced a report titled “The Impacts of Funding and Program Changes at Status of Women Canada”.

Are you familiar with that report?

[Linda Savoie]

Yes, I am.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

In that case, I don't think I need to go over the report recommendations. Could you tell us what came of those recommendations? Have they been implemented, five years after the fact?

[Linda Savoie]

Are you interested in any specific recommendation?

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Generally speaking, have the recommendations been implemented? Have all, some or none of them been implemented?

[Linda Savoie]

I cannot give you an accurate answer without referring to a specific recommendation. I have a number of reports and recommendations on several topics we have handled in a way—

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

I can give you a few examples, if you like.

[Linda Savoie]

Yes, please.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

For instance, it was recommended that Status of Women Canada reverse its decision to close 12 regional offices.

[Linda Savoie]

The information I gave you earlier makes it clear that we have service points in five Canadian cities.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

So 5 out of the 12 have been reopened. Is that right?

[Linda Savoie]

They have not necessarily been reopened, as some of the service points were never closed.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Do you know whether the 12 service points that were closed are still closed?

[Linda Savoie]

Some offices were consolidated. For instance, in Vancouver, we had an office that was more of a service point. It was merged with the Edmonton office. We also had a service point in Quebec City that was merged with the one in Montreal. So there was some consolidation.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Another recommendation was that Status of Women maintain its Policy Research Fund to pay for independent policy research.

[Linda Savoie]

That is beyond my purview, as the Women's Program has nothing to do with policy. My colleague Sébastien Goupil could talk to you about policy research in more detail next week.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Could you repeat his name?

[Linda Savoie]

His name is Sébastien Goupil. I think he will be testifying before this committee on March 7.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you.

It was also recommended that the funding through the Women's Program be made available only to non-profit organizations.

I don't think that is the case.

[Linda Savoie]

Virtually all of our funding goes to non-profit organizations. To my knowledge, over the last five or six years, only two projects provided funding to for-profit groups.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

How many such projects did you say there were?

[Linda Savoie]

There were 2 out of nearly 500.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

What types of projects are you talking about?