Status of Women committee  It isn't operating funding per se. We finance strategies, group activities. That is the way we've been operating for some time now: we review their activities, analyze budgets and determine what groups need to pursue those activities. As Ms. Ievers mentioned, because the focus is on results, for some years now, we've been working with groups to ensure that, as part of the budgets we allocate them, they have resources set aside for activities such as evaluation.

Status of Women committee  I appreciate your giving me an opportunity to explain. We are talking about activities. Following these changes, the process, as I see it, will involve continuing to work with groups and assessing which parts of their activities will continue to be eligible. So, it's more a matter of the activities of certain groups no longer being eligible.

Status of Women committee  I think the important point is the one you've made, that the terms and conditions relate to the grants and contributions program—and I'm just reinforcing what Florence has said, that we will be providing support for activities falling within those terms and conditions within the same level of budget.

Status of Women committee  We haven't done an analysis per se. I think the focus, from our perspective, is on looking at the submissions that groups will be coming forward with and determining what fits into the activities we support. I think we have a very broad framework; there are many things we will continue to be able to fund.

Status of Women committee  I think as you saw last week, we have a very clear direction for the renewal of the terms and conditions. The focus is on the economic, social, and cultural situation of women. If you look at the documents, you'll see that the long-term outcome of the program is the full participation of women in the economic, social, and cultural situations or life in Canada.

Status of Women committee  Through the grants and contributions program, an activity related to research that is directly tied to an outcome linked to the specific initiative that's going to have a direct impact on the situation of women is something that would continue to be supported through the grants and contributions of the women's program--as long as it's directly tied to a specific outcome.

Status of Women committee  I think it's clearly indicated in the terms and conditions that advocacy is an activity that the program will no longer be supporting. What we now have to do is develop the funding guidelines in order to provide both the staff and groups clarity as to the kinds of things we now can support.

Status of Women committee  What we could do is provide the committee with a list. If I look at the figures for last year, we have supported a number of initiatives related to refugee women, some related to visible minorities, and others dealing with immigrant women. There are about 15 or 20 of those, and they would be taking place at the local and regional levels as well as the national level.

Status of Women committee  As the minister has indicated in her remarks, the focus of the terms and conditions, the objective of the program, relates to the full participation of women. We look at the specific proposals that groups come forward with and it's on this basis that we make the decision. Whether it's the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women or any of the other groups that we fund currently, or new groups out there that may now be coming forward, the process is starting with the basic framework of the program--in other words, the objective, the kinds of outcomes we're looking for, and then we look at the specific proposal.

Status of Women committee  As committee members are aware, the terms and conditions were approved last week. What we are now in the process of doing is developing the detailed funding guidelines, the application form, and the assessment criteria that we will be putting into the hands of staff across the country and providing the staff with the necessary information and tools in order that they can respond to the kinds of calls and inquiries that are coming in across the country.

Status of Women committee  Thank you for your questions. I will begin with the exclusion of some groups from the Womens' Program. Our guidelines are positive—we will provide committee members with a copy—because they list which groups are eligible as opposed to stating which ones are not. Eligible groups include women's groups and others that promote gender equality or women's equality, or even volunteer groups.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. On the question of immigrant and visible minority women, through the women's program, we do provide support to groups at a number of levels, including, for example, the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada, which is right now looking at issues related to employment.