Official Languages committee  To give a quick answer, absolutely. I think it's a society issue. It's not just a women's issue. I think everybody should be involved. It starts at a young age as well.

Official Languages committee  I can say that, ultimately, long-term funding of an organization is more cost-effective. We know that. In fact, we cannot guarantee to some of our employees that they will be with us next year. I have an analogy, if I may. Let's imagine a brand new residential district—which are

Official Languages committee  Quickly, I can say that a cooperative approach to administration would certainly benefit everyone. If we worked with the government, things would definitely be clear. You could determine exactly what our needs were and, as Dorothy was saying, develop shared success factors.

Official Languages committee  Our organization is a network and all of our member associations are independent. They exist all across the country, but Heritage Canada's money is not evenly distributed. Each community has its own overall development plan, and it looks to us that, when women are considered a pr

Official Languages committee  I feel that it would provide us with the ability to work more directly with departments, in the sense that funding women's groups would be part of their mandate. I also think that it would allow us to continue with the initiatives that we have started. We would like to get to the

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. There are communities where it's the only source in French that's accessible to people who want to get information or stay up to date on cultural news. I'd say yes, absolutely.

Official Languages committee  We recognize that we have taken initiatives that fit with the roadmap priorities. But when we turn to the departments to ask if that money is coming from their envelope allocated under the roadmap, we get a clear answer.

Official Languages committee  Absolutely. With respect to Status of Women Canada and the cuts, we dare believe that we, women, have done our part. In 2006, Status of Women Canada saw cuts of over 40%. While there used to be 16 regional offices, now there are only four.

Official Languages committee  Exactly. I would like to make a clarification: Status of Women Canada is not one of the departments and agencies targeted by the roadmap.

Official Languages committee  It is a government agency, exactly.

Official Languages committee  Please allow me to add two things to this. First, the word "equality" was removed from Status of Women Canada's mission statement, as if equality pertains to an ideological choice. Rather, we think that it's a fundamental Canadian value. Second, we can no longer do research. You

Official Languages committee  We think cooperation between the departments themselves, as well as directly with the communities, is required.

Official Languages committee  I can start. Clearly, we want the roadmap to be renewed. But we've noted that it's difficult to know which funds exactly come from the roadmap, for instance when we do business with the departments, such as Canadian Heritage. It's certainly something we'd like to see improved.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee and dear partners, on behalf of the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne and its members, we would like to thank the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages for giving us the opportunity to share our perspective o