Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
But you have a conflict of interest. For example, the current executive director of the National Association of Women and the Law is a former executive director of the court challenges program. They're all intertwined and interlocked, administering funds to go only to their own groups. Again, on page 11 of our brief we give you a few examples of the intertwining that's going on between the advisory board, the board of directors, and also in the whole administration of the program.
In summary, the CPP, which is funded by the Canadian taxpayer, has been established to support unfairness and also discrimination in Canada. With a few exceptions, it has not advanced the rights of minorities and disadvantaged groups, but in fact it has advanced the interests of special interest groups, which are clearly not, with the enormous funding they receive from the government.
For example, in 2004-05, Egale received a grant from the Canadian heritage department for $21,000. What was that for? That was in addition to CPP funding.
The LEAF group has had hundreds of thousands of dollars, and NAWL receives $200,000 to $300,000 every year from the Status of Women. They're scarcely disadvantaged.
They go to court, and the courts are not prepared to handle these moral issues. As a lawyer, I know they do not. They do not have access to the research; they do not have access to all the social facts of a case. They hear only one side and they're not ready; it's either win or lose. They cannot compromise like Parliament can do. What has occurred with the court challenges program is simply wrong in principle and in result.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.