It seems a long list, but when you defend women's living and working conditions, you can't stick to just one aspect. The fact that there has been a 50% increase in the Status of Women Canada budget for projects that women's groups may present could meet some requests.
The central criticism—and you'll read it in our brief—is that that money can no longer be used in the defence of women's rights. In our view, that calls into question the very principles of our democracy.
I'll give you an example. With respect to contraception, you know that there are groups in Canada that question the existence of abortion services in Canada. Groups like Focus on the Family Canada, which can have budgets of up to $1 million, will be able to lobby governments. If women's groups don't have any funding to advocate their rights, how can the government say there is a democracy?
How can they cut funding that helps us join forces across Canada to defend a point of view? We do miracles with what little funding we have to examine the situation of women together, the differences between the women of different regions of the country and to make submissions to governments so that the laws are amended.
This is a democracy that we must be very proud of and that we must protect. We maintain our criticism, and I want to repeat it.