As far as the National Association of Women and the Law is concerned, this will have a hugely negative impact on our day-to-day operations. Most of our funding does come from the women's program at Status of Women Canada, so we are anticipating layoffs of probably all of our staff, and we are not even sure we can commit to renewing our lease at this point, which will be ending in July.
We are really devastated, as an organization, by the ramifications of these changes, and we are very concerned that Canada is backtracking on its commitments to women, domestically and on the international scene, whether it be at the Beijing World Conference on Women or the Beijing Plus Five, where Canada has systematically acknowledged the importance of supporting the work of women's organizations. Ever since the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in 1971, up until the recent voluntary sector initiative, different instances have recognized that this is a key component of a vibrant democracy, and it is essential for ensuring that governmental agendas do include egalitarian law reform.