Thank you, Madam Chair.
My name is Leilani Farha. I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to this committee on behalf of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action, of which I am a board member and co-chair of the human rights committee.
FAFIA is a pan-Canadian alliance of over 70 women's and human rights' groups across the country. Our member groups include local women's centres, associations of shelters and transition houses, as well as regional, Quebec, and national groups.
FAFIA's mandate is to monitor Canada's domestic implementation of its international human rights obligations under the United Nations treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
I have been an international human rights lawyer for the past ten years. Most of my work has focused on the economic and social rights of women. I have extensive experience working both internationally and domestically, using international human rights law in my work. I am well apprised of the Government of Canada's human rights obligations and I would like to use my expertise to shed further light on the impact of the cuts and changes to Status of Women Canada.
My comments are focused on one central point: the cuts and changes to Status of Women Canada are contrary to the federal government's international human rights obligations to promote women's equality. The obligation to promote women's equality, as I'm sure you are well aware, appears in a number of treaties that Canada has ratified: CEDAW; the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; etc. The Government of Canada has also committed itself politically to this objective in the Beijing platform for action.
In case you have the impulse to dismiss the domestic implementation of our international human rights obligations as perhaps irrelevant, I want to remind you of two things. First, with respect to treaties, these are legal obligations. They are not policy objectives; they are human rights, and they cannot be tossed aside in the name of efficiency.
Second, as my colleague mentioned, Prime Minister Harper made a personal and political commitment to promote women's equality when he declared, in a signed letter to FAFIA earlier this year, and I quote:
Yes, I'm ready to support women's human rights and I agree that Canada has more to do to meet its international obligations to women's equality. If elected, I will take concrete and immediate measures, as recommended by the United Nations, to ensure that Canada fully upholds its commitments to women in Canada.
Why do the cuts and changes to Status of Women Canada contravene the federal government's obligation to promote women's equality? In Canada, it has long been understood that the government alone cannot do all that is necessary to effectively promote women's equality. The women's program of Status of Women Canada recognizes the government's own need for the advice and expertise of women, and in fact this is a mark of a healthy democracy.
Canada's support for women's NGOs through Status of Women Canada has been a means of compensating for the gross under-representation of women in formal political structures. The funds enabled organizations to do the advocacy and lobbying necessary to ensure that women could participate in policy development in other ways. Consequently, the new restrictions on advocacy and lobbying with federal funds and the ban on projects which promote women's participation in public life will dramatically diminish democratic participation for women in Canada.
If the current restrictions stay in place, we expect that organizations like FAFIA, if it receives Status of Women Canada funds, will not be able to do things such as appearing before this committee. In FAFIA's opinion, this government's changes and cuts to Status of Women Canada conflict with its international human rights obligations and commitments, and I can refer you to articles within the treaties where this is so--for example, article 7 of CEDAW, which obliges the government to ensure women the right to participate in the formulation of government policy. This is also noted in the Beijing platform for action in many instances.
Finally, we draw to this committee's attention the impact of eliminating the research arm of Status of Women Canada. Status of Women Canada is one of the only, if not the only, governmental body that consistently produces solid research on pertinent issues pertaining to women's equality. This research is necessary and an important part of the promotion of women's equality. Also, as a result of this research Status of Women Canada has established an international reputation for producing quality, cutting-edge research that is relied upon by many stakeholders around the world.
In conclusion, FAFIA believes that the cuts and changes to Status of Women Canada seriously call into question this government's commitment to promoting women's equality and are not in compliance with their international human rights obligations. We believe that the Government of Canada has traded in women's equality for the sake of so-called “efficiencies”.
At the end of the day, who will be most affected by this? It is the most marginalized women in Canada, who have little access to decision-making structures and now, no means of getting there.
FAFIA calls on the government to reverse the cuts and changes to the mandate of Status of Women Canada.
Thank you, Madam Chair.