Thank you for your questions. I will begin with the exclusion of some groups from the Womens' Program.
Our guidelines are positive—we will provide committee members with a copy—because they list which groups are eligible as opposed to stating which ones are not. Eligible groups include women's groups and others that promote gender equality or women's equality, or even volunteer groups. We only fund volunteer groups, and not individuals. Nor do we provide funding to universities or to provinces. Because of the funding that is available to us, we have targeted mainly women's groups and other related groups.
We have no set definition of equality as it applies to women. We refer mainly to the Beijing platform for action and to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We deal with a wide range of groups, including older women, disabled women or aboriginal women. Each group has its own vision. We believe that it is important to identify the issues that relate to equality and that prevent these women from fully participating in Canadian society, be it from an economic, social, political, legal or other standpoint. That is my answer with respect to the groups that are excluded.
As to the selection process, you will find our objectives in the guidelines. We have three funding streams: the economy, social justice, and violence. There are many issues affecting women, but we have identified the above-mentioned three, which we feel are broad enough to support a large number of groups. We look at the group's objectives, the relevance of the issue and the group itself. Who are the members, is it democratic, are the issues that it espouses relevant to the community? That is where the guidelines become useful.
I will now deal with your question on the share of the Women's Program budget that is allocated to Quebec groups. As a follow-up to Ms. Ivers' comments, our budget is about $10 million. Close to 30% of the budget goes to support Canada-wide initiatives, and the rest goes to the provinces. Quebec receives $1.5 million and Ontario gets $1.8 million.
We can't give you any more details. I don't have the exact percentage, but a formula was devised to ensure that the budget would be allocated according to objective criteria.