Good evening, ladies. Welcome to our committee.
As you know, I have been the parliamentary secretary for Status of Women for three years. I have travelled extensively in many parts of Quebec, and even Nunavut, in order to make announcements. No one on the government side has any doubt about the exceptional work you are doing with women. I want you to know that.
Yes, we have changed programs. Yes, we wanted to help women more directly. That is true. This year alone, we had 500 project applications. This is one of the rare times when Status of Women Canada has received so many applications at once.
As I listen to you, I must say that some interesting things occur to me. Your organizations have all received funding from Status of Women Canada previously, as I understand it. So 12, 20 or 25 years ago, you started from nothing and Status of Women Canada helped you. Your organizations have contributed to what women in Canada have become.
Our government has funded 78 projects, at least. As you know, if we had all the money we would like, we could fund everyone, but unfortunately, that is not the case. Now there are criteria dealing with combatting violence against women and providing women with leadership. A whole host of things.
One thing occurs to me, because you have mentioned it a lot. Would you be interested if the Women's Community Fund contributed to a large number of projects, but to a lesser extent? The funding would drop a little in order for us to have more partnerships with other organizations. Would that be of interest to you? Do you find the idea has any merit? Do you have ideas for the new minister, Hon. Rona Ambrose?
We have tried to work a little more with people on the ground. You have done a great job and no one around the table here can overlook the importance of what you have done for women.
We have invested in certain provinces. A year or two ago, I went to Montreal to announce some projects that would not have seen the light of day if we had not changed the criteria. I feel that all the women in Canada should have access to Status of Women Canada programs.
Can you contact us when you have new programs? I have seen you before, madam, but the others have never contacted me. I am the spokesperson, the parliamentary secretary, and I would be happy to work with you. But, just to be clear, you have to help us too. I want to help; we want to help. Yes, we have changed our criteria so that we can work with groups that, in my view, are all relevant when it comes to their work with women.
If the Women's Community Fund could fund more projects with smaller amounts of money and with partners, would that be something we could look at in order to help you?