Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, Conservative members of that committee declared that the Status of Women budget was not being cut but that the money was merely being shifted from the operating budget to the grant program. These same members accused fellow committee members and witnesses of not taking the time to understand the Conservative cuts.
After much research and many letters to the minister, I cannot find in writing anywhere that the money cut from the Status of Women's operating budget was ever intended to be reinvested.
The minister needs to clarify to the House and to women's organizations across Canada whether the money removed from Status of Women Canada, the government's so-called fat trimming, will be reinvested specifically in the grants program for Status of Women. Will it be increased from $10 million to $15 million?
Current funding is woefully inadequate and the loss of 12 regional offices and 61 experienced staff is hurting the goal of equality for Canadian women.