Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the minister for her clear commitment to the modernization of Status of Women Canada. Her dedication is evident and admirable.
I listened with interest to the minister's description of projects geared to having a direct impact on the lives of women in our communities. I am wondering if the hon. minister could elaborate on the importance of funding organizations that have a direct benefit on the ground in local communities.
In my travels to other ridings, I have encountered a number of different women's organizations that were not aware of the changes at Status of Women. In fact, a number of the groups that I spoke with have never received money from the government and were not aware that funding was even available.
As a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women I have had to listen to the outrageous accusations of the Liberal and NDP members. They were content to have Status of Women provide advocacy funding for their lobbyist friends.
Could the minister take a few minutes to tell us about some of these projects that have received funding and why we needed to modernize the terms and conditions at Status of Women?