Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for taking the time to respond to my question on the very important matter of funding decisions regarding Status of Women Canada's two programs: the women's community fund and the women's partnership fund.
On May 5, I asked the Minister for Status of Women to tell the House why, while the government claimed to be a champion of women's health, it continued to attempt to silence and neutralize women's organizations here in Canada, denying funding to any organization with the courage to speak out against the government's agenda.
This fiscal year we have seen more than 20 prominent women's organizations have their funding requests denied, many for the first time in their history. On May 26, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women began its study on the funding decisions of Status of Women Canada. At this meeting, we heard from four organizations whose projects met the program criteria, yet they were still denied funding by Status of Women Canada.
The groups that appeared at the meeting were CRIAW, the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Conseil d'intervention pour l'accès des femmes au travail, the New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity and Womenspace Resource Centre. These are all credible organizations and I do not think that anyone would question the work they do for women in our country.
Some of these groups spoke of the impact of Status of Women Canada on their creation and their development as women's organizations. For example, in a special publication on the 20th anniversary of CRIAW, the president at that time noted that had it not been for the financial support of Status of Women Canada over the years, CRIAW undoubtedly would not exist. Status of Women Canada had been providing these organizations with some funding for an extensive period of time. It had provided CRIAW with funding since its creation in 1977.
Over the years, these organizations have proven to be extremely valuable and have demonstrated their expertise in the field. Their programs are highly reputable and have proven results. The research they provided was potentially invaluable in terms of government policy decisions. These organizations are truly bettering the lives of women.
Yet this year the government decided to deny funding. For most, this was a death blow. Because of these government decisions, most of these organizations either have or will shut their doors and cease servicing the women who have come to rely on their services.
The Minister for Status of Women has said that her department is choosing to fund new organizations over old. Absolutely, fund new organizations; it is incredibly important, but not at the expense of older organizations with proven track records. If there is a greater need for funding from Status of Women Canada, then maybe the budget of the program should be reviewed, or maybe the amount of funding allotted to each organization should be reconsidered in order to accommodate both new and existing organizations.
Unfortunately, I do not believe that money is the sole reason that these organizations were refused funding. The significance of these decisions runs much deeper than a choice between new and old; it is part of the mounting evidence that the government does not seem interested in funding programs for women's equality or in funding women's organization with a track record of advocacy.
Therefore, I will ask my question again. Could the parliamentary secretary tell us why the government is continuing to attack women in Canada? When will it end its ideological tirade and start supporting women in our country?