Advance polling begins today and line ups have reported in Vancouver. Here’s a rundown of the status of women in Canada along with questions for candidates for the 2011 Federal Election
Questions for Candidates in the 2011 Federal Election
Questions for Candidates in the 2011 Federal Election – Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS)
Questions for Candidates in the 2011 Federal Election – YWCA Canada
Rundown of the status of women in Canada – a death by a thousand cuts
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/215799–women-s-advocate-calls-funding-cuts-an-attack-on-equality
The Current Situation
In 2006, Canada placed 14th out of 115 countries in terms of the World Forum’s “gender-gap index” – a complex calculation that takes account of wages, education, health and political power. In 2009, Canada had slipped to 25th place.
The phrase “gender equality” has been eliminated from the mandate of Canada’s primary institution responsible for gender equality in Canada: Status of Women; and while the word equality was re-introduced to the mandate, the spirit of equality has not been re-established;
Canadian women continue to wait on delivery on the commitment to the implementation of gender-based analysis throughout its departments and agencies;
The progression of cuts including the closure twelve of sixteen Status of Women offices;
The recommendations made by the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force Report remain on the table;
Equality suffered when the funding for the court challenges program was eliminated– a program established to provide assistance to court cases related to equality rights guaranteed under Canada’s Constitution;
Canada does not have a national childcare strategy. $100-a-month in universal child benefits does not alleviate financial strain for impoverished mothers, especially single ones, who must work to support their families;
A slow progression of decreased levels of financial and human resources allocated to gender-equality projects within the Canadian International Development Agency and the Department of Foreign Affairs;
Canada is faced with a national tragedy of 582 missing and murdered Aboriginal Women
and eliminating funding to Sisters In Spirit
Women are facing proposed changes to Immigration where Sponsorship conditions would jeopardize Immigrant women’s safety and women fleeing to Canada due to Gender Persecution
List of Women’s Organizations That Have Had Funding Cut by the Federal Government
Tunisian gender-parity ‘revolution’ hailed Gender-parity
In a regional breakthrough, parties must present equal numbers of male and female candidates in Tunisia’s July vote.
In Canada, this federal election:
452: total number of women running (28.5 per cent)
406: number of women running for the five major parties (31.2 per cent)
475: highest number of women to run in a federal election (in ’93)
69: number of female MPs elected in 2008 (22.4 per cent)
52: percentage of women in Canada’s population
Rwanda: country with the highest percentage of elected women (56 per cent)
52nd: Canada’s rank on percentage of women in politics out of 189 national parliaments in the world
Battered Women’s Support Services is a non-partisan women’s organization working to end violence against girls and women while urging men to own their role in ending violence against girls and women
