March 8, 2007, on International Women's Day, the new Co-ordinator for Status of Women Canada was announced: Clare Beckton, former ADM at Justice Canada.
STATUS OF WOMEN CANADA
March 8, 2007
Today, Minister Oda announced an additional $5 million in new funding towards Status of Women Canada for 2007-2008, and a new funding mechanism for the Women's Program. This increase brings the total budget for the Women's Program from $10.8 million to $15.3 million, the largest budget in the history of Status of Women Canada. Minister Oda has the lead on this issue. Please use the following lines when bridging out of interviews, or when speaking with local media.
- Canada's New Government is proud to enhance the Women's Program in order to make a real difference in the lives of Canadian women who are facing challenges.
- Canada's New Government is committed to modernizing Status of Women Canada and promised to redirect $5 million towards funding initiatives - directly benefiting women in their communities. Promise made, promise kept.
- Canada's New Government is increasing the budget of the Women's Program by 42 per cent, bringing it to its highest level ever: $15.3 million.
- The new funding mechanism provides an important leveraging and partnership aspect that has never been done before. This means more money and more projects aimed directly at helping women in their communities in an accountable and efficient manner.
Background
As of April 1, 2007, the Women's Program will have two components: the Women's Community Fund and the Women's Partnership Fund.
The Women's Community Fund ($1.5 million) will support projects at a local, regional and national level in order to enable the full participation of women in all aspects of Canadian life.
The newly-created Women's Partnership Fund ($3 million) is an enhancement to the existing grant program and will facilitate the engagement of eligible organizations and public institutions through joint projects designed to address issues pertaining to women. The additional funds will be used strategically to leverage resources from these sources. With these new means, the Women's Program will also be able to respond better to the growing demand for financial assistance in addressing the economic, social and cultural situation of women.
Michael Aubie,
Communications Officer
OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0A2
Office / bureau: 613.957.5503 Fax / tilicopieur: 613.957.5556
Email / courriel: maubie@pmo-cpm.gc.ca