|
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
IMPOSING FEMINISM IN CANADA
Feminists have not been too popular in Canada
for a number of years. This is due to the fact that most women
do not support their extremist ideology and impractical, often
incoherent policies.
Women have moved on to other more important
matters, such as balancing their lives between the family
and workplace, the care of vulnerable family members because
of age or disability, and in general, the health and well-being
of their families.
This rejection of feminism does not sit well
with feminist Liberal MPs, who are determined to revive feminism
in Canada.
In the fall of 2004, they managed to establish
the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, supposedly
to "study" the problems of women but, in fact, to
serve as a platform to spread feminism in Canada.
One of the first decisions made by the Committee
was to recommend to the government that it increase funding
by 25% to feminist volunteer groups, (See REALity September/October,
2005, p. 14, "Increased Government Funding for Feminist
Only Organizations.")
A further step was taken by the Committee
when it tabled its second report in the House of Commons in
April 2005, in which it recommended that a "gender analysis"
be conducted in all federal government departments and agencies
on legislation and policies, supposedly to ensure that the
equality of women is not detrimentally affected by government
decisions. The Committee's proposal means that the government
must develop programmes and legislation that are women-specific
as well as to:
… ensure that legislation, programmes
and policies which are not specifically targeted for women
do not inadvertently maintain or exacerbate any equality
gap.
In practical terms, the purpose of this
proposal is to ensure that all government decisions are subject
to feminist overview and approval so that the feminist ideology
will be integrated across the country.
This is not the first time however, that feminists
have tried to impose "gender analysis" in Canada.
Ten years ago in 1995, at the time of the
UN International Conference on Women held in Beijing, China
the federal government, under the direction of the Status
of Women, put in place a 5-year plan on gender equality. This
was called the Federal Plan on Gender Equality (1995 - 2000).
This was followed by another gender analysis plan called the
Agenda for Gender Equality (2000 - 2005). In accordance with
these plans the Canadian government adopted a policy requiring
the 24 individual federal departments and agencies to conduct
gender-based analysis of policies and legislation. While the
various departments were responsible for conducting gender-based
analysis, Status of Women Canada provided training and support
for this project.
To the dismay of the Status of Women Committee
and their feminist adherents, the application of this gender-based
analysis in the federal government was "uneven".
According to the Committee, this was due to the lack of a
binding obligation to conduct this analysis, internal resistance,
and the lack of shared responsibility, all which contributed
to the dismal failure of the plan.
Therefore, the Status of Women Committee began
consultations in the fall of 2004 with multiple so-called
"equality-seeking" women's organizations. The expression
"equality-seeking" groups is used as a means to
deliberately exclude REAL Women because we support traditional
values which, in their view, is not "equality seeking."
Never mind that the equality of women is included in our objects
of incorporation! The purpose of this consultation was to
determine what to do about the problem of the supposed negative
impact on women by the failure to implement gender analysis
within the federal government. All the women's groups that
were consulted pronounced themselves, to the last woman, shocked,
shocked, and appalled by this failure to properly implement
gender analysis by the federal government.
In their study of this unsatisfactory situation,
the Committee did, however, award gold stars to a few government
departments, which were obediently carrying out gender analysis.
These included:
- Citizenship and Immigration Since 2001
the department has been very good indeed about applying gender
analysis to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. That
Act also requires the department to report its performance
on the crucial issue of gender analysis to Parliament - a
move which the Committee highly approved.
- CIDA (Canada International Development
Agency) This Agency administers Canada's foreign aid. The
Status of Women Committee proudly recounted CIDA's contribution
to gender analysis when CIDA, working on a programme to build
roads in Bangladesh, hired only widows to build the roads
since widows were very poor. Fathers of families did not count
since CIDA's gender analysis of the situation indicated that
widows needed the money more, so they excluded all males from
the work.
- Health Canada Health Canada received
a gold star from the Committee because in 1993 it established
a Women's Health Bureau, and in 1996 allocated additional
resources to establish and fund centres of excellence for
women's health. The department also funds the Women's Health
Contribution Programme. (Whatever that is)
Gender based analysis was first formalized at Health Canada
in 1999 with the development of a "Women's Health Strategy".
This commitment to gender based analysis was further strengthened
in 2000 with Health Canada's release of a Gender Based policy.
Remarkable.
Finance Canada
The Committee found that although Finance
Canada, as a key central agency, had an important role to
play in promoting and implementing gender based analysis,
it had not adequately fulfilled its duties in this regard.
It had made no effort to either enforce a requirement by departments
to induct a gender based analysis on funding proposals or
to evaluate the adequacy of the gender analyses submitted
to it.
This definitely was not good news to the Committee.
However, the situation was at least partly redeemed by Minister
of Finance, Ralph Goodale himself, when he stated, in the
House of Commons, on December 13, 2004, that he was committed
to ensuring that all policy proposals for the 2005 - 2006
budget would require a gender based analysis. This made Mr.
Goodale a very good boy, according to the Committee.
Recommendations by the Status of Women
Committee
After its extensive study of the failure by
the federal government to properly apply gender based analysis,
the Committee made the following recommendations to the government
to enforce gender analysis.
- That the Government of Canada immediately
initiate consultations, in time for the 2006 - 2007 budget,
aimed at the development of legislation that would ensure
the systematic application of gender based analysis to all
federal policy and program activities
- That the Privy Council Office (PCO) (the administrative
arm of the federal government) immediately establish a secretariat
with responsibility for ensuring the development and eventual
implementation of effective gender equality legislation
- That the Privy Council Office (PCO) immediately designate
one official with clear responsibility to initiate and coordinate
the federal government's various departments on gender based
analysis.
- That the Privy Council Office provide a written report
to Parliament within 129 days on its initiative on gender
based analysis
- That the PCO secretariat table annually in Parliament a
public report outlining progress toward this legislation
- That the Privy Council Office immediately establish responsibility
for analyzing all memoranda to cabinet and other cabinet documents
for gender based analysis
- That the PCO officials and all deputy ministers, and associate
deputy ministers participate in workshops that provide training
to assess GBA
- That Status of Women Canada ensure that "equality-seeking"
(that expression again!) women's organizations engage in a
thorough consultation on the equality goals for priority action
in the 2005 - 2010 action plan on gender equality.
- That the Treasury Board Secretariat designate a senior
official to take responsibility for ensuring that gender based
analysis is included in policies, directions, and requirements
pertinent to the 2005- 2010 action plan on gender equality
which is currently being developed by Status of Women Canada.
- That every federal department and agency immediately designate
an assistant or associate deputy minister with responsibility
for gender based analysis.
- That senior level departmental policy and other committees
within all federal departments and agencies require regular,
at least annual, progress reports on gender based analysis
with a particular focus on specific results.
No "half-measures" for these feminists!
They are clearly convinced that gender analysis is the answer
to their prayers to have feminism dominate the national agenda.
Status of Women Canada
The government agency, the Status of Women
Canada, thrilled by the Committee's recommendations, which
would provide it with increased stature, recognition and power,
decided to do its part in encouraging this fortunate turn
of events. It did this by announcing that it had commenced
an online consultation with regard to gender equality. The
first question asked on this consultation is whether the respondent
supports gender equality, and the second question asked is
whether gender based analysis would be the best route to follow
in order to achieve gender equality. The purpose of this consultation
was to point out that there was overwhelming support for gender
analysis by the general public. Gerrymandered to produce the
desired result, the consultation will make the feminists'
point, which is the entire object of the exercise, but not
necessarily the truth.
Finally, in order to ensure that gender analysis
is properly applied by the federal government, the Status
of Women Canada also established an "expert" panel
to study "accountability and to provide advice on strengthening
gender equality in Canada." We have no doubt that these
feminists "experts" will arrive at even more rules
and recommendations to further ensure that gender analysis
is enforced in Canada.
Please write to Prime Minister Paul Martin,
the Minister of Finance, Ralph Goodale, the Minister responsible
for the Status of Women, Liza Frulla, and your MP, strongly
objecting to this proposed take-over by feminists, who have
little or no support from the general public in imposing their
gender analysis in Canada.
Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, PC, MP
Prime Minister of Canada
Langevin Building
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-992-4211
Hon. Ralph Goodale, MP
Minister of Finance
140 O'Connor St.
East Tower, 21st Floor
L'Esplanade Laurier
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Fax: 613-995-5176
Hon. Liza Frulla, MP
Minister Responsible for the Status of Women
15 Eddy Street, 12th Floor
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M5
Fax: 819-994-1267
Your Member
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
