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March 7, 2007

Canada's New Government Increases Funding to the Women's Program

OTTAWA -- On the eve of International Women's Day, the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, announced an additional $5 million in new funding for 2007-2008 for Status of Women Canada and a new funding mechanism for the Women's Program.

"Tomorrow, on International Women's Day, Canadians will take the occasion to celebrate women's accomplishments here in Canada and around the world. However, we must also reflect on the challenges ahead of us and the concrete action we can undertake to address these challenges," said Minister Oda. "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 facing challenges."

The budget of the Women's Program has been increased by 42 percent, bringing it to its highest level ever of $15.3 million.

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 will support projects at the 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 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 better able to respond to the growing demand for financial assistance to address the economic, social and cultural situation of women.

"The new funding mechanism provides an important leveraging and partnership aspect that has never been available before," said Minister Oda. "We want to work together to improve the lives of women. This means more money and more projects aimed directly at helping women in their communities in an accountable and efficient way."

Status of Women Canada is the federal government agency working to promote the full participation of women in the economic, social and cultural life of Canada.

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For more information, please contact:

Véronique Bruneau
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
(819) 997-7788

Claire Rochon
Communications, Outreach and Parliamentary Relations
Status of Women Canada
(613) 943-1304