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The Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights The Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights came together in 2006. International Women’s Week 2007 was the beginning of an ongoing campaign to reverse the Harper cuts and pressure the federal government and the opposition to commit to concrete and meaningful measures to advance women’s equality in Canada. For more information about the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights and how to join, please visit About Us.     Contact Us   To email the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights, please click here. Watch the Coalition's short animated film "Put Equality Back on Track!" New: Government Buries Head of Long-Gun Registry Program Also on this page: Government Policy Needs Facts not Fiction G8 Type Violence Will Continue If Causes Not Addressed: Support not defund Women’s Organizations Prorgation H(arper)         For more Ad Hoc Coalition media releases and information, please click here. Take Action! The Cookbook For Women's Equality Government Buries Head of Long-Gun Registry Program Removing the head of the Canadian Firearms Program weeks before a House of Commons vote on scrapping the long-gun registry is a blatant effort to stifle debate, states the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights. RCMP Chief Superintendent Martin Cheliak, Director of the Canadian Firearms Program, was taken off regular duties in August and sent on extended language training.  Wednesday, the RCMP confirmed that Cheliak will be replaced.  The House of Commons resumes September 20.  On September 22 it votes on a motion that could kill Candice Hoeppner’s Bill C-391 to repeal the long-gun registry. That motion is based on a report from the Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU).  In a May 2010 presentation to SECU, RCMP Chief Superintendent Cheliak provided compelling evidence that the long-gun registry must stay, citing public safety concerns, reduced registry costs, increased registry effectiveness, and rapidly increasing usage by police.  In his year as Director of the Canadian Firearms Program, Cheliak is credited with fashioning the long-gun registry into an efficient and useful database while shrinking annual costs to $4.1 million.   Cheliak has also worked to unite Canadian police forces in support of the registry.  The news that he is being replaced comes days before Cheliak was expected to present a major report on the effectiveness of the long-gun registry to a meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. “It is strange indeed to see a law-and-order government not only ignore, but suppress information from Canada’s national police force,” said Ad Hoc Coalition member, Mary Scott, President of the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC).  “This government is burying the head of the long-gun registry program weeks before a crucial vote on C-391, just as they buried the annual report from the Canadian Firearms Program before the Commons’ vote last November. The report Cheliak was to make to the Chiefs of Police must be public information before any vote is taken in Parliament.” Police consult the registry on average over 14,000 times a day – before, after and during crimes. Gun deaths have dropped by a third since the registry was implemented. Long-gun deaths, especially domestic homicides of women, have dropped much more sharply.  If Bill C-391 becomes law, seven million long-gun firearm records will be destroyed. Women have the most to lose if the long-gun registry is abandoned.  During domestic violence calls, police use the registry to check if a long-gun is on site. Statistics from the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee found firearms to be present in 47% of domestic homicides in 2007. A woman is 12 times more likely to be murdered if a gun is involved in domestic violence, and the guns most commonly used in domestic violence are long guns, not handguns, “The gun registry is essential if we are to prevent the deaths of women at the hands of their abusers. If the long-gun registry is abandoned, rates of domestic homicide will rise back to the levels of the 1990s. A long-gun registry prevents delays in police investigations before, after and during crime,” said Ad Hoc Coalition member, Paulette Senior, CEO, YWCA Canada. “Public safety, and women’s safety, must come before politics,” said Claire Tremblay, Coordinator of the Ad Hoc Coalition. “Political point scoring to win over a tiny constituency at the expense of safety is simply unacceptable.” TOP Government Policy Needs Facts not Fiction The abandonment of a mandatory long form census and jamming half of Canada’s legislation for 2010 into a massive omnibus bill is yet another assault to women’s democracy, states the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights. Last week, the Conservative Government announced the abandonment of the mandatory long form census in favour of a voluntary one. A voluntary long form will degrade data due to reduced and selective participation – the very rich, the very poor and Aboriginals tend not to participate. The loss of complete household activity data - on unpaid child care, elder care and household tasks - means the Government will now base decisions on issues that affect women on inaccurate data. Worse still, the Government has slated the eventual removal of the household activity data even from the voluntary form. The loss of a mandatory long form census is exacerbated by the Status of Women’s defunding of women’s organizations in March 2010. Without accurate census information or information from research groups, it is unclear on what basis important Government decisions will now be based. More than 20 women’s organizations that provided services, support and research into child care, pay equity, domestic violence and discrimination were defunded. Among the groups defunded were: the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW); the New Brunswick Pay Equity Coalition; the Ontario Association of Transitional Housing (OAITH) and the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA.) Of equal concern, was the forcing through the Senate this week of 900 pages of legislation under the guise of the 2010 Federal Budget. Bills on topics as diverse as a Canada-Poland agreement on social security through to the Federal-Provincial Arrangement Acts were bundled into the omnibus bill. Lost was the opportunity for affected interest groups – including women – to participate in discussion of the proposed legislation. Many bills within C-9 required extensive analysis and debate as stand-alone bills. Several bills have potential repercussions for women – the fall out of which, due to the lack of due Parliamentary process, will now only be known now they have become Canadian law. Of note are: Changes to the Pension Benefits Amendment Act which affect pension benefits upon divorce, annulment, separation or breakdown of Common-law partnerships. Amendments to the Income Tax Act and Related Acts and Regulations concerning the tax treatment of the Universal Child Care Benefit. Changes to the health and safety provisions of the Canada Labour Code that affect the appeals process for workers who decline unsafe work. Also of concern are: Amendments to the Access to Information Act that strikes out the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada as a Government Institution that responds to and supplies information related to access to information requests. The Agency is responsible for oversight of human resources management in the public service. The Agency is has also been omitted from the list of government institutions subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act. Amendments to the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act which exempts portions of the public sector from establishing internal disclosure procedures (which protect public servant whistleblowers) upon notice to the Treasury Board Secretariat. The latter amendments add to the lack of transparency of the workings of the current Conservative Government – a matter of concern to all Canadians including women. If Women Mattered The lack of census information makes it difficult for organizations to address women's poverty and other issues affecting women. Please see the Women's Economic Council's media release called "If Women Mattered." TOP G8 Type Violence Will Continue If Causes Not Addressed: Support not defund Women’s Organizations Alleged threats of gang rape and mass sexual assault by police at the G8 protests highlight the need to support, not attack, funding to women’s organizations, the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights stated today. Several of the more than 20 women’s organizations defunded by the Harper Government in March this year, worked toward ending violence against women. “The alleged sexual assaults at the G8 and G20 are symptomatic of a wider problem – the use of sexual violence to intimidate and silence women in Canadian society as a whole,” said Claire Tremblay of the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights. “No woman should be sexually assaulted period. No woman should be sexually assaulted and threatened with gang rape because she exercises her right of free speech.” Last week, a Montreal-based freelance journalist claimed she was repeatedly threatened with gang rape by police officers while another journalist and several protesters alleged sexual and verbal assault. Numerous other complaints were made by female protesters, of being subjected to inappropriate body searches by male police. The attacks at the G8 coincide with a first-of-a-kind Statistics Canada report that show a 40% increase in dating violence against women from 2004 to 2008. Another study by Health Canada in 2003 showed 53% of women in Canada were sexually abused when they were children. Rates of violence against Aboriginal women and visible minority women are higher. Despite these figures, the Harper Government continues to cut funding to organizations that advocate against sexual and other forms of violence against Canadian women. In March, the Government denied funding to 24 women’s organizations – some of which conduct research into the causes of violence against women. “Continued defunding by the Harper Government of organizations that conduct research into ending violence against women, means Canada can expect the societal causes behind incidences such as those that took place at the G8/G20 will continue unchallenged and unabated,” said Eileen Morrow of the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights. “This is completely unacceptable.” Organizations defunded by the Harper Government, which research and advocate to end violence against women include: the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW); Women’s Legal Action and Education Fund (LEAF); and Assembly of First Nations (Women’s Council); among others. Other organizations provided support to women dealing with the after affects of violence, including the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH), and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. OAITH is a 75-member coalition, primarily of first stage emergency shelters for abused women. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation provides support to abused women. Several healing centres such as the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal were affected by deep funding cuts. Other defunded organizations provided indirect help such as job searches and training to enable economically dependent women to flee their abusers. "Cuts to women's organizations deprive women of short and long term supports. Cuts to women's services deprive women of short-term essential services such as emergency shelters, trauma counseling and many other services. Women's organizations that engage in research address the causes of violence against women. Services, research and advocacy are essential to women's equality," said Eileen Morrow, Coordinator of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses. The need to end violence against women was highlighted by a recent vigil held at the Human Rights Monument by the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence against Women (OCTEVAW.) The vigil last Wednesday coincided with a police investigation into Camille Cleroux, charged with the murder of three women in the Ottawa region. “The Harper Governments defunding of organizations that help end violence towards women is another way of saying that violence against women is not a serious issue deserving of support,” said Eileen Morrow, Coordinator of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses.  “Ending disproportionate levels of violence against more than 50% of Canadians is worthy of our tax payers dollars.” TOP   PROROGATION H(arper) Instructions: TO BE USED WHEN DEMOCRACY BECOMES TOO PAINFUL (use as often as required.) Stephen Harper has told Canadians where they can put their democratic rights. When he shut the doors of Parliament for two months he shut down the voice of the Canadian people. But he is used to doing that, especially to women. In 2006, Canada was ranked Number FOURTEEN out of 150 countries the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index WE NOW RANK NUMBER THIRTY ONE. What happened? Prime Minister Stephen Harper happened. Since 2006 he has:   •  Cut funding to women’s advocacy by 43%   •  Shut 12 out of 16 Status of Women offices in Canada   •  Eliminated funding of women and minority groups’ legal voice, the National Association of Women and the Law and the Courts Challenges Program In 2010:     •  Canada ranks 52nd in the world in female Parliamentary representation (on par with Ethiopia and Pakistan)   •  Canadian women working full-time earn 70.5% of the amount men do.   •  Women aged 16 and over earn $24,400 and men aged 16 and over earn $39,300. The Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights, comprised of 30 organizations, was created in 2006 to end the assault on women’s equality.  But it needs cold hard cash to keep the message out there – GET EVEN WITH STEPHEN! Please make out cheques to “The Canadian Federation of University Women” and send them to: The Canadian Federation of University Women, Attention: Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights 251 Bank Street, Suite 305, Ottawa, ON, K2P 1X3 (ALL DONORS WHO DONATE $25.00 OR MORE RECEIVE A COPY OF “THE COOK BOOK FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY”.) Disclaimer: The Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human Rights is a not-for-profit organization. It is not however, a registered charity. We are unable to issue tax receipts for donations received. LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO END THE HARPOCRACY! If you would like to download the Prorogation H(arper) information as a PDF, please click here. TOP       Take Action! Visit the In Action page to find out what other women across the country are doing. In-depth analysis of the issues and news about lobbying initiatives can also be found on our site. Let us know about your events. We want to use our website to advertise as many of your events as possible. Please use this form to send us your information. Together we can make sure that women's voices are heard. Together we can "Put Equality Back on Track!"       The Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights presents: "Cookbook for Women's Equality: Out of the kitchen, cooking up equality!"   This handy little book shows you how to make some tasty recipes contributed by women's organizations in Canada, as well as how to whip up a batch of old-fashioned organizing around key issues of importance to women. Child care. Pay equity. Cuts to Status of Women Canada . Cancellation of the Court Challenges Program. Get your crayons out because there's even a kids' colouring page featuring the one and only Stephen Harper!   The Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights can take your orders. The price is $5 per Cookbook. Please click here to order the Cookbook for Women's Equality using the online order form. Please specify English and/or French copies of the Cookbook. All proceeds from Cookbook sales go to the Ad Hoc Coalition to support a Canada-wide fight back campaign around these issues. Don't miss out . . .   Order the Cookbook for Women's Equality                       Contact us!   coalitionforwomensequality@gmail.com