I am not an apolitical person. To me, everything is political.
I followed the Kairos issue - the "not" written in by Bev Oda - and shook my head at it because I've known of Kairos' good work for years.
This evening, through 6 levels of e-mails, came a list of organizations that have been "de-funded" by the Harperites in the current Canadian government. Its origin is mentioned within the text below. I have not personally checked up on the list; I do not have the time to do so, but I trust the people it came through. The cover note is (as best as I can tell) written by Dennis Gruending, an Ottawa-based author and former MP, former director of information for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, author of books including his latest Truth to Power: the Journalism of a Benedictine Monk published by Kingsley Publishing Services of Calgary.
feeling somber at the length of this list,
with concern for all of us,
Why's Woman
---------------------------------
Stephen Harper's hit list
Here is a list of government and non-profit organizations whose funding Harperites have cut or ended. Dateline: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 by Dennis Gruending
The Conservative government - or the Harper government as it insists upon being called - has either fallen or engineered its own defeat and the election is upon us. This is perhaps a good time to take stock of whom the Harperites have spent their time attacking in the past several years. (They have also lavished favour on their own, appointing them to be judges, to the Immigration Review Board, the CRTC or other federal agencies).
The Harper government has terminated the jobs of a dozen high-profile critics in vital public interest positions.
The list of organizations that have been shut down and cut back, and the individuals bullied, is a long one. We can expect it to grow if, as seems likely, Harper is re-elected. I have written extensively about some of these actions, including the government's attack on the ecumenical group KAIROS and the shameful treatment of the Rights and Democracy organization, but I cannot claim that my list is comprehensive.
Here, then, is an unofficial list of organizations whose funding has been cut or ended by the Harper government, including government agencies that supported civil society groups. The following list was compiled primarily by Judith Szabo and by Pearl Eliadis for 'Voices', a coalition of organizations and individuals which describes itself as "united in defence of democracy, free speech and transparency in Canada.
Organizations and watchdogs whose staff have been fired, forced out, publicly maligned, or who have resigned in protest:
1. Canada Firearms Program (Chief Supt. Marty Cheliak, Director General)
2. Canadian Wheat Board (Adran Measner, President and CEO)
3. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (Linda Keen, chair)
4. Foreign Affairs (Richard Colvin, diplomat)
5. Military Police Complaints Commission (head, Peter Tinsley)
6. Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces (Yves Coté)
7. Parliamentary Budget Officer (Kevin Page) (funding cut)
8. RCMP Police Complaints Commission (Paul Kennedy, chair)
9. Rights & Democracy (International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development - Rémy Beauregard, President)*
10. Statistics Canada (Munir Sheikh, Deputy Minister)
11. Veterans Ombudsman (Col. Pat Stogran)
12. Victims of Crime, Ombudsman (Steve Sullivan)
Community organizations, NGOs and research bodies reported to have been cut or defunded 1
1. Action travail des femmes
2. Afghan Association of Ontario, Canada Toronto
3. Alberta Network of Immigrant Women
4. Alternatives (Quebec)
5. Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale (AFEAS)
6. Bloor Information and Life Skills Centre 2
7. Brampton Neighbourhood Services (Ontario) 3
8. Canadian Arab Federation
9. Canadian Child Care Federation
10. Canadian Council for International Cooperation
11. Canadian Council on Learning
12. Canadian Council on Social Development
13. Canadian Heritage Centre for Research and Information on Canada
14. Canadian International Development Agency, Office of Democratic Governance 4
15. Canadian Labour Business Centre
16. Canada Policy Research Networks
17. Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women
18. Canada School of Public Service
19. Canadian Teachers' Federation International program
20. Canadian Volunteerism Initiative
21. Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition feminine
22. Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
23. Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples (Toronto)
24. Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
25. Childcare Resource and Research Unit, Specialink
26. Climate Action Network
27. Community Access Program, internet access for communities at libraries, post offices, community centres
28. Community Action Resource Centre (CARC)
29. Conseil d'intervention pour l'accès des femmes au travail (CIAFT)
30. Court Challenges Program (except language rights cases and legacy cases)
31. Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood Centre Toronto: (Funding cut by CIC in Dec/2010).
32. Democracy Council 5
33. Department of Foreign Affairs, Democracy Unit 6
34. Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women Toronto: (Funding cut by CIC in Dec/2010).
35. Environment: Youth International Internship Program
36. Eritrean Canadian Community Centre of Toronto (Funding cut by CIC in Dec/2010)
37. Feminists for Just and Equitable Public Policy (FemJEPP) in Nova Scotia
38. First Nations Child and Family Caring Society
39. First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Program
40. Forum of Federations
41. Global Environmental Monitoring System
42. HRD Adult Learning and Literacy programs
43. HRD Youth Employment Programs
44. Hamilton's Settlement and Integration Services Organization (Ontario) 7
45. Immigrant settlement programs
46. Inter-Cultural Neighbourhood Social Services (Peel) 8
47. International Planned Parenthood Federation
48. Kairos 9
49. Law Reform Commission of Canada
50. Mada Al-Carmel Arab Centre
51. Marie Stopes International, a maternal health agency - has received only a promise of "conditional" funding if it avoids any and all connection with abortion.
52. MATCH International
53. National association of Women and the Law (NAWL)
54. Native Women's Association of Canada
55. New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity
56. Northwood Neighbourhood Services (Toronto: (Funding cut by CIC in December 2010).
57. Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH)
58. Ontario Association of Transitional Housing (OAITH)
59. Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
60. Pride Toronto
61. Réseau des Tables régionales de groupes de femmes du Québec
62. Riverdale Women's Centre in Toronto
63. Sierra Club of BC
64. Sisters in Spirit
65. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
66. South Asian Women's Centre 10
67. Status of Women (mandate also changed to exclude "gender equality and political justice" and to ban all advocacy, policy research and lobbying)
68. Tropicana Community Services
69. Womanspace Resource Centre (Lethbridge, Alberta)
70. Women's Innovative Justice Initiative - Nova Scotia
71. Workplace Equity/Employment Equity Program
72. York-Weston Community Services Centre Toronto
Notes: 1 "Defunding" is the term used by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. In many instances, it is about turning down grant applications rather than cutting off funding midstream, but for organizations who rely on renewed program funding to support their work, and have done so for many years, it amounts to the same thing.
2 Citizenship and Immigration Canada cut or significantly reduced their principal funding - approximately $471,000. Source: The Globe and Mail.
3 Cut in the last few years by federal government because of alleged mismanagement: Source canadianimmigrant.ca
4 The Office of Democratic Governance, which channeled much of Canada's democracy funding, has been disbanded by CIDA.
5 A forum for discussion and collaboration among Canadian democracy promotion agencies. It has reportedly disappeared despite stated earlier commitments and interest from both government and NGOs to see it continue and even expand.
6 Folded into the Francophonie and Commonwealth division.
7 Cut in the last few years by federal government because of alleged mismanagement: Source canadianimmigrant.ca
8 Cut in the last few years by federal government because of alleged mismanagement: Source canadianimmigrant.ca
9 Including Anglican Church of Canada, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Mennonite Central Committee, Presbyterian Church in Canada, United Church of Canada, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Canadian Religious Conference, and the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund.
10 The Centre has lost $571,000 - all of its federal funding - which represents nearly 70 percent of its overall budget. Source: The Globe and Mail.
No comments:
Post a Comment