Corner Brook Status of Women Council receiving funding to ensure it can continue providing essential supports to women and their families
April 13, 2019 - Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador - Department for Women and Gender Equality
Women's organizations provide vital services to our communities, supporting women and girls to be financially secure, free from violence, and able to fully participate in all aspects of our economy and society. Yet for far too long they have been chronically underfunded, underestimated and undermined. The Government of Canada recognizes that women's organizations are the lifeblood of the women's movement, and that maintaining and growing their ability to do this important work is the most effective way to advance gender equality.
That's why today, Gudie Hutchings, Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains, on behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality, announced that the Government of Canada is investing $67,755 in the Corner Brook Status of Women Council (CBSWC) for their project Claiming our space. This funding will help the organization to expand their services on Newfoundland's west coast and the Northern Peninsula. It will help ensure that the 50,000 women and families in the region have access to support for gender equality, violence prevention, education, and professional and community development.
CBSWC is one of the more than 250 women's organizations and Indigenous organizations serving women across Canada in which the Government of Canada is investing under the Capacity-building Fund. Funding stems from the Budget 2018 announcement of $100 million over five years to support a viable and sustainable women's movement across Canada.
"With our historic investment, we recognize the women and women's organizations breaking through barriers, and express our gratitude to those who have been doing this work for decades on little more than a shoestring budget. The women's movement across Canada has been asking for a reliable, predictable and accessible source of funds to ensure the sustainability of their work. Our government listened. With stable and flexible funding, we are helping the Corner Brook Status of Women Council scale up so they can grow and endure, because we know that investing in women's organizations is the most effective way to advance gender equality. By supporting a movement that has achieved amazing results, we are growing the middle class, strengthening families and communities, and creating lasting change that benefits everyone."
The Honourable Maryam Monsef, P.C., M.P.
Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality
"The Corner Brook Status of Women Council has a long history of advocating for equality, and bettering lives of women and their families in the Corner Brook and Bay of Islands area, as well as the Northern Peninsula. The funding awarded to the CBSWC for their Claiming Our Space project will allow for the organization to continue their very important work on promoting gender equality, violence prevention, education and awareness, professional and community development, and allow them to expand their outreach work. Congratulations are extended to their Executive Director, Board Members and staff. As your Member of Parliament, I am very pleased to provide continued support toward much needed advocacy."
Gudie Hutchings,
Member of Parliament for Long Range Mountains
"The Corner Brook Status of Women Council is always looking to help improve the quality of women's lives anyway we can by offering many direct services such as crisis intervention, self-help groups, job search support, low cost housing, and so much more. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for this investment in our organization so that we can continue to be responsive to the needs of women and their families."
Paula Sheppard Thibeau, Executive Director
Corner Brook Status of Women Council
Quick facts
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Budget 2018 announced $100 million over five years to support a viable and sustainable women's movement across Canada. Adding to this historic investment, Budget 2019 proposes to invest a further $160 million over five years, starting in 2019-20, in the Department for Women and Gender Equality's Women's Program. This means that by 2023-24, the Women's Program, which supports eligible organizations to carry out projects to advance equality by addressing systemic barriers, will total $100 million annually.
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This funding will enable women's organizations and Indigenous organizations serving women to tackle systemic barriers impeding women's progress, while recognizing and addressing the diverse experiences of gender and inequality across the country.
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Women continue to be disproportionately affected by economic insecurity. In 2015, women in Canada earned on average just 88 cents for every dollar earned by men. They are also much more likely to work on a part-time basis, making up 76% of all part-time workers, with 25% of women reporting childcare responsibilities as their reason for working part-time.
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Some populations are more likely to experience violence and may face unique barriers and challenges that put them at particular risk (Statistics Canada, 2015).
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Gender-based violence can have lifelong impacts on an individual's physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health. Additionally, the effects can be serious and costly. Annually, the economic impact of intimate partner violence and sexual assault is estimated to be more than $12 billion.
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Canada will host the Women Deliver 2019 Conference from June 3 to 6, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Held every three years, it is the world's largest gathering on gender equality and the health, rights and well-being of women and girls.
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The conference is part of a global movement to promote gender equality worldwide that gives voice to a broad spectrum of people, including Indigenous peoples, youth and those living in conflict and crisis settings. It will bring together more than 6,000 individuals-world leaders, influencers, advocates, academics, activists, youth and journalists-from more than 160 countries, with an additional 100,000 people joining virtually.
