The controversy swirling around M.P. Helena Guergis this spring has placed much emphasis on her personal and general political life but little on the Ministry for which she was responsible. Ms. Guergis was a junior cabinet member responsible for the "Status of Women.”

Status of Women

            Status of Women, a leftover from previous Liberal regimes, was established in 1973 “to further the advancement and equality of women.” The strong arm of Canadian feminist movement, it certainly has fulfilled these objectives and almost totally at taxpayers’ expense. Men now lag behind women in many and varied fields such as employment and enrolment in universities.

            The Status of Women department with its “entrenched feminist bureaucrats” has provided highly-paid careers for almost 40 years for the ideological adherents within it and its related organisations. Total funding for the agency came to $25 million in 2007-2008 much reduced already from higher figures in earlier years.

Harper’s government

            The Conservative government of Stephen Harper made some attempts to control the most blatant feminist militants when it stopped funding the National Action Committee for the Status of Women (NAC) and the Women’s Legal Education Action Fund (LEAF). However it looks like the ladies’ battalion have only moved over the field to such groups as the Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) and Equal Voice, which purports to help more women enter politics (on a strictly, non-partisan basis, of course if you want to believe that!). Most recent funding for these groups was $480,000 (FAFIA) and $70,000 plus $1.2 million for Equal Voice.

Status of Women redundant