The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) submitted February 24, 2022 makes three recommendations in their written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for sustained and adequate funding of the Canadian movement for women’s and gender equality. The recommendations include sustained core funding to women’s and gender equality organizations; multi-year capacity building grants; and if recommendation 2 is not implemented, commit up to one-year extension of funding for organizations that received 2019 capacity-building grants through the Women’s Program.
The submission is supported by 26 other women’s and gender equity organizations and their allies.
The Case for Adequate and Sustained Funding
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a gendered impact on Canadians, giving rise to a “shadow pandemic” of domestic violence and forcing a disproportionate number of women out of the labour force. There is no question that the pandemic has set back efforts to advance the equality of women and gender-diverse people, especially those impacted by multiple intersecting forms of oppression, including trans, Black, Indigenous, and racialized women, as well as women with disabilities. This has created a need that is more urgent than ever for the services and advocacy of women’s and gender equity organizations. At the same time, we have seen the mobilization of regressive movements aimed at derailing women’s rights and gender equality. Adequate and sustained funding is required to meet this moment and strengthen the movement for women’s and gender equality to counter this growing threat as we emerge from the pandemic.
Read the full Federal Budget 2022 submission here.
