oda goes yoda

it's not that ndp status of women critic irene mathyssen isn't well-intentioned. omigod, she SURE is. but i never expected her press conference - held on tuesday with the full complement of women ndp mps - would make the radar in the week's news cycle. but then mathyssen, the bq's mourani, and surprising others, spent the week on their feet in QP hammering the minister about her chilling silence towards the women's groups who have been waiting for months to hear about their applications for grant funding from swc (and we all know about the crazy buzz there's been about whether swc will or should be killed).

and here i thought afghanistan and other Important News would shut out women's program funding from the news. and anyways, reporters were unsure what to make of the oda peppering. i spoke with jennifer ditchburn who wavered about whether or not to even file a story, given the rapidly-changing and precarious developments in ottawa on this matter. but she did. (she's the cp writer who covered irene's press conference).

so oda caved. late tonight, fafia got word via formal letter from the minister herself that their funding application has been granted. and by tomorrow morning, we'll know who else got rushed letters from the woman who went from oda to yoda after 2.5 days of medium level media coverage. not like these approvals have been pending since may. they are likely a panic change of attack for a government that maybe suspected it could quietly make disappear an entire sector of equality-seeking groups. oda got wise, finally, and will close out the week with some talking points about how these applications were never in doubt, the orgs were never in peril, etc.

we can only wait and see what yoda's intended announcement yields regarding swc's mandate changes. it's expected next week. and if oda stays yoda about things, we can all breath a bit easier that women's equality is still a government concern, at least til 07. jesus.