done with equality

thank you, jennifer ditchburn, you dogged reporter you, for the ongoing attention to bev oda's mission of mockery . your article filed today quite nicely covers the newest of the ministerial bullshit. just when we thought it was safe to apply for future funding from the so far un-slashed women's program, oda banned the use of federal funds for domestic lobbying or advocacy. and thus brings to an end the era of what came close to democratic engagement for civil society.

i've been itching to shout from the rooftops what happened at a rocking meeting in ottawa on tuesday. oda gobsmacked key women's movement reps who were finally granted her audience. it's no wonder she's so comfortable following the harper plan to dismantle the women's movement - oda believes we already have full equality in canada and that reactions to cuts/changes to swc have been 'hysterical'. she believes the private sector has a bigger role to play, government a lesser one, and that all women have equal access to the law. oh, and here's the kicker: oda believes systemic discrimination in canada doesn't exist [while even an hysterical statscan report from last year would suggest otherwise].

our release from last week is still up on the cnw board, but the one issued this morning about the ban on lobbying and oda's stunning absence from reality isn't up on any site yet. i won't post it here either, because, well frankly, how it turned out after another painful media-by-committee process just wasn't so shit hot. so instead, some highlights:

a meeting this morning with beverley oda, minister responsible for the status of women, deepened the concerns of national women's groups regarding the federal government's commitmen to women's equality.

the gutting of status of women signaled the intent of this government to undermine long-standing efforts to promote equality. now, the prohibition of advocacy or lobbying with federal dollars is just plain anti-democratic - and punitive to those with the least resources.

astonished by what they see as a failure of a standing minister to support the values of the very portfolio she is expected to steer, women's groups have immediately requested a meeting with prime minister harper... [they] will ask harper to justify the recent actions of his government and declarations of minister oda in light of his election commitments.

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meanwhile, we'll see what more oda reveals to us about her enlightened understanding matters pertaining to gender equality when she finally shows up to a fewo meeting tomorrow (the parliamentary standing committee on the status of women).