TEN YEARS OF FEDERAL BUDGETS: DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR WOMEN (FEB 3)

Ten Years of Federal Budgets: Double Whammy for Women (Feb 3, 2005)

This latest report of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action was authored by Armine Yalnizyan, a recipient of the Atkinson Foundation's Economic Justice Award. 

10 YEARS OF FEDERAL BUDGETS: DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR WOMEN

OTTAWA - February 3, 2005 - Federal fiscal choices have done little to
improve most women's economic security over the last 10 years, says the
first ever analysis of federal budgets on Canadian women.

The ground-breaking report, released today in Ottawa by the Canadian
Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA), tracks a decade of
federal budgets. Written by award-winning economist Armine Yalnizyan, it
measures the federal government's performance against the explicit
commitments it made to gender equality in Beijing in 1995.  It shows that
massive spending cuts unduly hurt women in the deficit era and women's
interests have been largely ignored since Ottawa began posting surpluses.

"On the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Platform for
Action, we found that the promises didn't match up with the federal
government's fiscal choices," Yalnizyan said.

"Since 1998 Canada has posted annual surpluses, but the federal government
has been more interested in tax cuts and debt reduction than in
reinvesting in social supports that help women," added Yalnizyan.

By comparing federal budget promises with federal public accounts,
Yalnizyan was able to trace where the money was cut during the nation's
deficit era, and where it was spent during the surplus era. The results
make it clear that promises made to women were not kept.

*       Cuts and changes made to vital programs -  such as Employment
Insurance,
the Child Tax Benefit, housing, and the Canada Health and Social Transfer
- during the deficit era were never fully reversed during surplus years;

*       Almost $12 billion a year was cut from these social supports between
1994 and 1997;

*       Once the federal government began registering surpluses in 1998, it
allocated  $152 billion to tax cuts and $42 billion to new program
spending on initiatives such as defence and innovation, while programs
that benefit women lost out;

*       Only a fraction of new spending went to affordable housing or
quality
child care - programs that make a central difference in women's lives.

"What we found is that women bore the brunt of the federal government's
deep fiscal cuts," said FAFIA spokesperson Lise Martin.

The report shows that since the deficit was eliminated way ahead of
schedule, and since the surpluses have been much larger than projected,
the depth of the cuts made between 1995 and 1998 may not have been
necessary and many women may have suffered needlessly.

"Even now, social programs that directly benefit women remain low on the
government's list of fiscal priorities. Whether times are bad, or times
are good, women are made to wait," emphasized Lise Martin.

"A commitment to equality means a commitment to allocating resources to
the programs that make a difference," said Shelagh Day of FAFIA. "After 10
years of waiting for progress, it's time for the Government of Canada to
stop ignoring women. Women have a claim to make on this surplus."

For more information:

Nancy Peckford: (613) 232-9505, x222 or (613) 292-7941 (cell)

Lise Martin: (613) 563-0681

Shelagh Day: (604) 872-0750
Report available from: http://www.fafia-afai.org/gvt/CanadaCommitmentToEquality.pdf