(Truro) – CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh says this year’s anniversary of the Montreal massacre has taken on a new sense of urgency, given recent cuts to women’s programs by the Harper government.
Cavanagh says, “This day has been set aside by the Canadian Labour Congress as a day of remembrance and action on violence against women in Canada. We join with the CLC in calling for the restoration of funding to groups which advocate for women’s equality and for an end to violence.
Says Cavanagh, “The Harper government’s approach will do nothing to achieve equality for women in this country. Indeed, their actions are turning the clock backwards. Just in the past few months we have seen the Conservatives:
- Cancel the Court Challenges Program, which allowed women and other equality-seeking Canadians to challenge discriminatory laws under the Canadian Charter
- Cut Status of Women Canada’s budget by almost 40%
- Impose new federal guidelines for funding under Status of Women which will prohibit women’s organizations from engaging in research or advocacy for women’s equality using federal funds
- Eliminate the provincial federal child care agreements. 70% of women with children under the age of five are employed.
“Right here in Nova Scotia,” says Cavanagh, “CUPE has joined with the NSTU, NSNU and NSGEU to urge the provincial government to implement draft regulations against violence in the workplace that have been sitting on a shelf for 11 years. The majority of the members of these four unions are women.
“We urge all concerned Nova Scotians to log onto our website, www.stopworkplaceviolence.ca , and send a message to Labour Minister Mark Parent to bring in those regulations now,” says Cavanagh.
For information:
Danny Cavanagh
President, CUPE Nova Scotia
(902) 957-0822 (Cell)
John McCracken
CUPE Communications Rep.
(902) 455-4180 (o)