Value of women underestimated by Tories
The Daily News -- Kamloops
28 Sep 2006
Section: Opinion -- By: Kathy Leonhardt

Re: Daily News, Sept. 26, No More Big Shots Budget.

I see that the ruling Conservative Party of Canada is demonstrating by action, the little regard they hold for the women and children of Canada.

Their announcement of cutting funding to the Status of Women and the bizarre child care credit ($1,200 per family) is testimony to the ignorance and willful disregard to the current needs of Canadian families as well as the overall well-being of Canadian society.

Canadian women are mothers, wives, daughters, workers and voters.

By rejecting our needs and issues, this government is sending a strong message as to the true value we represent to them -- and the country as a whole.

By the way, Canada just received a failure grade in the just-released international report from the OECD (Sept. 20) for its abject failure to recognize the needs of young children and their families. Out of the 20 OECD member states in the study, Canada "languishes at the bottom in public spending" -- a mere 0.03 per cent of GDP on early learning and child care services and is the sole country without a "goal for early learning and child care." In fact, our country does not even appear in some of the report's charts because the government could not provide data.

It is interesting indeed, that we are fighting a battle in Afghanistan for the inclusion of all members of Afghani society, when at home we are conducting a shameful political agenda that says women and their needs are of no concern to this government.