april 1st - a day of action
a joint statement from the toronto gbv/ipv working group on the elimination of the minister for women and gender equality canada
Women’s rights and safety are non-negotiable.
As professionals working to end gender-based violence (GBV) in Toronto, and as organizations that led the advocacy for Toronto to declare GBV and IPV an epidemic, we recognize our responsibility to highlight gaps and raise our voices on behalf of the one in three women in Canada who will experience violence in her lifetime.
On March 14, 2025, the Government of Canada announced its new Cabinet, which no longer included the Minister for Women and Gender Equality (WAGE), a department which oversees the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan, among other crucial files.
The National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (NAP) was a hard-won federal action plan that many of our organizations consulted on. With all Provincial and Territorial agreements in place as of 2024, the NAP can finally be implemented, funded, and tracked. Unfortunately, this crucial work is now at risk with the WAGE Minister no longer in existence and the work of the department moved under another ministry.
The Need for a Dedicated WAGE Minister and Department
The intricate and multifaceted nature of gender-based violence, along with the expertise needed to address it and promote gender equality, requires the focused leadership of a specialized minister and department. By moving these issues under another ministry, the government diminishes its accountability for women’s rights, gender equity, and gender-based violence. Without a dedicated Minister for Women and Gender Equality, the federal government risks undermining vital progress in key areas like preventing and addressing gender-based violence, ensuring sexual and reproductive health, supporting 2SLGBTQQIA+ rights, and advancing broader gender equity initiatives.
The Broader Message
The removal of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality sends a clear message: the rights, safety, and well-being of women, girls, and gender-diverse people living in Canada are not a top priority of this government. At best, they are seen as secondary concerns in “challenging times,” disregarding the critical role women play in overcoming such challenges. Beyond the concerning message this sends, there are significant implications for funding, policy development, and government accountability. The removal of this role coincides with a global regression of women’s rights. In such a period, it is more crucial than ever to maintain dedicated leadership and strong accountability systems to address the unique challenges, inequalities, and violence faced by women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals in Canada.
The Fiscal Impacts of Gender-Based Violence
The new and significantly leaner Cabinet has been described by government officials as one that is focused on protecting workers during a trade war and building the economy during a moment of crisis. As Canada weathers the impact of tariffs on our economy, cost of living, and employment prospects, it is important that we recognize the disproportionate impact of such changes on women and children. These economic downturns have historically led to an increase in rates of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence in our homes and communities. Now, more than ever, we need a dedicated Minister for Women and Gender Equality to continue to support the elimination of gender-based violence and promote gender equity.
We understand the unprecedented time that Canadian leadership finds itself in at the moment, however we must highlight that sidelining gender equity will ultimately harm Canada’s economic prosperity – not improve it. Issues such as the gender wage gap, gendered poverty, unequal access to economic opportunities, and workplace discrimination directly undermine Canada’s economy. However, as GBV advocates and frontline organizations working with survivors and in GBV prevention, we must highlight that any government looking to address a struggling economy must zoom out and address gender-based violence. The long-term effects of GBV are well-documented, influencing a range of critical areas such as homelessness, physical and mental health, reproductive health, food insecurity, financial instability, limited access to education, and beyond – all of which have grave financial consequences. Canada’s Department of Justice reports that sexual assault and other sexual crimes cost the country $4.8 billion annually, while spousal violence alone accounts for a staggering $7.4 billion in losses. In short, gender-based violence costs Canada billions every year.
Canada as a Global Leader for Women’s Equality and Safety
As advocates who are also active in global GBV work, we have witnessed Canada’s international leadership in advancing women’s rights and addressing gender-based violence, including international funding for GBV projects around the world, support for international resolutions addressing GBV, and much more. We encourage the Government of Canada to remain leaders in this space by abiding by our international commitments and laws and restoring our own internal mechanism for accountability and oversight on gender-based violence.
Women at the Forefront
When it comes to ensuring our communities are healthy, thriving, and resilient, women have been at the forefront of advocacy and activism. Whether it be changing legislation, creating legislation, or simply ensuring that inherent human rights are upheld, women and gender diverse people have been leading their communities for years. Indeed, feminist organizing has resulted in huge advancements in all sectors and has boosted economies across Canada. Issues affecting women – which ultimately affect us all – like gender equity, human rights, pay gaps, workplace harassment, gender-based violence, and more, cannot be put aside for any interim timeframe. They must be at the forefront at all times, and there can never be a justification for the removal of such an important Minister or portfolio. Women, girls and gender diverse people, after all, make up more than half of Canada’s population. We deserve better.
Our Call to Action
We, along with a growing number of feminist organizations, call for the reinstatement of the WAGE Minister, along with its dedicated department, to ensure that we continue to move forward – not backward – in our efforts to create a healthy, thriving, safe, equitable, just and prosperous Canada for everyone.
In the same light, as members of the GBV/IPV Working Group in Toronto, we call upon our city’s leadership to ensure that efforts to address the GBV and IPV epidemic as stated in Motion CC8.2 remain a City priority, particularly those under Section 5, which direct City Council to request the Provincial and Federal Governments to provide the necessary support to meaningfully address the gender-based violence and intimate-partner violence epidemic.
We are certain that these actions will result in a stronger, healthier, and more just Canada for everyone.
Sincerely,
The following members of the Toronto GBV/IPV Working Group:
Aura Freedom International
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
White Ribbon
WomanACT
Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke
YWCA Toronto
In a setback for gender equity and the human rights of women and gender diverse folks in Canada, the new Canadian federal government has eliminated the Minister for Women and Gender Equality, effectively compromising a dedicated department to oversee important files regarding women’s equality, equal pay, gender-based violence and more.
The complex nuances, intersections, and expertise required to understand and achieve gender equity, let alone end gender-based violence, requires the careful attention of a dedicated minister and department. This decision compromises the Canadian government’s accountability for women’s rights, gender equity, and gender-based violence rates, reducing it under the Ministry of Canadian Culture and Identity. Without a dedicated WAGE Minister, the federal government risks critical advancements in gender equity – including those around gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, 2SLGTQQIA+ rights, and much more.
Gender equity does not have a simple solution. Working towards it requires more systems of accountability, more funding, more leadership, more focus, and more representation at the government level, not less. The complex nuances, intersections, expertise and experiences that must be understood to just address gender-based violence – let alone the issue of gender inequity as a whole – cannot be adequately handled under another ministry.
The messaging sent by the elimination of the Women and Gender Equality Minister is clear: the rights, well-being, and safety of women, girls, and gender-diverse Canadians are not a clear priority. Or at the very least, they are collateral damage during ‘tough times’, failing to recognize the impact that women can have on getting through those tough times, or how it’s always ‘tough times’ for women experiencing violence. However, beyond the important messaging this sends all Canadians, we look further at the funding, policy-making, and government accountability impacts this will have.
The Department of Women and Gender Equality has worked with gender-based violence survivors, frontline workers, academics, researchers, advocates, civil society organizations, and more to develop action plans such as the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, to implement research and policy initiatives working towards gender equity, and to advocate for gender equity on global platforms, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Further, countless organizations addressing gender-based violence and working towards gender equity for women, girls, and gender-diverse people – including Aura Freedom – have been supported through life-saving funding from WAGE. The women’s sector has already faced “several decades of erosion in funding” according to the Canadian’s Women Foundation, and the federal funding that keeps many organizations’ doors open is now at risk.
All this, amidst a global backlash against (and efforts to reverse) women’s rights. In times such as this, it is especially important to have dedicated leaderships and systems of accountability to address the unique challenges, inequities, and violence faced by women, girls, and gender-diverse people in Canada.
We see that this Cabinet was built to signal a renewed focus on the economy. However, we know that deprioritizing gender equity only serves to harm Canada’s economic well-being. The gender wage gap, gendered poverty, gendered inequalities regarding economic empowerment and access to economic opportunities, and gendered experiences in workplaces (particularly gender-based violence in the workplace) all harm Canada’s economy. We know that sexual assault and other sexual offences costs Canada $4.8 billion yearly, and spousal violence alone costs Canada $7.4 billion, according to the Department of Justice.
If addressing the economy is the focus, then working to end gender-based violence should be at the top of the list. We know the intergenerational impacts of GBV on rates of homelessness, physical, mental and reproductive health, food security, financial wellness, education, and more.
Working towards gender equality is not done at the expense of – but is a firm requirement for – economic growth.
Aura Freedom, alongside over 200 feminist organizations, is urging the Canadian government to restore the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and its dedicated department/ministry. We will continue to advocate for the reprioritization of gender equity at the federal level and beyond.
For the full joint statement, click the link below.