Feminists, eh?: A 'Slash and Burn' Approach: Stephen Harper's Razing of Canada's Social Programs

The list below is a compilation of organizations and programs that have been cancelled, or had funding cut/reduced during the time Harper has been Prime Minister of Canada. This list has been floating around the internet for a while and I planned on posting it before the election. I think it is just as relevant following the election because we know who will be governing Canada for the next four years and we know what they are capable of. So this is a reminder of what has happened under the Harper government.

It is also a warning of what can happen in Ottawa - especially if the leaders that are paid by Canadian citizens to represent us are not held accountable. And who is going to hold them accountable? It'll have to be the electorate and the activists and the average citizens. It will also have to be the marginalized and their allies. Those of us with privilege - whether Whiteness, fluency in English or French, hetero-normative identity, university education or computer literacy - have a responsibility to recognize our social capital and use it to improve our society.

I do not take credit for compiling the list. I found several versions of the list, so I combined and cross-referenced them to avoid repetition. I also added the location of the organization and its website when relevant/possible. If you know who deserves credit for the list, and/or if you know of any organization or program that should (or shouldn't) be on this list, let me know in the comments!

Note: Obviously, the government cannot fund everything and my point is not that the government should fund everything. While I do think there were ideological motives behind the funding decisions, I admit that some cuts made were reasonable (especially in 2006). This CBC News page offers analysis of the cuts that reveals that some funding was unused and outdated (I didn't bother adding most of those to the list below).

To provide some perspective, I've categorized these organizations to help show what types of programs have lost funding. This is not scientific, but I did try to be consistent. Since most organizations address more than one issue ('cuz you know, all forms of oppression or marginalization are connected), the numbers probably won't add up.

Women --- Social Justice --- Immigrants/Marginalized Communities --- Policy Research/Legal Issues --- General Community Services --- Education --- First Nations --- International Development ---
Children/Child Care --- Employment --- Anti-racism/Multiculturalism ---
Climate/Environment --- Health Care --- Internet Access

Legend: Yellow (<5) Orange (5-10) Pink (11-15) Purple (15<)

Now, onto the list. Under Harper's Regime (2006-2011) the following has occurred:

ORGANIZATIONS
Numerous community organizations, agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research bodies and programs have been cancelled, or had their funding cut or dramatically decreased: