UNPAC Coordinating Committee
Annual Report 2007 – 2008

United Nations Platform for Action Committee (Manitoba)

2007 saw the completion of the two-year project on gender budgeting with its grassroots outreach and treetops work with the Manitoba Government Treasury Board. A report was sent to the funders, Status of Women Canada, and to the MB Minister of Finance and copied to the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women. The report was also circulated to all women MLAs.

Our Program Coordinator, Jennifer de Groot, left on pregnancy leave and gave birth to son Zavi early in June.

Mandy Fraser and Muriel Smith have served as co-chairs for the year and have been gratified to welcome new members to the Coordinating Committee: Athena Kovacs, Emina Cingel, Justine Kiwanuka. Along with veterans Allyson Watts (Treasurer), Britany Toews and Gisèle Saurette-Roch, they oversaw and maintained the basic administrative functioning of UNPAC.

With limited resources and no paid staff, this past year provided its challenges. But with dedication, the work of UNPAC continued regardless. The Province of Manitoba generously provided UNPAC with an interim grant of $10,000. The main focus of the Coordinating Committee was on applying for and securing project funding from Status of Women Canada who underwent major changes in their mandate and grant terms and conditions.

The Status of Women proposal was originally denied. Special thank you to Muriel Smith, Sue Hudson, Becky Thiessen and Sarah Amyot for collaboratively revising the SWC application. Your efforts were instrumental in keeping UNPAC thriving.

In March of this year, our three-year “Women’s Economic Participation Mentorship Project” received funding from the Women’s Program. It is worth noting, too, that the office staff at the Women’s Program was more than willing to provide support and feedback to UNPAC throughout the re-application process. Muriel attended a seminar held in Winnipeg by SWC’s new Director Clare Beckton on revised criteria for the Women’s Program and received advice on how to complete the application forms.

Other initiatives throughout the year include:

• UNPAC participated in Winnipeg’s “Take Back the Night” march, September 20, 2007.
• A joint presentation was made by Muriel Smith from UNPAC and Lissa Donner from the Gender and Diversity Project to the Manitoba Women’s Advisory Council Lunch and Learn on February 21, 2008.
• UNPAC was represented at a FAFIA NGO Workshop at the United Nations Commission on Status of Women meetings in New York on February 26, 2008. Muriel Smith presented on the Manitoba experience of UNPAC in promoting gender budgeting by Government and better understanding by grassroots women as to how the provincial budget affects them, and on how they might play a part in shaping it.
• UNPAC representatives assisted informally with the Gender and Diversity Project launched within Govern-ment by the Minister of Finance.
• Muriel Smith and Jennifer deGroot attended the provincial budget hearings and the 2008-09 Budget Day on April 10.
• An annual report was submitted to the AGM held by Council of Women of Winnipeg of which UNPAC is a federate.
• Mary Scott continued to prepare and distribute Snippets to a wide list of subscribers. This electronic newsletter continued to cover local, provincial, national and international news and events.
• News was received that SWC had approved a three year grant for UNPAC to continue our gender responsive budgeting work. Permission was obtained to delay the start-up of the project until October when Jennifer de Groot will return from her pregnancy leave.

UNPAC would also like to congratulate Muriel Smith on being one of six women recipients of the 2007 Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Person's Case. She received the award in Ottawa on October 17. Also, described as a “status of woman and human rights advocate,” Muriel Smith was named an Officer of the Order of Canada on December 28. Muriel provides endless support and inspiration to the women she works with, and UNPAC is so very grateful to have her as part of our family.

This fall will mark yet another chapter in UNPAC’s contribution to women’s empowerment in Manitoba. In last years’ Chair Report, Muriel wrote, “The future remains uncertain.” Now that we have received funding from SWC, our work will continue full-throttle. We will once again have paid staff, and thus be able to continue our efforts in keeping abreast of what is being accomplished locally, nationally and internationally to implement the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action document.

With our next project, we very much look forward to building on the relationships and networks that were accomplished through our two previous projects, “Women and the Economy” and the “Gender Budget Project.” Through our solidarity work with women from across the province, UNPAC remains an integral part of the women’s movement in Manitoba.