National Strategy

: Read the Status of Women presentation documentRCMP database on missing persons is overdue, over budget "Canada has no comprehensive national strategy to address violence against women, lagging behind several comparable countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand," says the draft document marked "secret." The internal report says Canada lacks a national strategy on violence against women, according to CBC. The candid assessment, never intended for public release, is dated Feb. 10 this year and was ordered by the Privy Council Office to alert deputy ministers across many departments about issues facing women and girls in Canada. According to the report, this country is in the bottom ranks in terms of the pay gap between men and women; support for child care and parental leave is well below average; the country registers 57th for gender equality in Parliament elected members; and it lacks a national strategy to halt violence against women. A copy of the 35-page presentation — with five pages of "policy implications" blacked out entirely as "advice" — was obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act. Kathleen Lahey, a law professor at Queen University, says the secret report from Status of Women Canada is surprisingly accurate and comprehensive in its candid portrayal of women lives in Canada. Minister declines comment An expert on the ways women are affected by public policy said she was surprised by the accuracy and completeness of the analysis, given the federal government "limited approach to gender issues." "I'm really disappointed that this document didn't make it into the public sphere," said Kathleen Lahey, law professor at Queen University in Kingston, Ont. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.