Released on July 12, 2007
Minister responsible for Status of Women Judy Junor announced today that the province will host a gathering of women from Northern Saskatchewan this fall aimed at building the leadership capacity of Aboriginal women in northern communities.This announcement follows the 26th annual meeting of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for the Status of Women, which took place in Iqaluit July 9 to 11. At this meeting, Saskatchewan's Status of Women Office joined with its federal, provincial and territorial counterparts in committing to improve the lives of Aboriginal women and girls. The Ministers responsible for the Status of Women also identified the importance of supporting Aboriginal women in leadership positions as one of their priorities for action to provide concrete support to Canadian women.
"The 2007 Iqaluit Declaration represents a commitment by all jurisdictions to work together to improve the lives of Aboriginal women and girls," Junor said. "The Government of Saskatchewan intends to begin action on this commitment by gathering women from our northern communities to strengthen their leadership capacity."
The Saskatchewan gathering builds directly on recommendations from the 2006 National Policy Forum on Aboriginal Women and Violence and the 2007 National Aboriginal Women's Summit. The gathering is being developed in consultation with Aboriginal and northern women's groups, former Minister responsible for Status of Women Joan Beatty and with Saskatchewan's Interdepartmental Committee of Advisors on Women's Policy.
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For more information, contact:
Shannon Dumba
Labour
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3021
Email: sdumba@lab.gov.sk.ca