The money is being added to address “gaps” in Ottawa’s $3.5-billion initiative on maternal, newborn and child health, which was created in 2015.

“For far too many women and girls, unsafe abortions and a lack of choices in reproductive health mean that they either are at risk of death, or simply cannot contribute and cannot achieve their potential,” Trudeau said during an event Wednesday to mark International Women’s Day.

“The right of women to choose when, how (and) with whom to start a family is one that we all must fight for and defend.”

Non-governmental-organizations, foreign governments, and international aid groups will apply for access to the newly-allocated money, according to a government release on the announcement.

The money is also meant to help prevent forced marriages and female genital mutilation.

Trudeau, a proud feminist who was appointed an ambassador for gender equality by the United Nations, said more men should follow his lead and push for women’s rights.

This comes after a much-discussed Facebook post by his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, which suggested that women should celebrate the feminist men who support gender equality.

“This is a day, like every day, that we should recognize that we all need to work together to recognize that women’s rights are everyone’s responsibility,” Trudeau told reporters after the funding announcement.

He was asked about the American decision to invoke the so-called Mexico City Policy, which bars government funding from NGOs that perform abortions in other countries, and whether some would argue that his move to fund abortions could be perceived as equally “ideological.”

Trudeau said Canada “will always be there to protect women’s rights,” which he views as fundamental.

“My decision to defend the right to abortion for Canadians, for people all over the world, is a reflection of my profound belief in the right of women to make their own choices,” he said.

Trudeau has promised to promote gender equality at home and abroad, but advocates for the rights of women and girls say he still has a lot of work to do.

They are calling for more subsidized child-care spaces, a national strategy to end gender-based violence and a new law to ensure men and women get equal pay for work of equal value.

“For Canada to say we are a leader on gender equality is one thing, but to act like a leader is something else entirely,” Megan Hooft, deputy director of Canada Without Poverty, said Tuesday as she appeared before the status of women committee ahead of the Daughters of the Vote, a program that brought 338 young women to Parliament Hill to encourage more female participation and influence in Canadian politics.

On Monday, Oxfam Canada released its own assessment of how the Liberal government has been doing on feminist issues, giving Trudeau credit for naming the same number of men and women to cabinet, restoring funding for groups advocating for women and girls and improving the use of gender-based analysis.

The report called out his government, however, for waiting until next year to bring in pay-equity legislation that would ensure men and women get equal pay for work of equal value.

“It’s definitely the time to speed up,” said Diana Sarosi, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam Canada.

The advocates who appeared before the committee on the status of women all called for subsidized child care spaces as the surest way to boost female participation in the workforce, including making it easier for women with part-time jobs to gain full-time employment and earn more.

They also called for dedicated leave for the second parent, as a way to increase the involvement of men when it comes to undertaking what is, in effect, unpaid work in the household.

With files from The Canadian Press

Source:Thestar.com