Waterloo Region Agencies Sound Alarm on Proposed Federal Cuts to Women and Gender Equality Canada

Waterloo Region, ON – Local gender-based violence (GBV) organizations are raising urgent concerns about proposed federal cuts that would slash the budget of Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) by nearly 80% by 2027-28. 

The Leadership Table for Waterloo Region’s GBV Strategy, a coalition of local agencies and institutions working collaboratively, warns that such drastic reductions would destabilize essential services across the country and reverse decades of progress in advancing gender equity. 

“Gender-based violence is not an abstract issue in Waterloo Region. It is a crisis,” said Sara Casselman, Executive Director, Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC). “Federal leadership and investment through WAGE are essential to sustaining multi-sector responses to this epidemic.” 

The Local Context 

• In 2019, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives ranked the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area as the least safe urban center in Canada for women. 

• In 2023, Waterloo Region declared gender-based violence an epidemic. 

• The Region has the third highest rates of sex trafficking in the country, with survivors requiring intensive, long-term supports. 

• Local agencies continue to face overwhelming demand and persistent waitlists for counselling, crisis response, and shelter services. 

National Concerns 
The Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres (OCRCC), YWCA Canada, and the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW-ICREF) have all spoken out against the proposed cuts, warning they would be “devastating” for front-line services and “effectively gut the entire department responsible for women’s rights and gender equality in this country.” 
 
Local Leaders Speak Out 

• “WAGE funding was the catalyst for a fundamental change in how we address women's homelessness in our region. It allowed us at the YWCA Cambridge to conduct on-the-ground research into the realities of women's homelessness, enabling us to build an irrefutable case that ultimately led to the opening of Cambridge's first-ever women’s emergency homeless shelter. Slashing the WAGE budget actively reverses progress like this, cutting off the very pipeline of innovation and research that allows frontline organizations to adapt and meet crises head-on, putting the safety and stability of the most vulnerable women in our community directly at risk." – Kim Decker, CEO, YWCA Cambridge 

• “WAGE funding has been a lifeline for local survivors of sexual violence as the demand for our services have risen dramatically. It allowed SASC to pivot online during the pandemic, expand our capacity to support survivors, and strengthen programs like human trafficking response and public education. Cuts of this scale would harm essential services for people experiencing gender-based violence in our community.” – Sara Casselman, Executive Director, SASC

•  “WAGE funding has been essential for small frontline organizations like SHORE Centre. Without it, we wouldn’t have had the capacity to plan for the future or safeguard our organization. Since 2021, these investments have strengthened services and set clear goals. The reality is this decrease reflects a broader pattern of withdrawing support from agencies serving marginalized communities. When funding is pulled, services are reduced, and survivors of gender-based violence ultimately pay the price.” – Lindsay Sweeney, Executive Director, SHORE Centre 
   

Call to Action 
The Leadership Table for Waterloo Region’s GBV Strategy is urging the federal government to: 

• Protect and sustain core funding for WAGE, particularly programs addressing gender-based violence and survivor support. 

• Provide stable, multi-year funding that allows communities to plan and deliver coordinated services. 

• Renew and expand national initiatives such as the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence and the 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund. 

• Apply Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) to all fiscal decisions. 

Click here to read our letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality, and Waterloo Region's MPs.

Click here to learn more about the Waterloo Region GBV Strategy, co-chaired by SASC and Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.

Waterloo Region’s Gender-Based Violence Leadership Table feels strongly that these cuts would jeopardize not only federal commitments to gender equality but also the safety, dignity, and futures of survivors in communities across Canada. 

Media Contacts: 

Sara Casselman, Executive Director, Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region – [email protected]  

Jennifer Hutton, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, Co-Chair of the Leadership Table, [email protected]​

Kim Decker, CEO, YWCA Cambridge – [email protected]