As people around the world gather today to celebrate International Women’s Day – and there is plenty to celebrate – we also re-commit ourselves to ending the inequalities and inequities facing women in Canada and around the world. For instance, in his special report on housing in Canada that is being presented to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council on Monday, UN Special Rapporteur Miloon Kothari notes that there are still many inequities facing women, including Aboriginal women, when it comes to ensuring adequate housing in Canada. In his report, Mr. Kothari notes that women face discrimination, inadequate living conditions and income disparity – and that recent policies of the federal government (including, it should be added, several embedded in the latest federal budget) have made a bad situation worse. He calls for Aboriginal women to be part of all decision-making processes affecting Aboriginal people. For IWD 2009, it is worth reflecting that Canada has made some important steps forward, but women have also suffered some terrible steps backward.