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Results: 1 - 15 of 287
View Lenore Zann Profile
Lib. (NS)
Thank you so much, Adam. Thank you for being so generous and for thinking of my time as well.
I want to say thank you to the witnesses. I know this is a difficult topic, but it's very, very important.
I want to highlight some of the things that Ms. Blaney mentioned, which are totally what I agree with. It is about misogyny. It is about patriarchy. It is about the inequality for women in society and the complete disdain and contempt that some men have towards women and girls. It needs to stop now. The more femicides we hear about, the more angry, really, I become. I know that these can all be averted if people are educated to believe that we are all equal, that you can have your emotions and be upset about something, but it doesn't mean you can kill somebody or try to control somebody else. This is all about control and domination. These are all colonial attitudes and actions anyway. By and large, I believe most women have been affected by this, our first nations people in particular, and I'm so, so, so sorry.
In the submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the Native Women's Association of Canada stated that some of the recurring themes that contribute to the recruitment of indigenous women in trafficking include—we've talked about them today—precarious housing and poor living conditions; high rates of unemployment, unstable employment and low working wages; lack of access to social and economic resources and programs; prior exposure to human trafficking and sex trade from a young age, through family or friends; and family violence and the impacts of colonization, such as residential school experience and intergenerational trauma.
So tell us about “nothing about us without us”. What are the first steps we need to take to make sure we can crack down on this terrible practice of human trafficking? Putting a price—a price—on a woman's life is disgusting.
Ms. Blaney and Ms. Anderson, would you like to comment?
Fay Blaney
View Fay Blaney Profile
Fay Blaney
2021-06-15 12:17
Okay.
I tied “nothing about us without us” to the funding of autonomous indigenous women's organizations so that we can spread our wings, like I did, in women's centres and in university. Studying women's studies there is where I learned about what happened to me.
It becomes so normalized. There is a book called Black Eyes All of the Time. I think we need another book that talks about the sexual abuse of indigenous girls and how that becomes so normalized that being trafficked isn't so far removed from our reality. The remedy to that, as far as I'm concerned, is capacity building amongst ourselves as indigenous women.
I never know how to do this respectfully, and I do want to be respectful. I have concerns about the fact that we have a well-resourced Assembly of First Nations but a poorly resourced Native Women's Association of Canada that can't adequately represent our interests across the country, much less at a local level. We really need to do that capacity building ourselves. As a result of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, in 1972, I think, non-native women got women's centres all across this country. They got Status of Women Canada and the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. All of these things happened for non-indigenous women. We need our turn to do that. We need to decolonize from what was done to us in the Indian Act.
That's a long process. I fear we're not even starting that. We're still under the umbrella of our band councils and under this banner of colonialism, without specific focus on gendered colonialism, gendered racism and gendered poverty. Those things are pretty much absent, and they're eclipsed by the bigger questions of colonialism.
That's what I talk about a lot.
View Anju Dhillon Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you so much, Minister.
I'd also like to say how appreciative I am that you brought up Quebec and the 11 femicides that took place in just about the first four months of this year. It's very hard to stomach these, and we mourn the loss of these women.
I would like to ask you, please, if you can provide us with more details on the work to date of the national action plan to end gender-based violence.
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you so much, MP Dhillon.
To date, as part of our emergency response, we've supported more than 250 organizations in Quebec offering emergency gender-based violence supports with more than $17 million, and that's before budget 2021.
What budget 2021 offers with $601 million for a range of GBV programming is another down payment on the response to ending gender-based violence and providing supports [Technical difficulty—Editor] ways of ensuring that young men and boys, particularly, are healing and that they're part of the solution in [Technical difficulty—Editor] for human trafficking-related programs and capacity building.
There are even core funding supports for GBV organizations as well as a secretariat to coordinate the work with provinces, territories, indigenous partners, municipalities, civil society organizations and the federal government. Also, there are statistics, additional data, that we'll be banking and harnessing, as well as community-based research.
This budget is an important tool and an important step forward in our collective national fight to end gender-based violence.
View Andréanne Larouche Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Madam Minister, thank you for joining us on this day that affects me greatly as a Quebec woman. We are now up to our 13th femicide in Quebec. The figure turns our stomachs. That is the context in which we are meeting with you today, Madam Minister.
I understand that you have come to talk to us about matters such as the action plan to end gender-based violence. But the problem remains. Is it not time to review the strategy a little or to speed up the process?
Recently, I was in discussions with officials from Quebec's Department of Public Security and the Secrétariat à la condition féminine, in Quebec also, about the femicide issue. For them, one essential question remains: how much money goes directly to organizations? Quebec would like to know what the plan is.
Exactly how much money is going to go directly to organizations in Quebec?
There is money for coordination, prevention, statistics and studies, but how much money will go into the trenches, because that is where things are playing out? Implementing the strategy is fraught with delay, and unfortunately, women are still dying.
My condolences go to the loved ones of this 13th victim.
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
On behalf of the Government of Canada, on behalf of the Prime Minister, we extend our condolences to families and loved ones grieving deaths that are entirely preventable—entirely preventable.
It wasn't too long ago, Madam Larouche, when all of us, as MPs, were in the House of Commons for an emergency debate. The numbers were a lot lower, but the pain was just as intense and the deaths just as preventable when we debated, for the first time in the House of Commons, gender-based violence as an emergency issue. My team and I took notes, and actually what you see in the budget is an acceleration in the pace of the response and a significant investment from the federal government to move forward.
As you pointed out, there are 132 sexual assault centres and non-indigenous shelters that have received federal funding over this past year, and there are 113 gender-based violence service organizations and seven indigenous off-reserve shelters that have received emergency supports. Moving forward, we are in regular conversation with our colleagues in Quebec and in other provinces to make sure these dollars get to the front lines quickly and that there's no lag in the time it takes for organizations in Quebec to receive funding compared to everybody else in the country.
Madam Chair, I am always open to ideas on how to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness, as well as the equity, in these programs. If colleagues want to reach out to me with their input, please do. I'm happy to take that call and happy to be part of this work.
I assure you, however, that just like you, I am haunted by every single death, by every single headline. Those are just the ones we know of. There are women sleeping in their cars right now because they have nowhere else to go. There are women staying in abusive relationships because they don't know there are other places they can go. There are women trapped in harmful circumstances because of poverty. That is the work we can all do together to move forward and create more choice and opportunity for women and non-binary folks in this country.
View Andréanne Larouche Profile
BQ (QC)
Madam Minister, I wanted to ask you some other questions and I was trying to signal to you.
First of all, during the emergency debate, I pointed out that, last time, there had been a difference of six months between Quebec and the other provinces in terms of signing the bilateral agreements. For me, efficiency means speeding up the signing of bilateral agreements when it is high time to transfer the money. Quebec wants to put that money to use and has the ability and the jurisdiction to do so.
The Department of Public Security and the Secrétariat à la condition féminine are asking for the signing of the bilateral agreements to be speeded up. If we are to be effective, we must also avoid duplications. There is an action plan to end gender-based violence, and there is a federal gender-based violence strategy.
What is the difference between the two?
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
The federal strategy that Patty Hajdu brought into effect back in 2017, because of her work, was the first time the federal government was coordinating its efforts and investing significantly in gender-based violence. It gave us statistics and data we didn't have before.
This next phase is phase two of Canada's response to gender-based violence. It has three times as much funding, and of course we've built partnerships, programs and efficiencies that will scale up. If colleagues have input into how to move that work quickly forward, particularly in Quebec, that's a priority for me too and I'm all ears.
View Sonia Sidhu Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Minister.
Budget 2021 has set aside specific funding allocation towards programming for men and boys. I believe this is the first time we are prioritizing this group in the work of preventing and addressing gender-based violence.
Could you speak to why this grew to be such a significant priority in the work you do?
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
We worked with Mr. Terry Duguid, who was my parliamentary secretary for a time and built a framework to support men and boys in the work to address and prevent gender-based violence.
The new investments in budget 2021 expand on the work we've already done and allow us the opportunities to build systems and networks of organizations that are feminist in their approach and support men and boys as they help other men and boys heal and become champions for equity and change.
View Andréanne Larouche Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
In my previous comment, I pointed out that the Department of Public Security and the Secrétariat à la condition féminine are still asking for details about the transfers of funds for shelters to assist women victims. They are also asking that more money be invested for social and affordable housing.
The Minister says that she is proud to be part of a government that calls itself feminist. So why has the government been letting the Deschamps report gather dust since 2015? The investigation actually began with Quebec reporters in 2014, and recommendations were made in the Deschamps report in 2015.
The report on the RCMP by Justice Bastarache shows once more that women in the RCMP are victims of all kinds of crimes and they are not in a good situation. But the Bastarache report is still on the shelf.
They may say they are feminist, but they have delayed in implementing the recommendations of the core working group that published the 2021 national action plan for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Indigenous women's groups had to go public to condemn the delays in implementing the recommendations before the government became involved.
My colleague Ms. Mathyssen spoke about pay equity. How long have we been talking about that? Even the Minister said that they were talking about the importance of pay equity 50 years ago. The government may talk about it, but the equity has yet to be achieved.
As for the action plan to end gender-based violence, we have often asked for dates and specifics as to the money invested to assist women who are victims of violence.
So many files are gathering dust! I will not even mention women aged from 65 to 74, whom the government has completely forgotten. According to recent announcements, they will receive nothing. However, the seniors who are the most forgotten and the most likely to be poor are women. They are not waiting until they are 75 to be poor. Between 65 and 74, women seniors suffer from poverty and isolation. The pandemic has made it all worse, as it has increased the difficulty for women to take their place in the world of business.
Is the Minister working with her fellow ministers? Our justice system needs to be reworked, because money will not be enough.
Madam Minister, you have 30 seconds to tell us in a few words how the discussions between ministers and your colleagues are going.
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, my colleague just asked eight questions, so I will try to answer as quickly as I can in the order she asked them.
On public safety and the status of women and our partnership with Quebec, we have a great relationship with them and will continue to work out the details. I hope colleagues vote for the budget so that those funds can flow starting this June.
On housing, we've signed an agreement with Quebec, and we're moving forward with additional funds in the budget.
On DND, my colleague is right. Despite all the progress that's been made, not enough has been done, and we're committed to accelerating that work and additional resources in the budget will help, but that alone will not help. This conversation is part of the greater reckoning we're having as a country, and that culture change has to be part of it.
On pay equity, as she asked, as my previous colleague asked, pay equity legislation is actually moving forward on time, despite COVID, and those regulations will come into effect this year. Employers will have time to then build those plans.
My colleague asked about gender-based violence and seniors as well. I agree women in rural communities, particularly those 55 and up, are hardest hit, and we're working hard to ensure that they have the security and supports they need.
On GBV, we've already rolled out historic investments, and as soon as the funds are unlocked from budget 2021, we'll roll those out quickly as well, so they get to the front lines quickly.
Last, on women entrepreneurs, I was there when Bardish Chagger developed the strategy and ensured that that feminist lens was applied. We're collecting data. Mary Ng is responsible for that file now. She's increased investments for women entrepreneurs during COVID, of course, but budget 2021 also includes additional supports for them. Women entrepreneurs make up about 16% of businesses. We need to double that number, and our government's committed to ensuring that happens.
View Arnold Viersen Profile
CPC (AB)
Ms. Van De Bogart, much of the national strategy to combat human trafficking is devoted to prevention. What percentage of the funding goes to prevention?
View Lenore Zann Profile
Lib. (NS)
Thank you very much. Actually, I will be getting there, so thank you for starting that question.
I want to say to begin with that I know our government has acknowledged that indigenous women and girls experience some of the highest rates of violence in this country and that the COVID‑19 pandemic has only exacerbated this already dire situation. Recently we've seen deeply distressing stories in the media about the lack of proper treatment of indigenous children in care. This is unacceptable.
When women are provided the supports they need to allow them to evade potentially compromising situations, there is a lowered likelihood for exploitation. With regard to specific funding for gender-based violence prevention programming for indigenous women, funding now has been distinguished as capacity building for indigenous and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. That's because the missing and murdered women and girls inquiry necessitated that distinction. The allocated funding for this year's budget, budget 2021, represents $415 million specifically for the Department of Women and Gender Equality, which contributes to a total of $601.3 million to advance the national action plan to end gender-based violence.
I have a question for Public Safety.
In 2019, Canada's national strategy to combat human trafficking added the new pillar of empowerment to emphasize the important role that victims and survivors play in combatting human trafficking. Can you update our committee on what kind of work is being done under this new pillar and on what new funding is being provided to grassroots organizations to facilitate trauma-informed support?
Alia Butt
View Alia Butt Profile
Alia Butt
2021-06-01 13:06
Good afternoon.
I'd like to acknowledge at the outset that I am participating in this call from Ottawa and that I am on the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinabe Nation.
Thank you for welcoming me here today so that I can share a few observations for your study on sex trafficking of indigenous peoples.
We know that indigenous women and girls, women who are newcomers to Canada, Black and racialized women and those living in poverty are at particular risk of being trafficked.
In fact, according to Statistics Canada, in 2019, 95% of victims of human trafficking identified by police in Canada were women and girls.
Human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a form of gender-based violence. WAGE is leading the government's efforts to develop a national action plan to end gender-based violence. Budget 2021 committed an investment of $601.3 million over five years to advance this national action plan, which will be achieved in collaboration with indigenous partners, provincial and territorial governments and civil society. WAGE will receive $415 million of this investment, including $105 million over five years to enhance the gender-based violence program, which includes efforts to stop human trafficking.
WAGE has been working closely with Public Safety Canada to support the national strategy to combat human trafficking. Last year, WAGE launched a call for proposals to support organizations on the front lines to develop and implement promising practices to enhance supports for at-risk populations of victims and survivors of human trafficking.
We approved 43 projects to receive $14 million in funding. Some of the projects we funded include one by the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association, which is working to develop and implement the Nova Scotia indigenous human trafficking prevention strategy that will advance knowledge and enhance empowerment supports for at-risk populations and survivors of human trafficking in Nova Scotia. Also, there is the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association, which is working to develop and implement an indigenous, youth-led, culturally relevant prevention training and education program that will advance knowledge and awareness and empower at-risk indigenous youth and indigenous survivors of human trafficking in Alberta.
We are also striving to ensure that organizations that provide critical services to victims and survivors of gender-based violence are supported through the pandemic. For example, last year, as part of the government's COVID-19 economic response plan, we at WAGE provided $90 million in funding to women's shelters, sexual assault centres, women's organizations and other organizations, providing supports to over 800,000 women and children experiencing gender-based violence across the country.
We also work closely with Indigenous Services Canada to ensure there are supports to indigenous women and children experiencing gender-based violence. As part of the budget 2021 investments that I just mentioned, $200 million will continue to support this critical sector. Another $55 million has been specifically earmarked to bolster the capacity of indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations to provide gender-based violence prevention programming aimed at addressing the root causes of violence against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
Through all of our program and policy work at WAGE, we continue toward advancing gender equality by removing systemic barriers, preventing and addressing gender-based violence, enhancing women's economic security and increasing women's representation in leadership roles.
Thank you. Again, my apologies for the issues at the onset of the meeting.
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