Status of Women committee  The provisional rules, the provisions that will come in on the federal side will provide for rules on the breakdown of marriage, but also provide for a mechanism where individuals can seek emergency protection orders and go to court to apply for a remedy, but in a very simple way

Status of Women committee  Thank you for the question. The matrimonial rural property legislation was enacted relatively recently, in 2013, but a lot of steps have been going forward in terms of its implementation. There will be provisional federal rules that will begin on December 16, 2014. A national ce

Status of Women committee  As some specific examples, the legislation provides for law-making authority of first nations. They can choose, for the first time, to make their own laws specifically targeting matrimonial real property. Also, the legislation provides for default provisions if first nations choo

Status of Women committee  Yes, I would agree. It has several elements to it. Sure, first nations will be able to turn to the centre of excellence for advice on the contents of matrimonial real property laws, but more than that, they can turn to it for advice on the federal provisional rules. If you don'

Status of Women committee  I would answer by saying that the idea for the centre of excellence is to house it within an existing aboriginal institutional organization that already has experience dealing with more urban communities, more prosperous communities, and remote and isolated and very challenged co

Status of Women committee  They are going to be arm's length. I respect those institutions. I know them, and they are very sophisticated at dealing with the great differences in circumstances of first nations across the country. It's not that one size fits all. It's not one size fits all under this legisla

Status of Women committee  Try it.

Status of Women committee  If I may offer to the committee, you're raising a lot of points in respect of funding for housing and for police services, women's shelters, and so on. Perhaps we could get back to the committee with some information about the funding levels in respect of those programs specifica

Status of Women committee  Yes, and I would add as well that the focus is on working with an existing aboriginal institution so that they have some capacity to start. There's a one-year transition period so there will be time for the centre of excellence to prepare, but it's not starting from zero with an

Status of Women committee  If I could add briefly to what Ms. Greene said, in most provinces the courts, police, and so on, are already familiar with emergency protection orders. As the concept implies, it's an emergency response, so you deal with it very quickly. This legislation would extend a very simil

Status of Women committee  We have to respect the decisions of Parliament. We have taken some steps as a department to try to disclose as much information as we can about the proposed legislation. If—

Status of Women committee  If I may, I think the answer is—

Status of Women committee  —we do have to respect Parliament in terms of moving too fast on how we're implementing the legislation. You're making a good point—

Status of Women committee  I understand, and if I may I would say, yes, we have worked on a draft implementation plan. We have provided for the public notification of the level of funding proposed for the centre of excellence.

Status of Women committee  Yes, I think we would be prepared to do that. Again, it's subject to final Treasury Board approval. I would also just say for the record, though, that Wendy Grant-John has made some very good points about the importance of the implementation of legislation, not just what legislat