Status of Women committee  Since I work with lots of group homes, I wanted to add that, instead of just revisiting child welfare, we also need to listen to these kids. There is not much counselling and support in the school and also in the foster care homes. The first approach they take is medication. It's heartbreaking for children to be on medication for their mental disorders.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely it would, especially if it's an early intervention, such as upon their arrival. We can, at least, prevent them from escalating and ending up in the ER. That's the first thing: direct support. The other thing is to have more training on cultural competency and cultural sensitivity for other care providers, because they are working on a daily basis with this population and with these communities.

Status of Women committee  A lot of work has been done to ask the federal government to move forward toward implementing any type of legislation to prevent hate speech, especially on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Yet, I don't think any action has taken place. Speaking about Bill 21, many bills in our legislation reinforce that type of hate globally and nationally, as well.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely they are, because we don't feel that we are in control of our choice. Regardless of what a woman wants to wear or doesn't want to wear, it is definitely her choice. I've been reading the news about Switzerland recently. I think they now fine you 10,000 euros or something if you wear this in public or at a workplace.

Status of Women committee  Thank you so much, Jenna, for your question. When we speak about the impact of Islamophobia, on a daily basis you face discrimination and racism. That absolutely leads to you feeling.... First, you're afraid to walk on the street. The participants we had at the pilot reported not feeling safe going out alone at night, not feeling safe being on the bus by themselves or needing to inform, for example, their friend or spouse that they're at this location.

Status of Women committee  To comment on the first part, it's amazing that Winnipeg has diverse backgrounds and is doing great in terms of having more variety and culturally sensitive supports. In order to add to that, we need to have community-based organizations, as mentioned by Sarah, that provide early intervention and safe spaces for newcomer women and immigrants.

Status of Women committee  Thank you so much for your question. Just to clarify, do you mean the gap in how the federal government can give funding to community-based resources or services to support racialized women and marginalized populations and young girls?

Status of Women committee  That's a great question. It's about supporting them with early intervention and mental health support that is catered towards the trauma they have and the culture they come from, for example, especially now that we are open to a variety of cultures like Syrian, Afghan, Middle Eastern, etc.

Status of Women committee  Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable committee members. Thank you so much for inviting me to speak today. It's such a great honour. My name is Abrar Mechmechia. I am a Canadian Syrian mental health counsellor with expertise in working with trauma since 2014, back home and in Canada.