Thank you, Mr. Chair. It’s an honour to be back in the House representing the people of Kildonan—St. Paul. They elected me to fight for everyday Canadians, and I’ve been working hard to deliver that to them during this devastating pandemic.
I’m proud to say the Conservative team has made real progress over the last two months advocating for people left behind by this government. Before I get started, I would like to sincerely thank my Conservative colleagues from Elgin—Middlesex—London and Calgary Skyview, as well as our shadow minister of employment, on their excellent work advocating for Canadian women.
This Liberal government has left many women behind during this pandemic, and were it not for the dedication and perseverance of my colleagues, many would still be without support. They are making real change in the lives of Canadian women, and I’m proud to serve alongside them. While I thank the Minister for Women and Gender Equality for providing us with an update on how previously announced funding is being spent, I have grave concern for the vulnerable women’s organizations whose funding has been cut by her government and must be restored.
This is very troubling because the true heroes are on the front lines working tirelessly every day during this pandemic to support Canada’s most vulnerable women and girls, yet last week we learned that nine organizations across Canada, organizations like the London Abused Women’s Centre, that support women who are victims of sex trafficking were hit with the devastating news that this government was cutting their funding. The federal government cut their funding for programming that worked to stop the sex trafficking of women and girls. By the end of May, they will no longer be able to provide sex trafficking counselling to women in need in London. This is devastating news because this program provided support to over 3,000 women and girls over five years. This program was originally funded under the previous Conservative government.
Executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, Megan Walker, has bravely stood up against the Liberal government’s cuts. Her recent remarks really hit home for me. “I feel sick,” she said. “All we know is there’s no funding for programs like ours across the country. The individuals who are going to suffer are those who are sometimes the most marginalized in our society—women and girls who are forced into the sex trade to do horrendous things. It’s actually really heartbreaking.” The Conservatives agree wholeheartedly with Megan, and we stand with her and the eight other organizations across Canada that have had their funding cut and will no longer be able to support vulnerable women as they did before this government’s cuts.
The minister mentioned in her remarks that $10 million of previously announced funds will be redistributed to, as she said, “address gaps”. This sounds nice, but there are no real details or any commitments being made to these organizations. Meanwhile women’s groups are reporting that sex trafficking has been on the rise in this pandemic. I’m sure many of these groups will hear the minister’s remarks today. She could take the opportunity in the House at any time to announce that funding will be restored for these nine organizations and, really, it would be quite simple for this government, given that they’re shovelling billions of dollars out the door every day. This is really just a drop in the bucket for these organizations, but it would mean a world of difference to them. I hope the minister makes the choice to put these organizations at ease by standing up today in the House, on the record, and restoring their funding.
If the minister does choose to do this, it may provide more public confidence in her government with regard to their ability to support women impacted by the pandemic, which is important because, as she well knows, the economic impact to Canadians has been especially severe for women. There were just over three million jobs lost in March and April alone, with women facing a higher rate of unemployment according to Statistics Canada. Female employment dropped 17% compared to 14% for men, with women 15 to 24 years old suffering the biggest drop, at a 38% decline in employment. In my home province of Manitoba, 56% of Manitobans who lost their jobs between February and April were women, compared to 44% who were men.
The hospitality, retail and restaurant sectors, which employ primarily women, have been at a standstill since mid-March, as we well know, which has forced many women to apply for the CERB because the government’s rollout of the wage subsidy program has not been effective and, worse, their slow rollouts and the complicated, arbitrary red tape restrictions on program funding have shut out many female entrepreneurs in my riding from government support. Shamefully, this government originally left out expectant mothers who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. They were unable to access the CERB for over a month. Many pregnant women faced losing portions of their maternity benefits that they were planning to use after their babies were born. Conservatives heard their concerns, held this government accountable on behalf of expectant mothers and changes were made, a victory for Canadian women.
Over the past week, our Conservative team has been calling on the government to find a solution for women whose ex-partners cannot provide spousal support. These women face the loss of thousands of dollars in spousal payments and they do not qualify for the CERB, but the courts are not enforcing the payment of these spousal support payments. The Prime Minister's response to this urgent issue was simply to ignore the women across Canada facing the prospect of either paying their rent or putting food on the table for their children. The minister does not have to wait another month to make a statement in the House in support of women. She can commit today to work with opposition members to find a solution for women facing severe shortfalls because of lost child support payments.
Canadians have seen first-hand that when the government works together with the Conservative opposition, Canada's women and families benefit.
Just last week, in fact, the Minister of Employment announced that much-needed benefits like the guaranteed income supplement, the Canada child benefit and the GST/HST credit would not be cut off for individuals and parents who do not file their taxes by June 1, so those who don't get their paperwork in won't automatically have their benefits cut off.
I am pleased that the minister considered and accepted this policy change proposal from my Conservative colleague, the member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry. His work will benefit millions of Canadians.
Before I conclude, I would like to bring to the minister's attention an issue that I've raised with her department before. The only Women and Gender Equality Canada regional office in western Canada is in Edmonton. As of last year, the six dedicated staff have helped women's organizations deliver programming in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
I know the minister would agree that western Canadian women need more support than this. The scale of the challenges facing women in Manitoba during this pandemic is daunting. We have the largest number of children in care, per capita, in the world, with over 10,000 children in the child welfare system, over 90% of whom are indigenous.
Additionally, gender-based violence continues to be a persistent issue in the Prairies, particularly in Manitoba where women face what are among the highest rates of domestic violence in the country. Just this past Friday, Marie Morin, a Winnipeg woman, was murdered, allegedly by her partner in what police called an act of domestic violence.
Manitoba women and girls need support. They need more help.
I would ask that the minister consider opening a Women and Gender Equality Canada regional office in Manitoba so that the federal government can do its part to better support my province's most vulnerable women and girls. The women's organizations that support vulnerable women in Manitoba are working overtime during this pandemic. It's really incredible, actually. I'm so proud of the hard work that organizations in my riding are doing to support our communities, organizations like Marymound, which is a safe place where young, vulnerable girls can go to heal and be supported and loved.
These organizations are so important, and I urge the government to do everything it can to support them during this challenging time.
Finally, given our important discussion today concerning victims of sex trafficking, I would be remiss if I did not give sincere thanks and acknowledgement to the former Conservative member of Parliament from my riding of Kildonan—St. Paul, Joy Smith. She made Canadian history as the first sitting MP to amend the Criminal Code twice, both times to better protect victims of human trafficking with mandatory minimum sentencing for traffickers of children, and to better protect Canadian citizens and permanent residents abroad from trafficking and exploitation. Joy Smith continues to do phenomenal work on this file, and I am truly honoured to carry the torch for Kildonan—St. Paul in the House of Commons to advocate for Canada's most vulnerable women and girls.