Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all of our witnesses for coming forward during this pandemic to testify. We hope that you and your families and loved ones are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic.
I'd like to start with two questions for Ms. Kamateros and Ms. Martin.
Thank you for your work in providing supports for women who are escaping violence.
Prior to the pandemic it was estimated in Canada—and this is a deplorable fact—that over 400 women escaping violence had nowhere to go in Canada because of the negligence of the previous government and of the current government. As my first question, I would like know where you see that figure today. How many women are still not able to find resources when they need it when they're escaping family violence?
My second question is related to how we can get to there, where every woman has a place to go to when they're escaping violence. We saw at the beginning of the pandemic $750 billion going in liquidity supports to Canada's big banks. Many people have proposed a wealth tax—it wasn't in the budget—that would provide $10 billion annually in supports, for example, so that we can eliminate gender-based violence in this country.
How much do you think it would cost to actually put in place a network and supports so that every woman has a place to go to if they are escaping gender-based violence, escaping family violence?