Good afternoon.
I want to begin by thanking the standing committee for inviting Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak to speak here today. The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up all of our lives, and it is critical that we come together to discuss the unique impacts it is having on Métis women and how to effectively respond to these evolving impacts.
I want to identify, too, that I'm on the land of Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 and the Métis homeland. I'm in Alberta.
One of the things that we believe, as women of the Métis Nation, that is really important is that we have a gendered, distinctions-based lens. That is absolutely needed in the federal government’s response to this pandemic. The federal government has been responding to that distinctions-based lens, which has made it so that we, as Métis people, are able to develop unique things towards our dealing with this pandemic. Métis women need to be included in the decisions, conversations and work that is done as it relates to us. There can be nothing about us without us.
I want to take a brief moment to illustrate what we are seeing in our communities. In areas with limited access to medical care, Métis women risk contracting the virus when they use public transit. What compounds this even further is that many Métis women are caregivers to many family members, creating multi-generational households, and thus risk spreading the virus to at-risk individuals, such as grandparents and infants. This is especially true for the many Métis women who are front-line, essential workers and do not have the luxury of staying at home.
We are seeing in Fort McMurray further outbreaks of COVID-19 because of the man camps and the working structures around the oil and gas sectors. Fort McMurray is also the second Métis community to have experienced flooding during this pandemic, adding another layer of crisis on top of the one that the entire country is facing. Fort McMurray is one of the historical Métis communities in Alberta, along with Fort Vermilion, which also experienced the flooding.
We are seeing in many communities that certain software and technologies are required to participate in school programs, but because of funding limitations, the responsibility falls to the parents to provide these. Métis women and families who cannot afford this are concerned that their children are going to fall behind because school isn't going to be resuming before the fall, if it even resumes then.
Navigating this pandemic is especially challenging for those without a stable Internet connection or even a basic connection to the Internet.
In many of the communities, Métis women cannot protect themselves and their families because there is no soap, hand sanitizer or toilet paper to be found. Food insecurity is also a very real issue, and even flour is unavailable throughout many communities. This is increasing the already mounting stress, anxiety and depression that many Métis women feel.
It cannot be emphasized enough how important it is that a careful approach is taken to address the occurrences of domestic violence and the situations of abuse that are increasing because of the stressors brought by this pandemic. In fact, violence and abuse are made even more possible because of increased isolation, not just at home but in the rural communities where isolation is more acutely felt. Abuse is now going on without regular monitoring because of reduced reporting and the lack of community support, as many child protective services are temporarily closed. Better monitoring is especially important for youth who are aging out of care during this pandemic.
Our communities and families aren’t in touch in the ways that they were before COVID-19 hit. When people aren’t in touch, there is increased concern surrounding human trafficking and missing persons. If a Métis woman goes missing during this time, very few people will even know about it.
Canada’s plan has expressly called for support for indigenous women, but rural and remote Métis women have considerably less access to shelters and sexual abuse centres. The federal government has prioritized funding supports for women’s shelters and sexual assault centres, but more must be done to ensure that rural Métis women can reach their supports, during this time especially.
That said—