My name is Manon Monastesse, of the Fédération de ressources d'hébergement pour femmes violentées et en difficulté du Québec. Last year, 9,000 women and children who were victims of violence took shelter in our 37 houses. Thank you for welcoming us here, especially on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25.
I would like to add this to what my colleague has just said. Hunting rifles and shotguns are also the weapons used most often to threaten women and children. Threats made with firearms are not counted in the statistics, but the damage they do is very real. How many women in shelters have told us that the simple fact of there being a hunting rifle beside the door was a constant threat to their safety! It is thanks to the fact that the police have seized such firearms that women have had access to our service and that they have been able to go to a shelter to ensure their complete safety and their physical integrity.
While Canada is often cited on the international scene as a leader in the area of firearms control, the repeated efforts in recent years to dismantle firearms control indicates a marked change in attitude. Freedom from fear is a fundamental human right, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the prevention of human rights violations with small arms and light weapons and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women have both pointed out that countries that did not adequately regulate firearms were not in compliance with their obligations under international law.
We firmly believe that the safety of women in Canada and Quebec must take precedence over what some people consider to be "bureaucratic hassle," which we feel are just basic formalities that are an integral part of a functioning democracy. A little hassle to save lives? It is not a question that should even be asked.
Since 1995, Quebec has been the only province with a spousal violence intervention policy. It is called Prévenir, dépister, contrer la violence conjugale. It required the police to:
Ensure the safety and protection of victims and their families: [...] If possible, by seizing firearms at the time of arrest, and otherwise, by ensuring that interim release provisions provide for them to be delivered forthwith to a peace officer;
This is why we expressly ask that you respect the position taken on September 22...