Thank you, Madam Chair.
It's truly a pleasure to be here to join the members of the status of women committee. I commend you for addressing such an important issue as this one.
Madam Chair, honourable members, it is a pleasure for me to be here today with my colleague, Minister Nicholson.
I would also like to acknowledge Inspector Kevin Jones from National Aboriginal Policing Services at the RCMP. Also joining us is Suzanne Clément, Coordinator and Head of Agency for Status of Women Canada, and Linda Savoie, Director General of the Women's Program.
As Minister for Status of Women, I am here today to discuss Status of Women Canada funding and update the committee on funding for the Native Women's Association of Canada.
Over the last five years, our government has taken action to help women be safer, more secure and more economically successful.
Through the Women's Program, Status of Women Canada provides funding for projects across Canada that yield real results for women and girls.
Our government has increased funding to the Women's Program to its highest levels ever, nearly doubling it since 2006.
Last year alone, SWC provided more than $19 million in grants and contribution funding to organizations, in support of more than 350 projects.
These projects address Status of Women Canada's three priority areas: eliminating violence against women and girls, increasing women's economic security, and advancing women's participation in the democratic process.
Last year we introduced the continuous intake process that allows the women's program to accept applications on an ongoing basis. As a result, Status of Women Canada can respond to groups faster and work more closely with them as they develop their projects.
Officials from Status of Women Canada involve other relevant government departments such as Indian and Northern Affairs and Justice Canada in the review of these projects. This new approach increases our ability to respond to emerging issues, allows other potential funding partners to express an interest in contributing to certain projects, and enables us to draw on expertise from across government.
Recently we also introduced the blueprint projects program to the women's program. This new program gives groups the option of adapting one of seven ready-made models to their region instead of spending time and resources to develop a new project from scratch.
We've also worked to address honour-based violence by engaging community organizations in order to raise awareness about and respond to this very important issue.
Violence against women is an issue that cuts across communities, regions, provinces, and territories, and aboriginal women and girls are particularly vulnerable. Our government is working with organizations across Canada to eliminate this issue.
As Minister for Status of Women, I am pleased that Status of Women Canada is collaborating with aboriginal organizations across Canada, such as the Native Women's Association of Canada.
In March 2010, Status of Women Canada provided funding of $500,000 to the Native Women's Association for the recently completed Evidence to Action project. This project aimed to strengthen the abilities of aboriginal women and girls to recognize and respond to violence in their families and communities and to break the cycle of violence.
Last week, when I announced close to $1.9 million in funding for the second phase of this project, entitled Evidence to Action II, Ms. Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, said, “This commitment shows that the Government of Canada and NWAC have a shared dedication to ending violence against Aboriginal women and girls”.
This second phase will strengthen the ability of communities, governments, educators, and service providers to respond to the root causes of violence against aboriginal women and girls. Our ongoing support of the initiatives of the Native Women's Association of Canada is just one example of how we're taking effective action to implement a real and lasting change in the lives of aboriginal women and girls.
Last October, we made an unprecedented announcement of $10 million to address the high number of missing and murdered aboriginal women. At that time we announced seven concrete actions to deal with this issue. Minister Nicholson will be elaborating on those.
But the announcement also included additional funds available upon application to support new culturally appropriate victim services to help the families of missing and murdered aboriginal women, new awareness materials, new school and community-based pilot projects targeted to young aboriginal women, and new community safety plans to enhance the safety of women living in aboriginal communities.
Sue O'Sullivan, the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime, praised this announcement by saying that:
...what we need is more government action of this breadth and initiatives that address all aspects of the issue, from prevention and prosecution to victim support. These are the kinds of initiatives that have the most impact and that we can all support.
Madam Chair, there has been a great response from aboriginal groups and organizations to this additional funding. In fact, some 20 projects are now already under way. They include the expansion of the Canadian Red Cross project entitled “Walking the Prevention Circle”; the Campbell River victim services initiative, which will look at reporting and responding to victimization; and a new edition of the Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of British Columbia's resource booklet, entitled “Trust Your Instincts”.
Since 2007, the women's program alone has funded 50 projects to support aboriginal women, and these include great projects such as Grandmothers Helping in Life, which helped 369 women from various first nations communities address experiences of violence using traditional healing practices.
Another one is entitled “Aboriginal Women and Youth: Reclaiming our Power”. In Winnipeg, it works to increase aboriginal girls' leadership skills and personal resilience in order to live violence-free. The New Realities project in Winnipeg is also helping women to reduce family violence and problematic substance abuse and to take steps towards a healthier lifestyle.
In Quebec, the Corporation Wapikoni Mobile project is educating young women and girls in eight aboriginal communities about violence within their communities and how they can best respond to it.
In London, Ontario, the Girls Helping Girls project is enabling young women and girls to challenge the violence, threats of violence, and inequality that they encounter on a daily basis.
In Saskatchewan, the Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services project will help women, particularly aboriginal women, access shelter services and other effective services for rural women.
As Minister for Status of Women, I am proud that our government continues to take strong action to ensure the safety and security of women and girls across Canada. We proudly support community groups that encourage women and girls of all backgrounds to reach for their dreams, to take advantage of our country's many opportunities, and to participate as active and equal members of their communities.
Thank you for your time today.
