Evidence of meeting #39 for Status of Women in the 41st Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was family.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB
Yes. So probably in the next generation, we'll hopefully see less and less of it, in that case.
Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association
Yes, but there will always be the first generation of immigrants and the second generation.
Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association
That's why that orientation and education and providing reasonable expectations for immigrant families when they come to Canada play a role in that preventive component of support for immigrant families.
Conservative
Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB
Okay. Thank you.
My next question is for Alia Hogben. I was impressed by the objectives. It is my understanding that the common ground project ran from December 2011 to May of 2013. It was the objectives that I thought were very important, where you were trying to increase “knowledge about citizenship responsibilities and civic engagement” and other things such as “positively upheld responsibilities of citizenship”, and trying to increase “interfaith and intercultural understanding”. Along with that was gaining skills that “increased their employability”—which is certainly a very important aspect—and you developed tools “others can use to promote civic engagement”.
My question was, how successful was this? What were the best practices that you put in place to achieve these goals, and how did you feel about them?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
Thank you so much. I'm very impressed by the preparations some of you have obviously done. Thank you so much. It helps us to have a conversation on the common ground project.
We called it “common ground” because we were trying to explain to our young people, particularly young men, that they have to go beyond belonging to only the Muslim communities. You could be a Canadian and this could be a thing to be very proud of, and under the heading of being a Canadian, you can have multiple identities. You don't need to give up one to only belong to another. Some of our young men in particular were very keen on being good Muslims but not really getting beyond that to being good Canadians or working with other religious groups.
What we did with that one was at the end of it, I have to tell you, I felt that none of these young men and women—particularly the young men—would ever turn to animosity between their religious groups. There were Jews, Christians, atheists, some native Canadians, and so on. So what we learned from that is that you have to reach beyond your religious or ethnic community to do these works, particularly for youth. We learned that.
NDP
The Chair NDP Hélène LeBlanc
Thank you. That's a very good point.
Thank you. Did you have something else to add? You seem to be on a.... I hate to cut you off.
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
That's all right. That's about the gist, thank you.
NDP
The Chair NDP Hélène LeBlanc
The feeling of having people going beyond, that's very good. Thank you. It's very positive.
Conservative
Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB
Just one thing, I was taken by the name of the project as well. I thought it was very—
NDP
The Chair NDP Hélène LeBlanc
Thank you very much, Madam O'Neill Gordon.
Ms. Duncan, you have seven minutes.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to all of you for coming. We're most grateful.
I'm going to begin. I'm just looking for a yes or no answer. To the DisAbled Women's Network of Canada, were you consulted in the formation of the minister's action plan for family violence?
Liberal
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
We didn't even hear about it.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
To the Calgary Immigrant Women's Association, I ask the same question.
Chief Executive Officer, Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association
No, we were not consulted.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you all.
To the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, I held a stakeholder meeting just this past Friday with 11 organizations, largely in my riding. There is real upset and anger concerning zero tolerance. I was repeatedly told that this will dissuade women from wanting to come to Canada. It will dissuade women from wanting to come forward to disclose violence. In the words of one participant, and I quote, it is “racist policy masquerading as protecting women”.
I wonder if I could have your comments. What would be your recommendation to the committee regarding that bill, please?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
I guess I'm so depressed and disappointed that the Government of Canada, which is my government as much as it is yours, would use such language. It doesn't go with the tradition of Canada.
We have a charter of rights. We have a Canadian Multiculturalism Act. Why the heck—sorry—would we talk about immigrants being barbaric, as if we're so pure and pristine that none of this happens here? Why do that? I don't understand the rationale for it, unless it's to develop hysteria among people, to divide people, to make it more difficult for immigrants, for visible minority groups, living here. What is it, and why roll it up to do with immigration law?
Why haven't we dealt with Bountiful? I checked, and they've been practising all of these things since 1950. My answer back, which is what I will be presenting next week to the Senate committee, is on whether it is because they're white or because they're Christians.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
What would be your recommendation to the committee regarding that bill?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
I think it should be dumped.
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
I'm being honest, aren't I?
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
I have another question, Ms. Hogben.
You've discussed the unique barriers that Muslim women face when leaving an abusive relationship. What specific recommendations would you make to this committee to alleviate those challenges?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women
I think I will share it with the group from Calgary.
Muslims have been here since the 1800s, by the way, so it's not just immigrant Muslim women that I'm talking about. I know the Calgary group are talking about immigrant women, but it's any woman. Again, I'd like to universalize it and say that any woman who leaves a relationship, I mean who ends up having a bad time....
With the Muslims, it is also that living in a community is very powerful for us, so when you leave a relationship, are you in a sense leaving your whole community? How do you counterbalance that? Women are leaving, but as I think Bonnie said, Muslim women don't come forward very easily. They always put themselves behind or after their family and their children.
Again, I think it's how the services are provided, the kind of care that can be given by our court systems, the police, the social workers. I think it's an understanding kind of attitude that is required.