Evidence of meeting #41 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 inuit.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Joan Crockatt Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
May I just ask you how this actually helps the victims of sexual abuse and how it helps in prevention?
Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre
Well, very briefly, we are able to respond really quickly. There's a wraparound service that goes in. Those kids can come in really quickly and, within a day to two days, all those services are wrapping around them, so you've got a more expedited and timely response to move these kids forward.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
Again, I'd like to thank all of you for your excellent information.
Going back to Calgary and the wraparound services, I want to talk a little bit about your perspectives on the need for more transition houses. We've implemented Bill S-2 in this country, which means that women on reserves get to stay in their homes, and it's the perpetrator who gets removed. Which would you say is a better model? Is it a better model for the women and children to remain in their homes where violence existed and the perpetrator is removed, or is it a better model for the women to be removed?
Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre
Our experience—and this would go back to my days in child and family services—is that more and more it would be better for the perpetrator to be removed. Keep those children and their families in their homes; otherwise, you are segregating, moving kids out. You're moving them from their communities and from their schools, and that's causing increased instability for these families.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
When you are saying that you're providing these wraparound services etc., can you tell us operationally what actually happens then in reported cases?
Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre
We work with the police, and the child and family services. All the referrals still come through them. They are the legislative body that handles these referrals.
Every morning at the centre we have a triage team from health and child and family services and police. They look at all of the referrals that have come in from the day before across our region. They make a decision on a professional basis on which cases will come to the centre; these are usually the more extreme cases of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse and neglect. They are making those decisions on who will benefit from that wraparound specialized service delivery.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
Do you think that there are laws in place currently that will protect our women and children where the perpetrator can be removed and is removed or do you think we need to strengthen these laws?
Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre
Well, my knowledge base at this point would say that they probably have to be strengthened to protect these children. You know, for a long time this whole area of child abuse has been one that has been very difficult for society to get their heads around.
Society actually does this to these kids: 93% of our kids are abused by people they know and trust. These are difficult situations for these kids to be in. The more we can strengthen that to protect them, the better.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
Thank you.
And now to Ms. O'Hearn. In regards to the north and given that housing is such a big issue and the lack thereof of course, and my heart goes out to the communities there, would you say that it's a better model for the perpetrator to be removed or for the women and children to be removed from their homes?
Executive Director, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
What I've heard directly from many women is that women and children need to be able to stay in their home, but it's very complex. It's very complex because there often is no option. There is no other place to go for safety and homelessness is not viable in the Arctic.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
But would you say that it's easier that the women and the children...? We know that's the majority of the people being abused, that it's usually a single perpetrator who is doing the abuse. Obviously it's not happening, but is that a better model? I think you did say that. You said that it's a better model for the women and children to stay in the homes.
Executive Director, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
I've heard very clearly from many Inuit women that yes, the offender should be removed.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
They would prefer to stay.
Do you think that the laws and the systems are in place then for the perpetrator to be removed? Is there more that can be done to assist with that?
Executive Director, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
The situation in the north is even further complicated by things like the circuit court system, so there may be long delays.
Certainly, we've been having a national dialogue in this country recently about the many reasons that prevent women from going to police. For a woman in Clyde River—I'll pick Clyde River—every one of her relatives' homes may be crowded so that in itself can force her to stay there and put up and shut up. And from other studies in the south we know it can take 35 assaults before a woman first goes to police.
There aren't the supports. I remember appearing with Sheldon Kennedy a few weeks ago and I told the committee that we can only dream of that wraparound service. These are children who have already been assaulted. It's not preventative. It's a response. There are so many things.
Many people live in social housing and so there are tenant agreements...we've heard a lot about that from women, that they may have no choice but to leave because the rented accommodation.... And, private home ownership is the minority. Mostly it's rented accommodation, so there could be legal leasing arrangements that may allow the perpetrator to stay.
Then we have to consider all the issues of power and control and lack of options. It's a very broad question that you ask. The other thing I would really emphasize is the impact of the circuit court system and lack of access to victim supports as I've mentioned before. But I've heard women and their children need to be able to stay in their home.
There are overcrowded prisons in the north as well. The Baffin Correctional Centre has been under heavy criticism by the correctional investigator and so forth, so there may not be anywhere to remove an offender to.
NDP
The Chair NDP Hélène LeBlanc
Thank you very much.
I would also like to thank you for giving us an overview of life in the north. In the south, we often have no idea of the distances, isolation and lack of services. Thank you for providing us with an overview of life in the north.
Ms. Duncan, you have five minutes.
December 9th, 2014 / 10:20 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Ms. Faraday, on the problems you've raised, what are your thoughts on the government's changes to the temporary foreign worker program? Has enough been done? What needs to be done? Have you very specific recommendations you'd like to see in the report?
Lawyer, Visiting Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, As an Individual
In terms of what has not been done in the changes, none of the changes that were implemented in June addressed any of the structural conditions that I've talked about that actually drive vulnerability to exploitation and violence, so the removal of the tied work permits is absolutely critical.
Some of the dangers that have been created with the changes are that the term of the work permits is shorter now. Instead of having two-year permits, they are now one-year permits, which puts even greater stress on workers to comply with employers' demands because they are even more vulnerable. It's easier to cycle them out more quickly. There is less security with regard to their ability to stay for a period of time that will allow them to pay off their recruitment fees, to figure out what their rights are in Canada, and how to enforce that.
What we have seen is this acceleration of the revolving door, of spinning workers in and out more quickly without an ability to enforce their rights. The focus of the changes has not been to address any of the elements of that system that drive worker vulnerability.
That was also accompanied with a framing that contributes to a discourse in which migrant workers are seen as a threat. They are the others who are seen as problematic. It was framed in the discourse of putting Canadians first and setting up a divisiveness between people who are Canadians and migrants who have been living and working here for a long time.
That needs to be very directly addressed to recognize that these are workers who are doing core jobs in the economy that our families depend on, our economies depend on. They are members of our communities, so it is important to provide recognition of that and enable them to actually regularize their status as permanent members of our communities. They should be able to bring their families with them. The isolation of being here on their own without their families makes them even more vulnerable. It drives even greater marginalization and greater opportunity for employer control over every aspect of their lives.
Those are some really key issues that need to be addressed and the issue around recruitment has not been addressed at all.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
The issue around recruitment has not been addressed.
Before I ask my last question, I want to make this point today, so that today's recommendations do appear in the report. We can't even get to best practices unless we have sustainable funding.
With that, I'll ask my last question. It will be for the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre. You discussed the importance of a multidisciplinary approach.
What pieces would you like to see in that multidisciplinary approach?
Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre
At this point, we have all of the pieces from justice, law enforcement, social services. Health is in there. The crown is in there. The RCMP has come in as well as education. The big piece that we need more of, certainly, is the mental health piece. That's huge in terms of trying to get more of that support for these kids, who are in acute trauma, and to stabilize them as they are coming in. As we continue to move forward, it certainly is around that mental health piece.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
What's needed particularly on the mental health side? Is there a very specific recommendation?
Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre
Similar to what's going on with the Inuit population, although we are in Calgary we are servicing southern Alberta first nations. We need to make sure that we have those services going out in rural Alberta and into the first nations.
So it would be around timely access to support for therapeutic services for kids sitting in more remote areas. Every kid deserves the same opportunity.
NDP
Conservative
John Barlow Conservative Macleod, AB
Thank you very much.
I want to thank everybody for coming out today. It's great to hear your passion and some of your great ideas. I think this is an important opportunity for all of us to get together, consolidate some of these great ideas, and get your feedback on what is working but also what is not working and how we can address some of those solutions.
I also want to quickly mention that temporary foreign workers is a very significant issue for us in Alberta, but there are lots of options out there—the express entry on January 1, the open work permit, and we've quadrupled the staff who will be investigating reports of abuse. I'd be interested in having Mrs. Faraday keep in touch with us to let us know how those programs are working.
To Bonnie and Jenny in Calgary, it's good to see you both again. I had an opportunity to tour the centre a couple of times over the years.
Bonnie, you touched a little bit on the fact that you're able to do there in days and hours what would have taken weeks and months previously. I'd like to get you to perhaps expand on that a little bit. I think what we want to make sure is clear is that you have all of these services housed together. For lack of a better term, it's a one-stop shop. That seems to be making a world of difference.
First, can you tell us what difference that has made by having all of these groups together? Second, you mentioned the prenatal support team. I hadn't heard of that program before. Can you expand on that a little bit and let us know how that works and what's involved with that?