Status of Women Committee on Feb. 23rd, 2016

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thanks. That's a two-part question as well.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Yes.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

On the matter of confidence around implementing the actions that come out of the inquiry, many of the things we're hearing preliminarily that would support women—first of all in avoiding the experience of violence and second in managing the experience of violence—will be addressed by a number of the items in the budget. I've said before in sessions with families and the media that we're not waiting to act on issues that we know will have an impact on the lives of indigenous women and girls; we want to do those things now. We plan to move very quickly. The budget, as I said, will be released March 22. There will be a number of items in it that will specifically address the needs of indigenous people across the country.

With respect to specific actions, we'll have to wait to see what the inquiry recommends. Certainly there is a commitment on the part of our government to renewing a nation-to-nation relationship, and that includes implementing the TRC recommendations, especially the ones that we have the direct means to influence. I anticipate that we will have the support of all of you to examine the findings of the inquiry and then have a concrete plan going forward.

In terms of the money, right now, as you know, the platform commitment is $40 million. We are going to see what the recommendations are as we go forward. We feel that this is a very good start.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Great. Thank you.

Another major piece of the domestic violence agenda is a gender-based violence strategy for the country. I'm encouraged by the amount of work that has been done by NGOs across the country to create the framework for a strategy in the absence of previous federal leadership. I'm hoping you can give us confidence that you intend to harness that work well and not start from scratch, given how much work has been done at the grassroots level.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Absolutely. I think that's an excellent question. It would never be expeditious to do that. My perspective is that there is great work. I just met with a representative of 23 agencies, the group that created the blueprint. I had a very extensive conversation with them.

My goal is to build on the great work that both NGOs and provinces and territories have been doing. We know that this movement has been happening for a very long time at the grassroots level. For one thing, it's respectful to honour their work, and often they voice the direct concerns and wishes of women on the ground, so to speak. Second, I think it's wise. A lot of work has gone on, and we can build on the knowledge.

Therefore, it is not my intention to start from scratch. The challenge will be to decide how we enfold all that work, and we'll be continuing that conversation with our colleagues as we go forward.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Great. Thanks.

Another area where we need to make up ground is that the funding for Status of Women as a ministry was cut back quite a bit. I'd love to hear you say that you've been advocating within this budget cycle for a restoration of some of that funding.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Absolutely.

I jokingly referred to this the other day when speaking with my colleague Minister Morneau, saying that running Canada is really no different from running a shelter: the need exceeds the capacity. We have some fiscal constraints and we know that. In terms of my perspective, I want to make sure that the agency has the resources it needs to be able to conduct the work in the mandate, and that's exactly what I'm advocating for.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

We are back to my colleagues to the right, starting with Ms. Ludwig.

[Karen Ludwig, Liberal, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Minister.

I have two questions, actually. One is a follow-up to Ms. Harder's question about exploitation and trafficking of persons. Can you provide, or would you provide, any update regarding Bill C-452, an act to amend the Criminal Code (exploitation and trafficking in persons)?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

As you know, our government has been monitoring and is aware of the situation in Quebec, where young women have gone missing, and of course we send our thoughts and our prayers to the families and the young women who are in this situation. It's always a tragedy when children disappear, particularly in circumstances of possible exploitation or danger, as most of the cases we've heard across the country indicate.

Our government takes human trafficking and the exploitation of women extremely seriously. We're very committed to strengthening our efforts to combat this problem, and that's why we've committed to the inquiry in particular. We know that many women have reported the experience of being trafficked in terms of the challenges they face.

We're committed to working with our provinces and our territories, indigenous communities, law enforcement, and community organizations to combat the exploitation and to support victims and potential victims.

We're committed to achieving Bill C-452's important objectives quickly and responsibly. We are right now examining whether and how the reforms in Bill C-452 can be brought into force. We do support the principle of Bill C-452, but we have some concerns that parts of the bill may be in conflict with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I anticipate we'll hear back from the relevant ministers as we go forward with that examination.

[Karen Ludwig, Liberal, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Thank you.

There are actually quite a few pieces to my second question. It's regarding International Women's Day. Obviously it's just around the corner. It's an opportunity to celebrate our progress towards gender equality and to honour the contributions of women around the world.

You mentioned, Madam Minister, that one theme you're working on is empowering women, and taking it from a vision to an action.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Well, I'm excited about this year's International Women's Day, and in particular our theme here in Canada, which ties into what we talked about earlier, the theme of the granting opportunities we talked about.

The theme for this year is that women's empowerment leads to equality. We believe that empowerment, as I said earlier, is essential to gender equality. We think that when women and girls are empowered, they are able to fulfill their potential, contribute to their communities and our society, and in fact will experience fewer of the negative aspects of gender-based violence.

We've asked people to use social media to tag inspiring women, using #YouAreEmpowerment. I've been seeing these flip up on my Twitter, and it's really interesting to see. Men and women can do this, so please tag women who have inspired you along the way, or women who are inspirational to you now, whatever the case may be. That would be one way to advance empowerment.

We're also hosting a party, essentially, and we invite you all to attend on March 8 at the National Arts Centre from 5 to 7 p.m. We'll actually be hosting this party. I've asked the critics to co-host with me, and we've received confirmation that Ms. Ambrose and Ms. Malcolmson will join us and co-host this event. It really is a non-partisan event, and it's open to anybody of any gender who wants to come and celebrate with us.

[Karen Ludwig, Liberal, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Thank you.

I'm actually sharing my time with my colleague.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Hello, Minister. Thank you for coming and attending today.

My question is a bit of a follow-up on your experience of travelling across the country with your colleagues, Minister Bennett and Minister Wilson-Raybould. You've listened to many stories from survivors and families and loved ones of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.

I've heard some of the news stories. Can you shed some more light on your experience, without getting into the details of cases? The numbers are astonishing. What has put us here, in this position, to begin with? What are the steps to get us out or to correct what's been done?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you. That's an incredibly comprehensive question with a very long answer.

Clearly the history of colonization, sexism, and racism has gotten us here. I think we have to acknowledge that we are inheriting policy that has been divisive ever since the country was formed. There have been significant disparities in terms of all kinds of things that have contributed to this condition, but in particular in terms of women. Women in general are more at risk, and they haven't traditionally been valued.

We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the women's right to vote in Manitoba last month and will celebrate that anniversary next year across Canada. Well, indigenous people didn't receive the right to vote until decades and decades later, in the 1960s. These are some of the things that I think have contributed to the situation, and we certainly heard those things. It was not so much in that historical context, but we heard about the disparity of income, the disparity in opportunities for education and in people's living situations.

In terms of the effect this had on my colleagues and me, it was incredibly moving. It was very difficult work, even for people like me, people who have spent some time in the trenches. The sheer desperation of families to have answers to where their loved one is, to know what has happened to their loved one, certainly creates a profound responsibility for all of us—and I mean all of us—to act on this issue and to move forward and to make sure that we honour their trust in us in repeating those stories.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Absolutely. That was a great answer to a very tough question.

We're going to turn now to colleagues on the left, starting with Ms. Vecchio.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

First of all, thank you very much, Minister Hajdu, for being here. It is wonderful to have you, and I look forward to working with you.

I am very pleased with the program that was announced about empowering women. I believe our role as legislators and MPs is to lead and to mentor our women in Canada—not just this generation, but all generations to follow.

In 2014 there was a study tabled regarding eating disorders. I bring a lot to this committee about my own life. I look at my children and my own teenage daughters and I too am concerned about the eating disorders that occur here in Canada.

Do you have a policy or a direction you would like to proceed in with this issue?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

I'm checking with my officials on what we've done in the past.

I agree with you that eating disorders are endemic. It's interesting that they happen at all ages. Certainly I am acutely aware of the challenges we all have, even among us, with body image. It's ongoing. It's an indication of the hyper-attention that women face on a regular basis about what we eat and whether we work out and what our body size is and what we're wearing. I think no one among us is immune to those negative messages, as much as we work on combatting them on a day-to-day basis.

It's an excellent question. It is something that probably deserves more attention, and I think it actually ties in to the idea of how we define what a woman is in general.

To your specific question around the actions we have taken on eating disorders, we have worked on these issues in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada, and they have actually presented to this committee in partnership with Status of Women. We'd be happy to bring them back to speak on that issue.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

That would be wonderful. Thank you very much.

Also, we see that there is a large increase in anxiety, and I want to bring it back somewhat to what MP Harder talked about. We talk about anxiety and about the digital world, and one of my biggest concerns is the protection of our females not just against violence but against the cyberbullying we're referring to.

What kinds of protection are we looking at against cyberbullying? I don't mean to put you on the spot, but are we going to be moving away from some of the things that we currently have in our Criminal Code under section 300, or are we going to continue to build on it as a strategy, knowing that we are in a digital world and that photographs and body image and so many things are so important to young women and older women as well? Are we going to continue to build on that to protect our women and girls?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Thank you. That's also an excellent question.

I think it's important that we look at the impacts of hypersexualization of young women and girls, and that ties in to all of what we're talking about. When you talk about body image, when you talk about cyberviolence, and when you talk about the digital world, at the root of it—and I refer back to my previous answer—we have to start talking about how we're defining the state of being female in our country.

On a personal level, I never felt more empowered than when I let my hair go grey. It sounds like a crazy thing, but it was about seizing my own power to be who I was and to not necessarily confine myself to how society defines what's attractive, including youth. I think this is something we can all play an active role in. It certainly ties in with studying the issue of cyberviolence. You could broaden that and talk about violence in the lives of young women and girls and include an exploration of the hypersexualization of women in general and girls in particular.

Thank you.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Wonderful, wonderful.

Can I continue?

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

You can have a quick question.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you very much.

One other great program that I remember is the Be Her Champion program. My mentor was the previous MP. Whether it's with CEOs, with newly elected officials, or a variety of different people, is this a program that we're going to continue to extend or maybe even build on as well?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Do you mean the Be Her Champion program?