Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Hello, colleagues. It's a privilege to be with you again.
We are meeting on traditional Algonquin territory and benefit from this land. With those benefits come obligations that I know we are all working hard to fulfill.
I'm joined here today by my deputy minister, Gina Wilson, and our chief financial officer, Anik Lapointe.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of this committee, past and present, and of course the witnesses who have come forward during my time in this role, for all the ways that you are contributing to gender equality. We've heard from individuals who have brought their expertise and lived stories to this table around gender-based violence, around women's economic security, and all those perspectives have been incredibly helpful.
I'd like to extend a very warm welcome and congratulations to the new members of this committee. Martin, Bernadette, Emmanuella, we've been watching and very much appreciate your contributions to this committee.
Before I dive deeply into the content we're here today to discuss, I want to extend my sympathies to our honourable colleague, Mr. Marc Serré. His father was an incredibly influential person, not just in his life but in Canadian political life. Our thoughts and our prayers are with him and his family.
I'm grateful to be here with you during the 16 days of activism working to end gender-based violence not just here in Canada but around the world. On this final day of November, I think it's very appropriate that we're gathering here and having this conversation. I'd like to speak with you today in my remarks about three things. You mentioned the gender-based violence strategy that we're implementing, Madam Chair. I'd like to speak with you about GBA+, the intersectional gender lens we're applying to the various ways we do our work as a government and you do your work as a committee, and of course supplementary estimates (B).
Let's talk about gender-based violence, which has evolved. Social media is one way that it's become easier for unacceptable behaviours to extend their reach to more unwelcome places than before. There's the #MeToo campaign that we've all heard about in our communities and online. here are more people speaking out. There is more public attention and more dialogue taking place. There are more high-profile cases being discussed. Of course, traditional media is playing an important role in shining light and amplifying the voices that are coming forward. These stories are not new stories.
We thank everyone who is coming forward with a lot of courage and with a lot of hope that we prevent this violence. We have all heard statistically and anecdotally in our communities that there are disproportionate rates of violence occurring each and every day in every community. Too many people suffer in silence.
My thanks go to those whose courage and resilience are shaping this conversation, and of course, our gratitude to those who care for them and their families through their healing journey. We know that gender-based violence is a significant barrier to gender equality, but it's one that can be prevented. That's where your work as a committee has been so important to the government response on gender-based violence.
In June, I was at the YWCA in Toronto, joined by many leaders from the movement, service providers, experts, academics, who have provided input to the gender-based violence strategy. The amount of $100.9 million was set aside for a strategy that we intend will focus on prevention, support for survivors and their families, and justice and legal systems that are more responsive. There is a focus on individuals who are particularly vulnerable across our communities. That's another area where the intersectional gendered lens we apply has been critical. It includes new funding for Status of Women Canada to support new programming and awareness initiatives.
This is how the funding will break down: about 40% of that money will support organizations and service providers; about 35% will support new research and data collection; about 15% will be focused on a knowledge centre, which I'm going to talk about more deeply here today; and about 10% will support a national dialogue to engage Canadians in the much-needed cultural change that is an important part of the solution we need to be putting forward.
The knowledge centre is a unique piece of the strategy. As you know, this strategy was developed in consultation with our federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts, with people who do this work on the ground. Its purpose is to get the federal house in order, but also to fill in the critical gaps that we know are there and some that we didn't know were there until we started talking to Canadians and those with the expertise.
The knowledge centre will do five important things. The most important element for me, as someone with a background in grassroots work, is its ability to connect service providers with researchers and policy-makers. It will better align Government of Canada resources. It will fill gaps that exist in the evidence and the data that we need to shape our solutions and interventions. It will support federal coordination and accountability on key actions that the federal government is taking, and it will lay the foundation for future work on gender-based violence. We know that this particular issue is far too complex to go away overnight or over a year, and so, if we're going to be proactive in our responses, this knowledge centre will allow us the foundation to thoughtfully think about future planning and interventions.
Through the #MeToo campaign—another hashtag raising awareness—we have heard and know why it's important to share knowledge, why data matters, why best practices need to be shared and elevated so that we can multiply our efforts and improve results more quickly. Through our ongoing work and collaboration with you, with those who do this work on the ground day in and day out, and the international community, we will create safer, more inclusive societies. We will have more people coming forward. We will be able to do better prevention, and of course we will be able to better provide supports and justice to those who seek it.
I'm going to talk a little bit about GBA+, gender-based analysis plus. I know this is an area you've worked on significantly, and I would like to give you an update on the work that's happening in this regard. We remain committed to using gender-based analysis, but enhancing it as well.
In April 2016 we put in place a GBA action plan to enhance the implementation of gender-based analysis among all federal organizations. In March, as you know, we tabled an interim report on that action plan with this committee, as well as with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, highlighting significant progress achieved so far. Since that tabling, we've continued our work to ensure that systemic application of GBA+ to government activities is taking place within central agencies and also within departments.
This past spring, for the first time ever, we were able to table a budget that included a gender statement. This gender statement was made possible because of the foundational work that GBA+ across departments had implemented. What that gender statement essentially did was set a high standard for openness and transparency as our government works to make more inclusive decisions not just today but in the years ahead.
In May, during GBA+ awareness week, Status of Women Canada launched an updated version of its online course, which has been completed by more than 20,500 federal public servants and political staff to date, and by more than 83,000 public servants and political staff since April 2016. That is real change in just a year, and it's an important part of the cultural change that needs to take place to ensure that it's intertwined with everything we do.
I want to congratulate and thank all parliamentarians and their staff who have been engaged and have been participating in this process. I will also highlight that there has been a significant increase in demand for the expertise and the talents of the good folks within my team at Status of Women Canada.
Regarding supplementary estimates (B), the fall economic statement outlined, as you know, an increase in operational funding for Status of Women Canada, and that's reported in supplementary estimates (B). We'll receive an investment of $41 million over six years, and $7.5 million thereafter, to increase capacity and be in a better position to deliver on the government's commitments and priorities around gender equality. These will strengthen our capacity so that we can enhance policy support for government's gender equality objectives. They'll increase our capacity to engage with our federal, provincial, and territorial colleagues, strengthen our engagement and outreach, and of course, support the development of a new results and delivery function.
I'll stop here. I look forward to answering any questions the committee may have, Madam Chair.
