Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the Status of Women representatives and particularly Deputy Minister Wilson. I'm really glad to see your appointment.
Following on my colleague's questions about hearing from the grassroots, from the very beginning in the studies we've done, we've invited a lot of people who are on the front line of providing a service to women in need, whether that's domestic violence, advocating for economic justice, or for an end to the tragedy of murdered and missing indigenous women.
I can't think of a single grassroots group that has not said “what we need is operational funding”. They apply for programs, they innovate, they pilot, and they collaborate. Women's organizations have been collaborating for decades, of course, and they say they're exhausted by it. They say that it's speculative and they put a lot of staff time into trying to fit the new criteria of program funding, but that what they really need is to keep the lights on or to renovate so that they have a safer workplace for their employees in dangerous situations. It's about operational funding.
They say again and again that provincial and federal governments have abrogated to them this front-line service, so why don't they just admit that these groups are the ones who are going to do this work and that they need operational funding? That was reflected in the NDP's recommendation in terms of the violence against young women and girls. It was a recommendation that the federal government provide consistent operational funding for front-line community organizations working to protect victims and end violence against women and girls.
Can you put on the record why not?