Status of Women Committee on June 15th, 2021

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Excellent.

Ms. Larouche, the floor is yours for two and a half minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

In my previous comment, I pointed out that the Department of Public Security and the Secrétariat à la condition féminine are still asking for details about the transfers of funds for shelters to assist women victims. They are also asking that more money be invested for social and affordable housing.

The Minister says that she is proud to be part of a government that calls itself feminist. So why has the government been letting the Deschamps report gather dust since 2015? The investigation actually began with Quebec reporters in 2014, and recommendations were made in the Deschamps report in 2015.

The report on the RCMP by Justice Bastarache shows once more that women in the RCMP are victims of all kinds of crimes and they are not in a good situation. But the Bastarache report is still on the shelf.

They may say they are feminist, but they have delayed in implementing the recommendations of the core working group that published the 2021 national action plan for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Indigenous women's groups had to go public to condemn the delays in implementing the recommendations before the government became involved.

My colleague Ms. Mathyssen spoke about pay equity. How long have we been talking about that? Even the Minister said that they were talking about the importance of pay equity 50 years ago. The government may talk about it, but the equity has yet to be achieved.

As for the action plan to end gender-based violence, we have often asked for dates and specifics as to the money invested to assist women who are victims of violence.

So many files are gathering dust! I will not even mention women aged from 65 to 74, whom the government has completely forgotten. According to recent announcements, they will receive nothing. However, the seniors who are the most forgotten and the most likely to be poor are women. They are not waiting until they are 75 to be poor. Between 65 and 74, women seniors suffer from poverty and isolation. The pandemic has made it all worse, as it has increased the difficulty for women to take their place in the world of business.

Is the Minister working with her fellow ministers? Our justice system needs to be reworked, because money will not be enough.

Madam Minister, you have 30 seconds to tell us in a few words how the discussions between ministers and your colleagues are going.

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Madam Chair, my colleague just asked eight questions, so I will try to answer as quickly as I can in the order she asked them.

On public safety and the status of women and our partnership with Quebec, we have a great relationship with them and will continue to work out the details. I hope colleagues vote for the budget so that those funds can flow starting this June.

On housing, we've signed an agreement with Quebec, and we're moving forward with additional funds in the budget.

On DND, my colleague is right. Despite all the progress that's been made, not enough has been done, and we're committed to accelerating that work and additional resources in the budget will help, but that alone will not help. This conversation is part of the greater reckoning we're having as a country, and that culture change has to be part of it.

On pay equity, as she asked, as my previous colleague asked, pay equity legislation is actually moving forward on time, despite COVID, and those regulations will come into effect this year. Employers will have time to then build those plans.

My colleague asked about gender-based violence and seniors as well. I agree women in rural communities, particularly those 55 and up, are hardest hit, and we're working hard to ensure that they have the security and supports they need.

On GBV, we've already rolled out historic investments, and as soon as the funds are unlocked from budget 2021, we'll roll those out quickly as well, so they get to the front lines quickly.

Last, on women entrepreneurs, I was there when Bardish Chagger developed the strategy and ensured that that feminist lens was applied. We're collecting data. Mary Ng is responsible for that file now. She's increased investments for women entrepreneurs during COVID, of course, but budget 2021 also includes additional supports for them. Women entrepreneurs make up about 16% of businesses. We need to double that number, and our government's committed to ensuring that happens.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Thank you, Minister.

Now we'll go to Ms. Mathyssen.

You have two and a half minutes, please.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Minister, you talked before about Islamophobia, and I'd like to get to that now.

As you know, last week I presented a unanimous consent motion in the House asking for a national action summit on Islamophobia. I was pleased that it passed.

One of the key parts of that motion was that a timeline be established and that this summit happen by July 2021. Can you give us an update if, in fact, this summit will happen within that timeline?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

MP Mathyssen, I appreciate your advocacy. We spoke earlier about the unique role that I have around the cabinet table, where it's horizontal, and I have oversight in every file. I also have the ability to support programming on the ground with investments which, frankly, the department has never had. The department had never existed before, either. It came into effect at the same time that the pay equity legislation received royal assent.

I say all this to you because, as the first Muslim around the federal table and as the first minister responsible for women and gender equality, I see a lot of responsibility. I feel that responsibility, and a lot of opportunity.

Minister Chagger has committed to moving forward with a summit to have that conversation about Islamophobia, and, in terms of timelines, I think it will be as quickly as possible. My team and I are having conversations with Muslim women and Muslim women-serving organizations, because we want to make sure that Muslim women, particularly visible Muslim women wearing hijabs, are shaping the agenda and are taking up the space.

Beyond that, MP Mathyssen, I think it's time to talk about the hate online and how it spills into real life. We need to talk more about white supremacy and the fact that white supremacy, as we've seen, is linked to incels, it's linked to misogyny, and it's linked to racism, so, beyond the summit, there is important work to be done. Minister Chagger and her team are working very closely with the Prime Minister's Office and community leaders to make sure we get this done right.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

I'm certainly glad that you brought that up in terms of those timelines, because we're also waiting for a bill and legislation against online hate. You haven't really said whether we're going to meet that July deadline for the summit. I hope we do, because the House promised that, but what about a bill about online hate? That's been long overdue as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

I'm sorry, but you're out of time.

Now we're going to Ms. Shin for five minutes.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank the minister for taking time out of her busy schedule to join us today.

As the minister has expressed often, I know that when she is working on a file for women and gender equality, there is personal passion that fuels her work because of her personal story.

Canadians have been gripped by the cesspool of toxic masculinity and sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. My frustration throughout the questioning conducted by our committee has been the lack of personal accountability despite platitudes on culture change and trauma sensitivity to women victims of sexual assault and misconduct in the armed forces.

Surprisingly, I don't know why, but the minister has been very quiet throughout the deliberations held by the defence committee and the status of women committee. Canadians are hoping to hear from the Minister for Women and Gender Equality. What does the minister deem to be her personal accountability on this issue? Does she endorse what many MPs and Canadians perceive of the Minister of National Defence's lack of response as abdication? What are her thoughts on the three-year delayed response to the case of accusations against General Vance?

Thank you.

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Madam Chair, like every woman, like every Canadian, I am disturbed and disappointed by the lack of progress and the manifestation of inequity and disrespect for women in our institutions, and my commitment to Canadian women, particularly to survivors who have had the courage to come forward, is the following.

I'll continue to create spaces that are safe and away from partisan spaces so that you can have the opportunity to say what you need to say. I'll continue to work with you and experts to make sure that we have the right supports and processes and protocols in place. I will continue as an aunt who's really excited to watch two little girls grow up who believe they can do whatever they want, these fierce young Canadians, to ensure that should they choose to serve in these professions or any other every workplace, that it is a safe one for them.

That personal commitment, as well as the Government of Canada's commitment, as well as that of DND and CAF is a reflection of what we're hearing from Canadians, who are demanding greater action faster, and it's only happening because survivors continue to have the courage to come forward. They can rest assured that we will continue to move forward in this important work as quickly as we can and keep their voices at the heart of our efforts.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Minister, do you feel that the Minister of National Defence responded as he should have, or do you feel that there could have been a better response in the timing and how he has deflected from responsibility in all this?

Thank you.

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

The Minister of National Defence I see is working hard every single day to overcome all sorts of challenges and barriers, and I'm honoured to work with him to put an end to this violence and to this hate. It is clear that, as a government and as a culture, though we've moved forward significantly, we've not come far enough, and we've renewed our commitment to move forward faster and appreciate every time Canadians demand us to move forward on this file. Gender-based violence has been stigmatized. It's happening behind closed doors and now it's out in the open.

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I appreciate the minister's desire to see this. Would you agree with me that personal accountability is primary and most important if we're going to see a culture shift?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

I think the most important thing in all this, Madam Chair, is keeping survivors at the heart of our efforts and listening to them and taking our lead from them, which is exactly what our government is doing and calling—

[Nelly Shin, Conservative, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Minister, unless there is a culture shift, we'll always be having to defend the women instead of going after what needs to be gone after, the perpetrators.

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

I hope, Madam Chair, that colleagues will vote for the budget to move forward, which includes $236 million to do the work that my colleague has just referred to.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

We will go to Ms. Zahid for the last five minutes.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for appearing before the committee today.

The last few days have been very difficult. Both of us witnessed the funeral of the four innocent lives lost to hatred and Islamophobia. This incident of the attack on the London family hits very close to me. It hit close to my home because, as a hijab-wearing woman, as a Muslim woman, as an immigrant woman named Salma, who came to Canada in 1999, who loves to walk in her neighbourhood, my first comment to myself was that it could have been us four.

I know that in the last five and a half years we have done a lot of work as a government to combat Islamophobia. There is a lot of work ahead to break the walls of hatred that we have erected around us and to combat Islamophobia so that no mother feels scared dropping her hijab-wearing young girl at school, nor is a young woman wearing a hijab scared to travel on public transit.

Since this tragic incident, I have been talking to many families in Scarborough. We organized a community walk where people from all walks of life and people from different faiths came together.

Can you please expand on the work that you have done and what work needs to be done going forward to make sure that we can combat Islamophobia and hate?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

MP Zahid, thank you for your incredible leadership. In your capacity as chair of the citizenship and immigration committee, in your capacity as a parliamentarian and as a community leader, it has been inspiring watching you overcome challenge after challenge and still rise.

I thank you for that because you are a role model for so many right now who are afraid to put on the hijab. What I say to them and to the moms who are afraid to let their hijabi daughters go outside for a walk because they're afraid for their safety is that we can't let the terrorists win. They want us to be afraid of who we are. They want us to not be who we are. They want to prevent our progress and contribution to Canada. We can't let that happen.

I also acknowledge that all of us across parties have Muslim staffers. There are more Muslim staff working on Parliament Hill, albeit virtually now, than ever before. I'm sure everybody has taken the time to check in on them, because they're carrying a lot of this. They're behind the scenes, in the backrooms, but they're carrying a lot of the grief and the trauma that has come towards Muslims, particularly over the last month, since Eid.

My colleague is a really good example of how communities can be mobilized to do the right thing, to pull down those walls of hate. If she continues to work with my team and me, we'll make sure that we build up the community capacity to respond to this hate.

I also want to take this opportunity to speak to hijabi Muslims in Alberta who are experiencing violent incident after another in public spaces simply because they choose to worship as they do and they are proud to be who they are out in the streets and in public spaces.

The hate that you are experiencing is not okay. Our government stands with you and condemns all forms of Islamophobia and hate. There is no place for that hate in Canada, but we are reckoning with some disturbing realities about our wonderful country. We have an opportunity through the budget to continue to invest in the anti-racism secretariat, to continue to invest in community-based programming.

Salma Zahid, my goodness, I'm sorry that you feel afraid to go outside into the streets, and to just take that afternoon or evening stroll. So many of us have left countries and have come to this place so that we could be free to worship as we do, and that persecution that we continue to feel is not okay.

Madam Chair, this is probably the heaviest conversation I've had at this committee in the 12 times I've appeared before you. That's really saying a lot, because it has been an interesting experience every time.

MP Zahid, thanks again for your leadership. I appreciate you and I continue to draw inspiration from you.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

You'll be very pleased with what we're going to be studying next.

Thank you to the minister for coming today. Of course, we've had a great discussion about the supplementary estimates.

We have to vote on those estimates. At this point, I'll read them out:

DEPARTMENT FOR WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY

Vote 1a—Operating expenditures..........$12,058,140

Vote 5a—Grants and contributions..........$88,575,100

(Votes 1a and 5a agreed to)

Shall I report the supplementary estimates (A) 2021-22 to the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Thank you again to the minister.

Now, if I could ask the members to log off from the public venue and log into the in camera meeting, we'll go into our committee business for the day.

[Proceedings continue in camera]