Status of Women Committee on Nov. 24th, 2020

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Absolutely, the witness should answer the questions and not the comments.

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

My response, Madam Chair, was to highlight that it's important for all parties to be on the same page about the role and the importance of women and of that intersectional gendered lens. None of what I said was personal in any way. In fact, as I've spoken with MP Sahota in the past, I look forward to working with her.

Yes, racialized women like us do need to stick together, because there are a lot of communities counting on us to speak on their behalf, communities that have not traditionally had a voice and position in places of power such as Parliament Hill.

I will say, though, that my deputy has answered that question. We are committed to transparency and openness with the work we have done.

When officers of Parliament provided recommendations to us on how to improve GBA+, for example, we were there. We rolled up our sleeves and we improved the way that we apply that intersectional gendered lens.

My department and I will follow up with you directly. I have pages and pages here about the departmental results framework, and I'm happy to share that with the committee through you, Madam Chair, and of course directly with MP Sahota.

[Jag Sahota, Conservative, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Thank you, Minister.

Maybe I will make the question a bit shorter. When can they expect this information to be released to them?

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

I will ask my wonderful deputy minister to respond.

[Guylaine F. Roy]

I want to have a clarification. Are you referring to federal pay equity and a request from the PBO relating to the federal pay equity legislation?

[Jag Sahota, Conservative, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Yes.

[Guylaine F. Roy]

You're referring to that.

As a point of clarification, Minister Tassi would have the lead on that piece of legislation and the follow-up to the PBO request.

Minister, if you agree, we could follow up with the department that is responsible for this and then provide an answer as a follow-up.

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

MP Sahota, does that meet your needs? Is that sufficient?

[Jag Sahota, Conservative, Calgary Skyview, AB]

It does as long as I get the answer.

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

Okay.

[Guylaine F. Roy]

We will follow up.

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

We will follow up.

Thank you, deputy.

[Jag Sahota, Conservative, Calgary Skyview, AB]

In the 42nd Parliament, this committee published two reports: “Taking Action to End Violence Against Young Women and Girls in Canada” and “Women's Economic Security: Securing the Future of Canada's Economy”.

Can you please give this committee an update on the progress made towards each of the reports' recommendations?

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

As I mentioned earlier, in our gender-based violence federal strategy, we were able to make significant strides. One example is that, for the first time ever, the Government of Canada started collecting intersectional gender disaggregated data around gender-based violence. We were able to take this committee's recommendations into consideration in its development.

Regarding your question about women's economic security, of course progress was made. That progress has been halted by COVID, but we are not deterred.

As we speak, MP Sahota, I'm working on a response to this committee specifically on the question of women's economic security and what we have gleaned from the 40-plus projects we supported to advance women's economic security in the past five years.

That report and that response are coming to you in short order.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Excellent.

Now we go to Ms. Hutchings for five minutes.

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, it's always great to see you. Thank you for acknowledging the important work that this committee does for all women.

Minister, I want to talk about a specific form of gender-based violence: sexual violence. It was three years ago when the #MeToo movement sparked real change around the world. Women from all walks of life came forward with their experiences of sexual violence. Many of us saw friends and celebrities identifying themselves as survivors of sexual violence. Soon after that came #MeToo, #TimesUp, and before that there was #BeenRapedNeverReported.

Minister, can you speak specifically to how Canada has reacted and taken positive steps to end this terrible form of gender-based violence and to end gender-based violence in all forms?

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

Thank you, MP Hutchings. It's truly a privilege to get to work with you on this file, as well as the connectivity file.

I'm always mindful, when we're talking about sexual violence, if the room is filled with more than three women, chances are somebody in the room has experienced sexual violence. I recognize that.

To those who are listening, if you are experiencing sexual violence or domestic violence, know that you are not alone. Know that there are thousands of organizations across the country whose doors are open. Talk to someone you trust. Reach out to them. They'll make sure that you and your loved ones are safe, even during this pandemic.

As you mentioned, MP Hutchings, it takes a certain level of courage to say “me too”. It takes a certain level of courage to put yourself out there with the stigma and the vulnerability that unfortunately comes with that kind of disclosure, but what those silence-breakers did was give courage to other survivors, and it give courage to decision-makers to accelerate the pace of change.

We were able to review tens of thousands of unfounded cases of sexual assault, where those few who actually came forward to report but weren't believed had the opportunity to have their cases reassessed. We were able to hear from front lines that every time one of these hashtags comes out, the demand for their services goes up. We were able to deploy dollars very quickly so that they could keep their doors open, keep their institutions and organizations safe and keep their staff paid.

We were also able to work with our partners to develop a framework for safety on campuses. You know, 41% of sexual assault cases in Canada are reported by those in post-secondary institutions. We also heard from men and boys who want to, and can, play a really important role in not just being a bystander, but addressing some of the harmful attitudes and behaviours that lead to rape and sexual assault and the trauma that follows. We've been able to work with dozens of organizations across the country, not only working to heal men, but also supporting men who are working with other men to address those problematic attitudes.

The issues of sexual violence and gender-based violence will not be solved easily. It will take generations of work, and that's the kind of work that I know this committee and this Parliament, and of course our government, are committed to continuing.

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Long Range Mountains, NL]

Thank you, Minister.

I'm sure you'll agree that no one will ever forget what 2020 has been. There have been struggles and pains. There's been resilience, strength, innovation and resistance, and our country has come together. We've made sacrifices to flatten the curve, and we've been innovative in supporting folks.

It's also been a year that we've celebrated differently, too. I have always looked forward to the many pride parades throughout my riding, and this year, of course, it was different as many of the events were virtual. Our commitment to stand with our LGBTQ friends, family, neighbours and communities is very important to me.

Minister, can you speak on the steps our government has taken to demonstrate our unwavering support for all Canadians.

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

MP Hutchings, you're making me feel nostalgic at the end of this very terrible year. I think for LGBTQ2 Canadians and the organizations that support them, knowing that the Government of Canada and, frankly, all parties in the House are with them after decades and decades of advocacy is really, really important and we should continue that.

Minister Chagger will be working to roll out millions of dollars for LGBTQ2 organizations. This is the first fund of its kind. Knowing her and the Prime Minister, certainly not the last. We've had bills passed in the previous Parliament that provided protection for trans and LGBTQ2 Canadians, which did not exist before. Of course, we're taking their realities into consideration, both with the response to COVID and specifically in the gender-based violence strategy, because we know that they are disproportionately affected by violence, especially in these very difficult times.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Minister, thank you so much. On behalf of the committee, I want to thank you and Ms. Roy, your deputy, for appearing today. We absolutely must work together. The women of Canada are counting on us to continue to pursue their causes.

At this point, we're going to switch to the second panel, which is the other department officials, so I'll introduce them.

We have Nancy Gardiner who is the assistant deputy minister and was here for the first part of our meeting. We also have Lisa Smylie, who's the director general of the communications and public affairs branch, research, results and delivery branch. We have Danielle Bélanger who is the director general of gender-based violence policy. We have Suzanne Cooper, director of strategic policy, policy and external relations directorate.

I'm not sure how many of you or who will be starting off to speak for the five-minute summary, but I will let you jump in.

[Nancy Gardiner, Assistant Deputy Minister, Department for Women and Gender Equality]

Good morning.

There is no five-minute summary. We're just going to jump right into the questions and answers, if that's okay.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

That is no problem at all.

We are going to start, then, with our six-minute round of questions.

We have Ms. Shin.

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

Thank you very much.

I'd like to thank the minister and the department for joining us today to brief us and answer our questions. I think we're all here with the common desire to see more help for women, especially during this time of the pandemic.

As you know, November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and starting tomorrow Canadians will observe 16 days of activism against gender-based violence until December 10.

At the forefront of my mind today, on the issue of violence against women, is domestic violence and human trafficking.

Concerning domestic violence, as you are aware, COVID-19 has caused a hike in incidents. Although there has been an increase, we're not seeing all the numbers. Because of social isolation and lockdowns, perpetrators have been empowered to exercise greater control over their intimate partners' use of phones and computers, so women are unable to access their communication devices to cry for help and report their incidents.

In our last committee meeting, we heard that tragic barriers have prevented the protection of victims and prevented helping them escape from their perpetrators. For example, court closures prevent access to court orders, and in some regions limited access to public transportation and closures of community support agencies have greatly hindered exit strategies. In some cases, public health service workers lack trauma sensitivity and were sending victims of domestic violence back to their perpetrators because they were inaccurately assessing the victims' need for help and their need to leave.

The Liberal government has intervened across governmental jurisdictions to provide emergency COVID support. Victims' need for support and escape from domestic violence is daunting.

What has the department done to improve exit strategies for victims of domestic violence, in this unprecedented context of lockdowns and social distancing? Will the government be willing to provide intergovernmental support and work with other ministries, such as public safety, the provinces and regions, to make sure roadblocks are cleared for victims to have viable exit strategies?

[Nancy Gardiner]

Thank you very much for your questions.

I'll begin by reiterating some of the pieces that we've put into the response for COVID, in terms of what WAGE has actually put forward.

The minister mentioned earlier there has been an investment of $50 million in women's shelters, sexual assault centres and organizations providing critical services to support women and children fleeing violence during this really critical time.

As of earlier this year, 432 women's shelters across the country received support. Also, 93 sexual assault centres and 167 women's shelters and organizations in Quebec have received funding to support the critical work they've done to support women and children who are fleeing violence during this crisis.

There was an announcement recently of another $50 million that we're working on and will provide to organizations to allow them to continue this important work.

Finally, in terms of the first amount of money, in May an additional $10 million was provided to organizations supporting critical services to women, beyond shelters and sexual assault centres.

I'll turn to my colleague Danielle Bélanger to add any additional comments on that.

[Danielle Bélanger, Director General, Gender Based Violence Policy, Department for Women and Gender Equality]

Thank you, Nancy.

With the emergency funding, a number of testimonials have come to us from a number of organizations. COVID has certainly exacerbated a lot of what we knew before the pandemic, and a number of organizations have told us that that emergency funding was really critical for what they could do to respond to the emergency, such as providing more emergency planning and an emergency response, having a number of people on the ground to help with the sanitary measures required within a shelter and being able to put counselling services online, for instance, when they used to be face to face. These are the things we've heard from a lot of organizations across the country.

To add to that, with COVID, and even pre-pandemic, we've been working on the gender-based violence national action plan. This was mentioned earlier in some of the questions with the minister. We have engaged hundreds of stakeholders, GBV sector organizations and indigenous partners across the country to help us come up with a really solid evidence-based path forward with our stakeholders to identify how we can actually respond to the number of recommendations that are coming forward. As the minister mentioned earlier, in the justice systems, with police, with support for families and survivors and on prevention, we are working closely with our partners and the provinces and territories to respond to that.