Status of Women Committee on March 25th, 2022

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you so much, Chair.

My first question is for Paul Lacerte.

You spoke a little bit about the impact of colonial policies, in terms of the impact they've had on violence against women, girls and, I would say, gender-diverse individuals. Most notably, the Indian Act really usurped the traditional roles of women as matriarchs but also impacted the understanding of the traditional roles of men, who were to be the protectors of women, distorting that sacred role and responsibility. It is something that I think the Moose Hide Campaign is trying to champion, to get back.

I would also argue that, as you've mentioned, part of the issue when you're talking about indigenous women is the normalized violence and hypersexualization of indigenous women and girls, and a kind of romanticized understanding of indigenous women as portrayed through the media. Certainly Disney does so in its portrayal of Pocahontas and her wonderful romance with John Smith, not noting that she was a 13-year-old girl who was married off to an old, dirty guy.

One only has to think about October and Halloween—where we see things like costumes that are called “the sexy squaw”—to really understand how vile and deeply rooted that normalization of hypersexualization and violence is.

How is the Moose Hide Campaign helping to address that?

[Paul Lacerte]

That's an incredibly complex question.

I would point to two things. One is our effort in the decolonization and re-culturalization space as a lens through which we engage community and design strategy. One really good example of a practice that was displaced is the coming-of-age ceremony. Part of what we're supporting at a community level—and Mr. Stevenson may have spoken to this as part of our kindergarten to grade 12 process—are those early opportunities for intervention in the adolescent window, where young folks along the gender continuum, and male and female, are hardwired for reprogramming, and to understand the effects for themselves of early childhood trauma.

We're in an environment where unhealed early childhood trauma is really prevailing in our communities. Applying this cultural lens and a ceremonial lens, a good example for that very broad question is to support the practice of coming-of-age ceremonies. The code of conduct you have as a man and your accountability to the men in the community, that integrative community capacity building, is really accelerated when we bring those kinds of practices back into place.

There is no panacea in this space. This is about culture change, and it's about shifting our generational thinking so that the devastating effects of these attitudes and perceptions of indigenous women that have been accelerated by Hollywood but also by the prevailing attitudes inside Canadian institutions, the judiciary, the police system etc.—

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Because we have limited time, I would just say that this kind of behaviour by men is even demonstrated within our institutions, including the House of Commons.

You talked about culture change. Would you say that the reclamation of culture, in terms of men's traditional roles and responsibilities, is helping shift the narrative around violence, particularly with young indigenous men?

I think about my community, where young indigenous men are holding circles and holding each other to account to say that they want to end misogyny. They want to take back their sacred role and responsibility.

Do you think that reclamation of culture is actually the best strategy to mitigate against the violence crisis?

[Paul Lacerte]

The answer is absolutely yes, and not just in indigenous communities. I think the reciprocity in the reconciliation space is allowing us to export simple practices, like men sitting in a circle with each other creating the safety to be able to talk through the healing and to support each other through peer support and peer accountability. Culture is absolutely paramount in indigenous communities, and I think it creates a level of encouragement in non-indigenous communities.

That's important for me because there's a spiritual component inside indigenous culture. The scourge of sexualized violence against children in this country and the unhealed trauma that adults are carrying as a result of having suffered sexualized violence causes spiritual trauma. So many people in our own communities have that as part of our story.

Culture helps, I think, with the healing we need so that our behaviour changes. The way culture supports and enables that is that there is a spiritual component. We have some spiritual healing to do if we're going to reach for our higher selves.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Wonderful. Thank you so much.

We're now going to go into our second round.

Shelby Kramp-Neuman, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Can everyone hear me okay?

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I hear you fine. If there are problems, we will let you know for sure.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Fantastic.

First of all, thank you very much to all of you for coming forward and sharing some of your stories.

I'd like to initially address Mr. Stevenson. I would certainly applaud you. You made some comments with regard to moral leadership. I can't speak of that enough—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Shelby, I have to interrupt you.

Could you move your microphone a little bit down? It is very muffled right now, so it may be too close.

Let's try that again.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Okay. I'll just continue talking to Mr. Stevenson.

Mr. Stevenson, I was just applauding you for your comments. You spoke of the moral leadership—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Shelby, I'm sorry about this. We're having a problem with translation. It may be something like the Internet service.

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Alexie Labelle]

Mrs. Kramp-Neuman, could you just pull away your microphone? It's flexible, so don't be afraid.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

To respect the witnesses' time, I'd be happy to pass my time to someone who has better service, whether it's Michelle or Dominique, if they wish.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

I'm happy to take it, if need be.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

We'll just switch right over to Michelle.

Thank you very much, Shelby. I'm sorry about that.

Michelle, you have three minutes and 53 seconds left.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Thank you so much. I know my colleague would ask fantastic questions, so I'll try to channel my inner Shelby through these questions.

You guys have been wonderful. I'm learning lots, to be honest with you.

I'm going to turn it back over to Yordanka.

I'd love to hear you expand on the homeward bound program. I am a big ambassador of it here in my riding of Peterborough—Kawartha. I've seen the life changes it has made for women.

I'm wondering if you could speak about why you think it works and whether you'd love to see it as a national standard program offered from a federal level.

[Yordanka Petrova]

Thank you so much for the fantastic opportunity.

I am always passionate to talk about the homeward bound program. I've been with the program since 2008. I've witnessed amazing transformations of women who have gone through the program. As I said, the majority of them came from the shelter system. Upon leaving the program, we have their graduation, which is a very formal event with a talk from valedictorians.

It's just giving me goosebumps. That's what keeps me motivated.

For the homeward bound program, we are fortunate at WoodGreen to have so many services in one place, with housing and employment supports, in addition to child care centres. The agency has six, and one is particularly for the homeward bound participants.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

What I think is so great about it is the fact that it actually staggers it and has this ladder and time to educate the women so that they make a sustainable income and so they can afford rent or be a homeowner. It's not just for transition.

I don't know if you want to talk about that in terms of the education aspect.

[Yordanka Petrova]

Exactly.

Both education and employment are really the goals of the program. We sponsor two-year college diplomas, so they gain their education with one of the community colleges in Toronto.

It's not just random programs; they are programs connected to the labour market. The strength of the program is in having those relationships with corporate partners. We have quite a few on our list. They secure internships and support for the employment.

We're not talking about survival jobs. We're talking about employment that leads to careers, and—

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

I just want to jump in because I think it's important to have it on the record.

You're saying that even in skilled trades, attracting those women and helping that gender disparity.... We have such a shortage in skilled trades. This program really checks all of those boxes.

I'm sorry, but I get so excited about it, too. Keep going.

[Yordanka Petrova]

Thank you.

Absolutely. It's kind of like we work backwards. We explore the labour market opportunities. All of the programs we sponsor are consulted by our industry council partners, the employers that will be providing the internships and employment.

As I said, we work with mostly corporate partners, so there are lots of opportunities for them to grow. Based on a study—which will be attached to our notes that we'll be sending—8% of those who are housed within five years can afford to buy a home, which I think is fantastic. I think it's incredible.

I didn't talk about this, but we also work closely with builders to provide affordable housing opportunities upon leaving the program. We've had two opportunities. There were 10 units three years ago, and we were able to secure 35 units within a huge building with mixed rental arrangements for exiting participants. The number of calls we were getting when we were—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I do have to interrupt you. I'm so sorry. We're just getting tight on time and everybody has lots of questions for you.

I'm going to pass this over to Jenna Sudds.

Jenna, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Thank you.

Perhaps I'll give you an opportunity, Yordanka.

As you were speaking, I noted that you commented that for every dollar spent, there are six dollars in economic return. I know you cited some other data as well. Some of it flew by me quickly.

I'd love for you to explain that and some of these other metrics that measure the success.

[Yordanka Petrova]

Thanks for providing this opportunity.

I'll just quickly give some numbers. Of the participants who enter the program, 46% come from the shelter system, and 94% are stably housed upon exit. I mentioned that 8% of them are homeowners.

Sixty-four per cent had either grade 12 or lower education, and 100% of them obtain post-secondary education, college education, upon exit. When they came to the program, 94% weren't employed, and 88% were employed upon leaving the program. Ninety per cent of them were on Ontario Works with an income of $1,100 or $600-something dollars. The average wage upon exit is $43,000.

The benefits of the program are not just housing stability, increased education and better employment opportunities, but also the indirect benefits for their children. They experience observing their moms working hard towards their education. Being involved in mentorship programs and having positive role models.... There are multiple levels, not just the immediate.

It's a lengthy program; we recognize this. That's why it's so successful. It provides the time for women to regroup and work on any issues while gaining education and experience through internships and employment.

[Jenna Sudds, Liberal, Kanata—Carleton, ON]

Did I miss the number of women you're helping annually?