Good afternoon, everyone. I call this meeting to order.
I'd like to welcome you to meeting number 11 of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted on Tuesday, February 4, the committee will resume its study of intimate partner and domestic violence in Canada.
Given the ongoing pandemic situation and in accordance with the recommendations from public health authorities and the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on October 19, 2021, to remain healthy and safe, anyone attending the meeting in person must not have symptoms, must maintain two metres of physical distancing, and must wear a non-medical mask when circulating in the room. It is recommended in the strongest possible terms that you wear your mask at all times, including when seated. Everyone must also maintain proper hand hygiene by using the hand sanitizer at the room entrance.
For those participating virtually, I would like to outline a few rules to follow.
You may speak in the official language of your choice. Interpretation is available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either the floor, English or French. If interpretation is lost, please inform me immediately and we'll ensure that interpretation is properly restored before resuming the proceedings.
Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your mike will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer. When speaking, please speak slowly and clearly. When you're not speaking, your mike should be on mute.
Before we welcome our witnesses, I would like to provide this trigger warning. We will be discussing experiences related to violence and assault. This may be triggering to viewers with similar experiences. If you feel distressed or if you need help, please advise the clerk.
I now want to welcome our witnesses for our first panel.
As an individual today, we have Simon Lapierre. From Sakeenah Homes, we have Mashooda-Lubna Syed, government and community relations. From the Women's Centre for Social Justice, we have Nneka MacGregor, the executive director.
Each of you will be provided five minutes for your opening statements. When you see me start to rotate my pen, that means let's start wrapping it up; we're getting past five minutes.
I'm now going to pass the floor to our first presenter.
Simon, you have the floor for the next five minutes.