Status of Women Committee on July 31st, 2024

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

Yes, Richard.

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Madam Clerk, why wasn't I asked to vote?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Madeleine Martin]

I'm sorry, Mr. Lehoux. Mrs. Gray is replacing Ms. Vien, so I have her on the list right now. If you become a replacement, I will ask you to vote.

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

At this point, Leah, you have the floor.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you so much, Madam Chair.

I'm really sad about a committee that has worked together to put together transformational studies being used politically today. I'm to speak to the motion, so I will do that, but before I do that, I have to share how devastated I am. I can tell you that as an indigenous woman in this place who decided to run because of this particular issue, because I live in ground zero for murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, because I live in and represent a community where we just had to convict a serial killer and because indigenous women are disposable. No indigenous women were asked to speak today, nobody from the LGBTQ community was asked to speak today and nobody from the trans community was asked to speak today about violence when we are the ones who are on the front lines of being disappeared and murdered.

I find it really hurtful the fact that we didn't even—

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

On a point of order, are we talking about the motion? Sorry. Are we debating the motion?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Okay, sorry. I'll get to the motion, then. I'll tell you why it's really important. It's that I have never in my time, since being elected, seen greater efforts to perpetrate state control on women's bodies. I'll give you a few examples in terms of abortion specifically.

MPs Viersen, Wagantall, Falk, Lewis, Motz and Kurek put forward identical petitions, presented in 2022 by members listed above, calling upon members of Parliament “to do everything in their power to prevent”—

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Chair, I have a point of order.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

—“block, organize against, and vote against any effort by the government to revoke the charitable status of pro-life organizations”.

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

Leah, we have a point of order.

Andréanne.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

It's just been brought to my attention that the sound online is problematic. Since I'm in the room, I can't hear it, but I've just been told that there is a problem with the volume of interpretation from English to French.

Can we check on that, please?

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

Leah, we'll suspend for 20 seconds or so just to ensure that we have good sound being communicated from Zoom into the room.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Sure. No problem, Madam Chair. Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

Thank you.

We'll resume the meeting.

Leah, please feel free to continue.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Just before I start, I'm glad we were able to resolve this, because collegiality has been something that, as you know, I have bragged about in committee—

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

I have a point of order.

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

We have a point of order, Leah.

Anna, what's your point of order?

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

I'm really disgusted in this whole day.

I want to apologize to the two witnesses for coming all this distance to help us solve a problem, that women in this country are being killed, and the other parties don't care. I'm disgusted. We need to be talking about this issue so that we can stop.

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

This is not an active point of order.

At this point, Leah, you can continue.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

I'm disgusted because I wasn't given a chance to put forward witnesses when I'm representing ground zero of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. I could have called the families who just lost their loved ones to serial killers in my riding, down the street from where I live. Not one indigenous woman, not one trans woman, was asked. It was not done in a thoughtful way. It's a way of silencing voices. I do not accept that.

Getting back to the motion on abortion, if you want to talk about the state control of bodies, indigenous women have had it the worst, including the forced sterilization of our women, that continues today.

Let me continue about being disgusted. When I have been at the forefront, since being elected, of fighting against violence and getting bills passed, I will not make apologies to Conservatives who told me and all my sisters during the national inquiry that murdered and missing indigenous women and girls were not on their radar, that pushed against affirming that what was happening to indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ was an ongoing genocide and minimized the fact that it was thousands of indigenous women. I don't want to hear about that.

I've never gotten upset in this meeting, ever. I've worked to work with everybody here. Let me go on about the state control of women's bodies, something that has never happened to men. Name one law where men's bodies are being threatened by state control. Shame. Shame. Shameful.

There's the fact that a piece of backdoor legislation was opposed by every single women's organization across the country working to end violence. It's another example of using, once again, the crisis of violence against women for political points to push forward backdoor legislation threatening abortion. It says, “Canada is failing its pregnant women and their preborn children”, something that's already protected under the Criminal Code. It was very aggressively opposed by all women's organizations across the country who are dealing with domestic violence, minus two pro-choice organizations.

There's the fact that in 2020, the current Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, claimed that Conservative MPs under his leadership would be allowed to vote their conscience on anti-choice legislation. There is no requirement in the Conservative Party to be pro-choice. This is in contrast, certainly, to the NDP. This was reported in the Toronto Star. Yet the entire Conservative Party, including the leader, even though it was opposed by all women's organizations that are dealing with violence, voted in favour of Bill C-311. This includes MPs who had previously claimed to be pro-choice. Following that vote, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada now lists all Conservative MPs as anti-choice.

It's not surprising to me that every Conservative member on the committee today voted against the motion. It's not surprising. This is about women's control over decisions. This is about the safety of women. This is about protecting women and diverse-gendered folks from state control over our bodies.

This is about protecting women from violence that is perpetrated by male Conservative members, including MP Jamil Jivani, who's best friends with Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, from Yale Law School. Jivani was previously dismissed by Bell Media for misgendering a public figure, among other reasons. Jivani's best friend, Vance, has been quoted as saying that women should stay in abusive marriages and that getting a divorce is—

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

I have a point of order.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

—too easy, and that career-oriented women are more—

[The Chair, Conservative, Shelby Kramp-Neuman]

We have a point of order on the table.

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

What's the relevance to the motion?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Absolutely, it is relevant to the motion. It is about—