I call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 130 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women.
I would like to remind all members of the following points.
Please wait until I recognize you by name prior to speaking. I remind you that all comments ought to be addressed through the chair.
Thank you all for your co‑operation in that respect.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the committee will continue its study on gender-based violence and femicides against women, girls and gender-diverse people.
Before we welcome our witnesses, I would like to provide a trigger warning. We will be discussing experiences related to violence and femicides. This may be triggering to viewers with similar experiences. If indeed at any point you are feeling distressed or need help, please advise the clerk.
For all witnesses and for all members of Parliament, it's very important that we recognize that these are very difficult discussions, and we ought to be compassionate with our conversations.
For today's panel, I'd like to welcome Sunder Singh, who is with the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women. She's executive director and is joining us by video conference.
From Fédération des maisons d’hébergement pour femmes, we have Julie St-Pierre Gaudreault, policy issues adviser, joining us by video conference. We're also joined by video conference by Manon Monastesse, executive director with the Fédération des maisons d'hébergement pour femmes.
We also have Dr. Amanda Buffalo, adviser, Liard Aboriginal Women's Society.
There's been a little bit of movement with some of our witnesses who have had some trouble with their technology, so I'm trying to make sure we have the right ones here.
Last, of course, we have Jill Young in the room. She is chief executive officer of the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.
Welcome to all witnesses and of course to all members.
We will begin with opening statements of five minutes from each organization.
To begin, I'd like to welcome Ms. Singh. The floor is yours for five minutes.