I'd like to call the meeting to order.
Welcome to meeting number 133 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. All comments should be addressed through the chair. Please raise your hand if you wish to speak. I will track the time accordingly and will provide a signal when there is one minute left, and again when there are 30 seconds left. Thank you all for your co-operation.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the committee is continuing its study of gender-based violence and femicides against women, girls and gender-diverse people.
Before we welcome our witnesses, I'd 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 at any point any participants feel distressed or need help, please contact our clerk. For all witnesses and members of Parliament, it is extremely important to recognize that these are very difficult discussions. Let's try to be as compassionate as we can in all of our conversations today.
For the first panel, from the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability, we have Professor Myrna Dawson, director; from the National Association of Women and the Law, Suzanne Zaccour, director of legal affairs; from PolySeSouvient, Heidi Rathjen, coordinator; from Rebâtir, Marie-Claude Richer, director, and Élise Joyal-Pilon, lawyer and director.
At this point, we will now begin with our opening statements.
Professor Dawson, you have the floor for five minutes.