Status of Women Committee on Dec. 7th, 2023

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

The $537,000 is strictly for you guys to decide who gets the money...?

[Frances McRae]

Well, it's to enable us to do the work of the proper assessment of the hundreds and hundreds of applications that we get, to be able to determine the amount of money we can provide and to whom, and to provide that advice, so it's $500,000 or so, which is a few people to do the work.

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

How many is “a few”?

[Frances McRae]

Well, generally speaking, I would say that the Treasury Board Secretariat tends to estimate full-time equivalent folks at a certain level. We do have, as well, the employee benefits plan that has to be factored into that. There's essentially a formula, depending on.... If it's the level of an officer, it might be an EC-05. There's a specific range of salary, and we tend to go through—

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

What would that range of salary be? I guess what I'm having a hard time understanding here is that you said “hundreds of applications”, and this is $537,000 to determine who gets money.

[Frances McRae]

Let's think about the total value. The applications we get represent well over $500 million in terms of requests. For us to spend time properly assessing those, we really want to make sure we are giving everyone a fair shot.

We take the time we need to assess each application carefully. Then, as I said, the additional piece is the assessment, then the decision-making process and then the establishment of the contribution agreements, which then requires monitoring and discussion with each recipient.

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

Are you saying it takes more money to decide if somebody gets a $500,000 contract, a $10,000 contract or a $5-million contract? Are you saying it's going to cost more money to assess that?

[Frances McRae]

I'm saying it costs more money when you have a large volume of applications.

Each application has to be looked at separately and properly. That takes the time that we have in our—

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

Who measures how long, or do you have key performance indicators of how long it should take you to assess an application?

[Frances McRae]

For the assessment of the applications, I would have to go back to our team to find out exactly how long it takes them. It depends on the call and on what we've requested of each applicant.

I would say, overall, when you have that level of volume and demand—

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

Are you mandated on how long it takes?

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Your time is over. Thanks very much, Michelle.

We're going to move on now to Marc Serré.

Marc, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Ms. McRae, thank you for the work you’re currently doing.

My first question concerns the National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, which we have implemented.

Before we get into specific criteria, I’d like you to briefly explain why some opposition parties are saying there were budget cuts. As I understand it, before the pandemic, funds were allocated on a project-by-project basis. During the pandemic, we obviously had emergency funds, which doubled. The provinces also contributed. In any case, the Horizon Centre for Women in West Nipissing received additional funds and the province also contributed.

Now, the program has existed for 10 years. These are the ongoing funds, which is what agencies requested.

So, there were project funding and additional emergency funds during the pandemic, and now there’s a ten-year plan including the provision of ongoing funding that helps organizations and provinces.

Have I accurately summarized the situation?

[Frances McRae]

Thank you for the question.

With regard to the National Action Plan, it’s true that each participating province and territory must also contribute in some way, that’s part of the Action Plan. It is indeed a 10-year action plan.

Presently, there is funding for four years. We’re working very closely with the provinces and territories to make sure the existing funds are well spent and that we can demonstrate the results of that funding on the ground.

Then, if there are adjustments to be made to the strategy and funding, governments across Canada will have the opportunity to make them.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

If I understand correctly, one of the action plan pillars focuses on men and boys.

I joined the committee five or six years ago. At the time, the government had launched a temporary program. Now, if I understand correctly, it's part of the negotiations with the provinces. It's one of the first pillars. I think the minister mentioned earlier that it accounts for about 25% of the funds allocated.

Can you explain to us where the money is invested for educating men? The approach is different for adults and for boys in elementary and high school. We certainly understand the importance of prevention and education to ensure that these men are part of the conversation and the solution.

[Frances McRae]

Thank you for the question.

This is a societal issue we need to address, and men and boys are part of the solution.

I've heard what the committee's witnesses have said here in the context of other studies you've done. Clearly, there's work to be done around the trauma that men and boys have experienced and the ways they manage their emotions. That's part of the prevention pillar. As the minister said, each province has to invest at least 25% of the funding in prevention. There are many examples of how various governments and organizations are tackling this issue.

It's important to realize that not everyone needs the same solution, necessarily. For example, we're working very closely with an organization called Pauktuutit in the north, which has really important programs for young Inuit men, but it's not the same thing for people in, say, rural Nova Scotia.

We absolutely have to tackle the issues that are specific to each place, and that's what the national action plan to end gender-based violence will help us do.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

I'd like to pick up on Ms. Larouche's question and talk about the work you're doing now with francophone women across the country, who were forgotten in the action plan.

Can you tell us about the negotiations and what can be done to better support francophone women in minority communities in Canada?

[Frances McRae]

Thank you for the question—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I'm going to leave that as a statement, not as a question, since we're way over time.

Thank you so much.

We're now going to move over to Andréanne Larouche.

You have six minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I was going to ask you a different question, but I'll go with what Mr. Serré asked because the minister more or less answered my question when I asked her.

Anyway, I saw you nod just now. I'd like to hear what you were going to say about the lack of services for francophone women outside Quebec. They were consulted and clearly explained the fact that francophone women who are victims of violence and need health care or need to be heard have to be understood in their own language. In a crisis situation, they cannot be served in a language other than French.

What's your plan for addressing that?

[Frances McRae]

Thank you very much for your question. I'm very happy to be able to share information about that with you.

We've had several conversations with the representatives of the association you mentioned earlier. We put them in touch with our provincial and territorial colleagues, each of which has a network of partners they work with to develop and implement their plan.

For example, in British Columbia, the people representing the organization you mentioned were very interested, and they told me they hadn't managed to join the provincial consultation network, so we put them in touch with those people. I also met with the people in charge of that organization when we were on Prince Edward Island during the last meeting.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

You're talking about the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne. I met with its representatives yesterday to discuss their pre-budget requests because any national action plan comes with funding, of course. They analyzed the action plan and its envelope, and they came to see me to make sure this would be fixed in the next budget and there would be money specifically to help francophone women.

Will you be fixing that in the next budget and updating the national action plan to end gender-based violence?

[Frances McRae]

Thank you very much.

Our priority is to roll out the national action plan. We want to make sure the association and its members are part of the conversations with their province or territory. It's important to us that the provinces and territories consult people on the ground.

We have other projects aimed at supporting women in minority language communities, and we're working with groups in New Brunswick, for example. We can probably tell you more about those projects later, but we have to make sure that the people who need services get them in their language, as you say.

The same goes for immigrant women. We worked with the provinces and territories to make sure those women are taken into account in their action plans.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

We're running out of time, so I just want to point out that those women have been forgotten and there aren't really any services available to them. I would invite you and the department to think about that. These people say they weren't consulted. They say they sent you their recommendations, but nothing was earmarked for them.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time with the minister. Like some of my other colleagues, I'm concerned about the cuts that Treasury Board has directed various departments to make. The minister more or less addressed that. You tried to add something. We're talking about cuts now, and I'm trying to find the number you mentioned. Maybe I'll let you elaborate on that.

There have been questions. We completely agree that there needs to be better oversight over public finances. However, Women and Gender Equality Canada has a huge amount of work to do in various areas, especially to address the needs of female victims of violence.

I'm trying to understand exactly where you're planning to make those cuts. You're talking about millions of dollars. Can you give us the specific amount again? I'm sure you've started looking at where you can make those cuts. I sincerely believe that, with everything that's going on, cutting budgets is the last thing we should be doing. We should be increasing them.

Given how great the needs are, I believe we need to think about this. I'm worried about the impact these cuts could have. We've always said that, in some cases, we have to keep helping people in really difficult situations.

[Frances McRae]

Thank you for the question.

The purpose of the resources we have at Women and Gender Equality Canada is really to enable us to fulfill the role we've been given within the government as a whole. As the minister said, our organization has a few hundred people, which isn't a lot. Our role isn't to do everything related to equality, be it of women or gender-diverse people. Our role is to act as a catalyst and spur others to action.

Personally, I believe that the resources and the needs exist throughout government. We do agree that we need to pay attention to 50% of the population.