Status of Women Committee on Dec. 8th, 2025

[Vé Mikaelian]

We are currently experiencing a lot of instability: the cost of living is rising, prospects are dwindling for young people, buying a house seems out of reach, the environment is burning and so on. Young people are therefore vulnerable and the time is just right for these influencers to capture their attention. The distress that these young people feel is real and justified. We need to address this distress because it comes from somewhere real. Influencers seem to provide young people with an easy solution that seems to offer quick answers to everything. We must also take the bull by the horns.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Thank you.

Here's the dichotomy for me. Over my entire lifetime, I don't recall women being given the accommodation of saying, “Oh, these are the reasons why this young woman or this girl is feeling the way that she is,” yet here we are having a whole study on why young men and boys are feeling the way they are and are being indoctrinated the way they are.

I think we are all agents of our own choices. Where is that balance between providing prevention support to young boys and men, and holding them accountable for the shitty actions that they are oftentimes taking?

[Rachel Gilmore]

I think it's important not to coddle them by acting like young men are in a specific crisis that young people, period, aren't facing.

Income inequality is at a record-high in Canada, and that is the precursor to a lot of the feelings of vulnerability and insecurity that young people—period—are dealing with. It just so happens that a lot of these young men are being targeted by grifters who are profiting off of these specific ways in which that insecurity manifests itself among young men. However, I think that it's unhelpful to act as though the root issues are inherently unique to the lived experiences of young men when so much of this is a societal issue.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Thank you.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I thank the witnesses for joining us today for this study on the rise of antifeminism and masculinism, the source of so many femicides and so much violence against women, which unfortunately, inevitably leads to increased violence against women.

Ms. Gilmore, you’re a journalist, and Ms. Mikaelian will perhaps have something to add.

Last week, there was a lot of talk about the problematic media situation. I’m coming back to the media because of the role that misinformation and disinformation play in radicalization and the rise of the antifeminist movement. As said by Marie‑Eve Carignan, a professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, while acknowledging the media crisis created by the fact that the digital giants of this world aren't paying their share and have reduced the advertising revenues available to the media, why is it important to have a diverse range of media voices to prevent disinformation and misinformation? What role can the federal government play to help?

[Rachel Gilmore]

It is vital that the media include diverse opinions. Local journalism is especially important. It's essential to society in a number of ways. Local media is the only source of reports on issues concerning municipal councils and similar organizations. Without local media, we would never know how to address community issues or discuss them. Without real facts on societal issues, people will look for someone to blame them on. As already said, a lot of people take advantage of the situation to cast blame, and that's why a diverse, strong, well‑funded media is essential to counterbalance problematic individuals who exploit people. That's where the government can help.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Ms. Mikaelian, I see you nodding. Do you have something to add?

[Vé Mikaelian]

Yes. We also need the media to pay attention to what people or community groups are doing on the ground, because the expertise comes from there. We're the ones doing the research; we're the ones with expertise on the ground. We need connection between the media and what we do.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Another researcher, David Morin, came to tell us last week that he found the line blurred when it comes to freedom of expression, but he understood the importance of legislation addressing online hate speech. Léa Clermont‑Dion, another researcher, came to talk to us about the importance of legislating against cyber-violence, something that falls directly under federal jurisdiction since it pertains to the Criminal Code.

Why is it important to equip ourselves with intervention tools when the situation goes too far?

[Vé Mikaelian]

It's certainly important. Adopting such legislation is an excellent step forward. However, if we keep reacting instead of preventing, it will never end. We'll confront increasing violence. We can't put all these people in jail; we can't arrest them all. It takes prevention. That's the heart of the matter.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

As they say, it's a continuum. That's what we hear in committee, that we need to work upstream on the causes of violence, but we also need to equip ourselves to send a strong message because, at some point, there are limits. We work in education, but no tool is effective against people who go too far.

Ms. Gilmore, do you have anything to add concerning the importance of fighting cyber-violence?

[Rachel Gilmore]

Personally, I get a lot of death and rape threats. I find that we're always in reaction mode when it comes to adopting legislation. Based on my experience, even when threats are made, legislation doesn't do much good. When threats are made online, we're told that investigating and finding solutions is very difficult because there are too many people online. I just want to say that it's really important to prevent these problems, rather than react to them. Personally, that forces me to change how I live.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Very good. Thank you.

Now we're going to go to our second round. We'll go to Ms. Roberts for five minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you for attending our meeting. This is a very interesting conversation.

I have a question for both of you. With the rise in intimate partner violence by 76%, do you agree that the laws need to be tightened so we can protect women?

[Rachel Gilmore]

That's an incredibly vague question. Do you have specifics?

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

I'll give you an example. We have a family that had a bond put against their daughter's partner, who was out on bail—not once, not twice, but three times. He eventually killed her. He shot her four times, once in the eye.

How do we protect innocent women against men who instill violence? Do you not think he should have been kept behind bars?

[Rachel Gilmore]

Are you specifically asking about tightening bail laws? Is that specifically your question?

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

Yes.

[Rachel Gilmore]

Okay.

In the context of bail laws, I think that while there are aspects of the bail system that need reform, within the bail system currently in Ontario—I don't have the figures handy in my head right now—my understanding is that there are more legally innocent people currently incarcerated than there are who have gone through the justice system and been found guilty and been incarcerated. I'm not sure that just putting more people in the carceral system in that respect is necessarily the answer.

There are a lot of people who are more qualified to speak to aspects of tightening the bail system, or not, than I am. I will say that the ways in which it's broken aren't necessarily going to be solved by just arresting more people and putting more legally innocent people behind bars.

[Vé Mikaelian]

Once again, we react to events that have already happened, when we should be putting measures in place to prevent them from happening. There's also a lot of talk about coercive control: We need laws on coercive control. The continuum of violence includes not only physical assaults or murders, but a real trend that develops before that: Economic or psychological violence, for instance, that makes a woman feel uncomfortable even about ending her relationship or contacting authorities. The authorities often victimize women as well. As a result, women don't feel comfortable; They often feel a bit degraded by the justice system. So a lot of things need to be put in place before reaching for the extreme solution of simply putting more people behind bars.

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

My concern is that we've studied IPV, and the rates have gone up 76%. In my community, I've been approached by several parents who have lost children, women, to this violence. I understand we have to educate and have to prevent. I get that, which is great.

I have a son and a daughter. I treat them equally, and I've taught them that they need to treat everyone, regardless, with respect. You're going to get to the point where, sometimes in our culture, it doesn't.... For example, individuals coming from other cultures don't understand our laws, and they're not able to protect themselves. We had a witness here who came from a different culture where men have the opportunity to be the dominant individual. Unfortunately, her family felt that it was okay and that the abuse was okay. We need to stop that.

You're talking about education, but how do we educate women coming here? I work with a group in York Region, and they try to educate them about the law so that they can be better protected. If we don't educate them before they come here and are terrorized, how are we going to protect them?

[Rachel Gilmore]

There are plenty of men here who terrorize women.

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

I understand that.

[Rachel Gilmore]

I'm not sure why we're specifically isolating men coming here and terrorizing our women.

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

I understand that. I'm not isolating it. I'm saying that it's something that has to start from the home, that we understand.... I'm a mother, and I've always said to my son that he needs to treat every individual with the respect they deserve if he wants that respect back. If we can teach our men that women are just as important as men, then we'll have a better society, and then we have more opportunity to be equal. Do you agree?