Status of Women Committee on June 2nd, 2026

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

Ms. Lee, do you have similar services?

[Erin Lee]

Yes, we have the same services.

We provide outreach services. We might see 120 people in the shelter annually, but we'll see 500 families in outreach. We work in all of our outreach communities and in far-reaching communities. We'll go to people. We'll have them come to us. We also offer group services and counselling services in person and online, and we have a phone-in group for seniors to reduce isolation so that people are still able to be engaged.

I think the funding envelope and the equation, as it relates to rural communities and the vast geography, are really things that need to be given a lot of consideration.

I want to congratulate you on your success meeting with survivors and say that another model of best practice is survivor forums. We have survivor forums with police and justice partners, where they meet with survivors who give them the good, the bad and the ugly of their experience with those systems to inform them in terms of how they could modify their service.

[Fred Davies, Conservative, Niagara South, ON]

I know that a few of the ladies who came to this forum last week will be watching and will very much appreciate what you've just said. I'm grateful for that because, as I said to them, it was just day one for me. They have suffered a lifetime. They carry their wounds and their scars with them every day. They have trust problems and relationship problems, but they are the most courageous people I've ever met in my life. I'm grateful for their visit here, but it is only day one.

Forums like this also add value to awareness across the country. Again, I'm grateful to have been here to help with that.

I have one other question: Our justice system often heavily favours the offender over the victim—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

I'm sorry, colleague. Your time is up, but perhaps your question will be taken up by one of your colleagues.

Ms. Ménard, you have the floor.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Ms. Champagne, Ms. Lee, I am amazed by your aplomb. What you've shared today sheds new light on the committee's work.

I'd like to echo your words, Ms. Champagne, and I'll keep them in mind: women's shelters are, in fact, sanctuaries. Of course, the beds come to mind. For some women, entering a shelter means it's the first night in a very long time that they'll sleep without fearing for their lives. That's not insignificant.

These shelters—these sanctuaries—are kept afloat by trained and passionate staff. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but that staff is likely also running on fumes. That's what I'm hearing in conversations here in Quebec, anyway.

Can you give us an overview of the situation for support workers—on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to support those women? I think it's important to address this in the report and in the recommendations we'll be presenting to the government.

[Catherine Champagne]

One hundred per cent, and it's the same across the country. It's the same as it is in Alberta as well. As someone who worked on the front line and went all the way up within women's shelters, I know how difficult that work can be, and it's very daunting for them. If you look at something like turnaways, on a regular day, the rest of us go to work, and we're not having to turn women and their children away from the place where we work. That can be really heavy for them to deal with.

At ACWS, we had an initiative, also funded through the national action plan dollars a couple of years ago, that was counselling frontline shelter staff. This is something that gets overlooked and lumped into their regular EAP, whereas this is really specific. It talks about debriefing, how to deal with those strategies and how to come back to work the next day and do the same job that is extremely hard and heavy. I think we need to look at investing money into that.

As well, we see really high turnover rates when it comes to staff in shelters across the province. We as an organization try to find ways to support shelters to alleviate that, but it's going to continue to happen. The work is heavy, and the ability to do it for a long time is really hard, so I think we need to invest more into how we support them. Also, pay them a living wage. It's such a big part of it, even in Alberta. They're not paid enough. We don't have people who have more expertise or experience to come in to take some of those roles, because the pay is just not enough.

Including frontline shelter support workers in everything that you do and every recommendation that this committee makes is so vital and so important. They're the ones who are going to enact this work and support survivors directly on the worst days of their lives.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Ms. Lee, I'd like to take the conversation a step further: Does the fact that survivors must, at times, try to quickly rebuild a bond of trust with support workers have an impact on them?

[Erin Lee]

I would like to say that I feel like our staff are very well trained, very passionate and do everything and use every strategy. I think compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma is a reality, as well as the fact that we know women carry trauma and our staff carry trauma. I think we have to invest and recognize that people should be allowed paid time off, that people should be encouraged to take a break and that the funding necessitates training and breaks and recognizes there is compassion fatigue.

We have groups that we'll have our staff go to for two hours a week just to sit down and unload things so that they can be healthier, because when they're not healthy, they're going to put clients at risk. We're not going to do that. We're going to mitigate that at every road.

[Marie-Gabrielle Ménard, Liberal, Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, QC]

Thank you very much.

In Quebec, specialized courts were established a few years ago. The success of their implementation was also linked to training received by judges and socio-legal workers, to ensure adequate support for victims and survivors.

When women take that courageous step of fleeing a violent home, they encounter all kinds of support workers along the way—in shelters, of course, but also outside of them. I am thinking in particular of the staff from the Transit Secours organization who were with us a few days ago.

Ms. Champagne, Ms. Lee, in your opinion, who should receive trauma-informed training to fully understand and effectively support domestic violence survivors?

[Erin Lee]

That's a very large question given I saw a sign that indicates there is very little time left.

I think we need public education and to create awareness campaigns in the community to mobilize our community to recognize when they see violence and that they should name violence so we can change violence. We need to be doing it in school. We need to be doing it all the way through. That is a huge investment we need to make. Judicial training on the other end of that spectrum is also quite critical.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Ms. Ménard, thank you very much for that exchange.

Ms. Champagne and Ms. Lee, thank you for making yourselves available today. We've learned a great deal from your testimony.

Colleagues, we will suspend for a few moments while we welcome the second panel.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

I call the meeting back to order.

Welcome to each and every one of you.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the witnesses and members.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. If you are attending remotely, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. Please mute yourself when you are not speaking.

If you wish to speak, just raise your hand. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function.

For interpretation for those on Zoom, you have the choice, at the bottom of your screen, of floor, English or French. For those in the room, you can use the earpiece and select the desired channel.

I would like to remind the witnesses that members may ask their questions in English or French. If you will need interpretation, please take a moment now to select the desired channel.

I also remind you that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. That said, I won't interrupt exchanges between members and witnesses, so as not to break the pace.

I will now welcome our witnesses.

We have, from Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women, Sunder Singh, executive director. From the Denise House, we have Julia Fiddes, executive director. From the YMCA Cambridge, we have Kim Decker, chief executive officer.

Welcome. We will begin now with opening statements.

Ms. Singh, the floor is yours for five minutes. Thank you.

[Sunder Singh, Executive Director, Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Honourable Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the urgent need for additional shelters and transitional housing for women and children escaping violence.

For more than 20 years, I have served with the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women. During that time, I have witnessed the courage of women who have made the difficult decision to leave abusive relationships in search of safety and a better future for their children. I've also witnessed the heartbreaking reality that many women cannot find a safe place to go. Their children live in fear, witnessing violence in their homes and carrying emotional scars that can last a lifetime.

Many women who seek safety are turned away because shelters are full. Shelters are not merely emergency housing; they are a critical violence-prevention service. When shelter space is unavailable, women and children are often forced to remain in dangerous situations or face homelessness.

Statistics Canada has reported that women continue to be turned away primarily because facilities are operating at capacity. This remains a significant challenge across Canada, particularly in major urban centres. However, I believe we have an opportunity to address two major challenges facing our country at the same time.

Canada faces a chronic shortage of skilled trades workers. Employers across the country are searching for qualified people in construction, welding, carpentry, heavy equipment operation, electrical work and many other trades. At the same time, thousands of women leaving violence are seeking a pathway to independence.

Shelters need to become not only places of safety but also centres of opportunity for the women seeking to start a new life. By integrating skilled trades training into shelter programs, women could gain valuable skills while rebuilding their lives. Through partnerships with unions, employers, colleges and apprenticeship programs, shelters could become gateways to meaningful careers.

Women should not be limited to minimum wage employment when they have the potential to become skilled professionals with stable incomes, benefits, pensions and long-term career prospects. A woman who seeks safety and enters a shelter can leave with a trade, an apprenticeship opportunity and the ability to support herself and her family with dignity and confidence.

I would like to share a practical example. The Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women recently had an opportunity to partner with the County of Simcoe and the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury to establish a shelter in Bradford, Ontario. This area has a high need for a shelter. Seventy women were placed in hotels because shelter space was not available.

A municipally owned property is available and could accommodate up to 20 women and their children at a time. The shelter could provide safe housing, children's programming, personal development opportunities and training in construction craft worker skills. The estimated investment would be approximately $13,000 per woman, including both shelter accommodation and training. Within a matter of months, many participants could be employment-ready, moving toward apprenticeships and long-term careers.

The benefits extend far beyond the individual woman. When women secure meaningful employment, they gain financial independence. They begin planning for home ownership, transportation, further education and a brighter future for their children. Communities gain skilled workers. Employers gain much-needed talent. Governments benefit through reduced reliance on social assistance and increased tax revenues. This is not simply a social investment; it is an economic investment with measurable returns.

The vision for the Bradford shelter received strong support from municipal leaders, community partners and labour organizations. The need is clear, and the opportunity is real. The only barrier is funding.

Today, I urge the government to view shelters not as a cost but as an investment in public safety, workforce development, economic growth and the future of Canadian families. Every shelter space represents more than a bed. It represents—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you, Madam.

Ms. Fiddes, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Julia Fiddes, Executive Director, The Denise House]

Good morning, Madam Chair and honourable members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today as part of your study on the role and capacity of women's shelters in transitional housing.

I'm appearing today from the perspective of Durham region, where four gender-based violence shelters serve a rapidly growing population. Although each organization works tirelessly to support women and children fleeing violence, demand continues to exceed available capacity. Each day, shelters across our region and across Canada are forced to make untenable decisions because there are simply not enough safe and affordable housing options available to survivors.

Women fleeing violence are remaining in emergency shelters longer, not because they continue to require emergency intervention, but because affordable and appropriate housing is too often unavailable as a next step. Emergency shelters in effect have become overflow housing for a system under severe strain. At the same time, women are increasingly presenting with overlapping challenges, including trauma, mental health concerns, substance use, precarious employment, family court involvement, caregiving responsibilities and systemic barriers related to race, disability, immigration status or indigenous identity.

When women cannot afford housing, they are more likely to remain in unsafe relationships, placing both themselves and their children at continued risk. When rents are unaffordable, when child care is inaccessible and when income supports are inadequate, leaving violence becomes significantly more difficult. For many survivors, the question is not simply, “Can I leave?”, but rather, “Where will I go, how will I support my children and will we be safe tomorrow?”

The lack of affordable housing is now one of the greatest barriers to safety for survivors of gender-based violence. While emergency shelter beds are essential, shelters alone cannot resolve this crisis. Women need a continuum of support that includes prevention, emergency response, transitional and deeply affordable housing, mental health supports, child care, employment assistance and long-term stabilization.

In Durham region, intimate partner violence was formally declared an epidemic in 2023. Community organizations, municipalities and service providers have mobilized in response. However, local action alone cannot resolve a national housing crisis. If we are serious about ending gender-based violence, housing must be recognized as a central part of the solution.

Transitional housing is particularly important, because recovery from violence does not occur within three to six months. Survivors need time to regain stability, support their children and heal from their trauma.

I would respectfully offer the following recommendations for the committee's consideration.

First, the federal government must significantly increase investment in deeply affordable and supportive housing designated for women and children fleeing violence. Access to safe, affordable housing is one of the most effective means of preventing gender-based violence.

Second, funding models for shelters and transitional housing must reflect current realities, including longer shelter stays, increasingly complex client needs and staffing pressures.

Third, greater investment is needed in supportive, transitional and second-stage housing. Emergency shelter is only the first step. Without safe, longer-term options, women remain trapped in cycles of instability.

Fourth, funding models must account for regional realities. Communities such as Durham region are experiencing rapid growth and rising housing costs, as well as increasing demand for services. Women cannot rebuild their lives if social assistance and housing benefits remain far below market rates.

Finally, survivors require integrated supports, including child care, legal support, trauma counselling, income support and transportation, as well as culturally responsive services.

In closing, gender-based violence is not only a crisis occurring behind closed doors. It's a huge housing issue, a public health issue, an economic issue and a public safety issue. When women and children cannot access safe housing, they remain vulnerable to violence, including the risk of lethal harm. When women's shelters operate above capacity, the entire support system becomes strained.

We know what works: investment in affordable housing, transitional supports, prevention and coordinated services. These investments give women and children the opportunity not only to survive violence but to rebuild their lives and move towards a future free from violence. Lasting safety requires lasting solutions.

Thank you for having me as part of the opportunity to contribute to this important study. I'm happy to respond to any questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you for your remarks, Ms. Fiddes.

We'll now move to our last speaker.

Ms. Decker, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Kim Decker, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Cambridge]

Honourable Chair and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this study.

My name is Kim Decker, and I'm the CEO of YWCA Cambridge. We are a member association of YWCA Canada, the nation's oldest and largest gender equity organization, and the largest provider of housing and shelter for women and gender-diverse people.

YWCA Cambridge operates the first and only women's emergency shelter for unhoused women in Cambridge. Our own research led us to build a model that differs significantly from traditional overnight-only emergency shelters. We operate a 24-7 facility with on-site wraparound supports.

We do this because our own local research—the findings of which are echoed by provincial and national research—reveals that nearly two-thirds of women experiencing homelessness experience violence on a weekly basis. This tells us that forced daytime discharge is unsafe and makes it impossible to have any semblance of stability, therefore increasing the risk of violence and other challenges in the shelter. The overnight-only service model is a key reason why homelessness shelters have the reputation of being so unsafe. It's not the service; it's the funding model.

I want to speak about the problematic and artificial distinction between homeless shelters and domestic violence shelters. A woman staying in a violence against women shelter is homeless—if she had a safe alternative, she would be there—yet funders and policy-makers continue treating these as two separate systems. This silos funding and results in a significant discrepancy in the level of support a woman receives, depending on which door she enters. This distinction is rooted in an outdated belief that someone leaving abuse is more worthy of support than someone who loses their housing for other reasons or, indeed, someone who loses their housing before they can access a VAW shelter.

This system failure is hidden by current data collection methods. Federally mandated point-in-time counts focus on street homelessness, which is more visible and tends to be male-dominated. Women are far more likely to experience hidden homelessness—couch surfing, staying in unsafe situations or remaining with an abusive partner to avoid the street.

Further, because there are fewer shelter beds and services dedicated to women, they are effectively made invisible. More than one million women in Canada have experienced this form of housing insecurity. They are not visible on a sidewalk, so there are fewer shelter beds for them versus men—a key source of point-in-time data. They are uncounted and, consequently, unfunded.

Housing insecurity is not only a result of violence but a major driver of it. Without a front door that locks, women are forced into survival sex or other exploitive situations just to secure a roof for the night to avoid the often greater or less predictable risks of violence.

Since opening our shelter in February 2025, we have been at capacity. Since August 2025, when we began tracking this number, we've had to turn away more than 230 requests for service because we were full. There was and still is nowhere else in our city to direct these women.

We also see a growing crisis of accessibility that disproportionately affects unhoused senior women, a demographic increasingly falling into homelessness. National data shows that only 66% of women's shelters have wheelchair-accessible rooms. For the 79% of women in housing need who live with a disability, the system is physically inaccessible. It's also important to note that housing that is both accessible and affordable is nearly impossible to find. In fact, a significant factor in the lengthening terms of stay in shelters is the fact that there is no appropriate housing into which women can move.

The national housing strategy is seven years in, yet significant gender equity gaps remain. Across Canada, there are over 4,800 emergency shelter beds dedicated to men, compared to just over 2,000 for women.

To address this, the federal government must formally expand the definition of “homelessness” in the Reaching Home strategy to include hidden homelessness.

We need a mandatory gender-based carve-out in the national housing strategy that reflects the actual scale of women's housing needs.

Federal infrastructure funding must be contingent on universal design standards to ensure that seniors and women with disabilities are never turned away because a facility lacks an elevator or an accessible washroom.

Finally, we must stop dichotomizing homelessness and violence against women. They are two sides of the same coin.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you very much for your thoughts, Ms. Decker.

Mrs. Roberts, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses. I think you are definitely our heroes for helping women, so thank you for that.

I'm going to speak with Sunder. I have visited your organization on several occasions. I know you've been the executive director since 2005, advocating for women, seniors and newcomers. I also know that you help over 4,000 individuals each year, and that there has been a 45% increase in annual visits—up to over 14,500. You support almost 15,000 seniors each year.

I also know that you have a program to educate girls and women about human trafficking. A testimony from one individual you have helped is a testament to what your organization does, and I want to read this testimony: “I am a mom of a beautiful girl and recently came out of a violence relationship. I knew nothing about the law or anything in Canada. A good friend of mine with the same experience referred me to EHCW. As soon as I called them, I got a wonderful worker named Sona on the phone. Right away she met me through a zoom meeting and took the time to listen to me and promised to help me....”

This particular individual was able to escape the violence she was accustomed to, I guess, if you want to call it that.

Sunder, I know that you've requested some assistance for additional shelters. What does the government need to do to ensure that the perpetrators are kept behind bars and that survivors feel safe? As well, how can we as a government put rules in place so that the shelters are there to help women?

[Sunder Singh]

Thank you, MP Roberts, for shedding light on the services we provide.

The topic of perpetrators and where they should be is an important one to talk about. When they are caught, perpetrators should get a full sentence. They should not be jeopardizing the well-being of survivors, who are now going to go to a shelter where they can feel safe and comfortable in order to get back into life and onto the road to recovery.

When I say “full sentence”, I mean that perpetrators need to be charged $200,000, or whatever, and then they should remain in jail—no parole, no bail. The charges that are put on the perpetrators should go directly back to the shelter. There should be strict punishments for the perpetrators, without letting them go after two weeks or a month and having women feeling unsafe. It's important that they get the full sentence.

Also, the government is looking for innovative ways to look after the population. What more can be done than to bring the women back to employability? Train them. Don't just keep them in shelters, and then ask what is next. Women are still feeling lost. As soon as a woman is registered in a shelter, she should go through training. There's a long list of skilled trades that are available to women. They can choose what suits them and then go through the training. Unions are willing to work. Colleges and universities are willing to provide training to women. Unions have training centres with child care systems in place to help women focus on training to build their skills.

This is a very innovative way in the long run. It helps the government. It gives a return to the government on the initial investment in shelters to expand and increase the number of shelters so that there is no waiting for women and their children.

It will certainly help women who are fleeing from violence. As soon as they have space in a shelter, they can build their skills, and they can then work and build the lives of their children, rather than feeling that sense of homelessness or of not having a goal or knowing where to go next. We need to provide that space for women.

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

Thank you very much, Ms. Singh.

My next question is for Kim Decker.

Your shelter operated at more than 94% occupancy during its first year and still had to turn away 160 requests for services. How common is this level in your experience?

[Kim Decker]

As I said, our shelter has been open just a year, and since August of 2025 we've had over 230 requests for service that we've not been able to fill.

When we first looked at opening the shelter, I'm not sure that we had a clear picture of the extent of women's homelessness in our community. I think that given the fact that we have been full and the fact that we've had to turn away so many requests for service, we're starting to see the true picture of what women's homelessness looks like in our community, and I believe that it is going to continue to grow.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Ms. Decker, I'm sorry, but I have to interrupt you, as the time is up.

Ms. Tesser Derksen, you now have the floor.

[Kristina Tesser Derksen, Liberal, Milton East—Halton Hills South, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thanks so much, everyone, for welcoming me. It's my first time on this committee. I represent the riding of Milton East—Halton Hills South.

My question is for Ms. Fiddes.

I believe you have some background in that area with Halton Women's Place and SAVIS as well. I was at a survivors panel that SAVIS hosted just a few weeks ago. Thank you so much for your work. They're very lucky to have you in Durham region now.

We've heard a lot of folks talking about the criminal justice system in particular. Our previous witnesses did as well. I worked for years as a family law lawyer. At the beginning of my career, a lot of the work I did intersected with what we then commonly called the violence against women sector, which in turn often intersected with the criminal courts.

Previous witnesses commented on how the justice system needs to serve women in order to preserve their safety. Noting that provincial justice systems also play a significant operational role in administering justice, we want to give them the sentencing tools they need to keep women safe. Last year, Canadians elected our government on a platform of criminal justice reform. To keep that promise, our government has introduced bail and sentencing reform legislation as well as Bill C-16, which is the protecting victims act. This creates new offences for coercive control and also recognizes femicide as automatic first-degree murder, among many other things. I presume you've heard about this legislation.

In my legal work, I met women who would ask themselves how they got in that situation. You work with women every day who are probably asking themselves the same thing. They're living lives that they never imagined they'd be in. Often I found that the early steps that brought them to those places were imperceivably small. It usually started with control and manipulation by an intimate partner.

I'd ask you to answer two questions for me from your experience. First, how pervasive is coercive control and financial and social isolation by coercive intimate partners in the women you work with? Second, how do you think the protecting victims act will impact your work and the lives of the women and children you assist?

[Julia Fiddes]

That's a great question. I'll start with the coercive control.

There are a lot of things that are different across the continuum of violence against women and gender-based violence. The one thing that is prevalent in any part of the gender-based violence and violence against women movement is coercive control. On every level of violence against women, you will find coercive control at work. It is something that we often have a very hard time working with women about. Because it is so pervasive and so much a part of their day-to-day experience of their gender-based violence, it's very hard to get to the root of.

With the changes to the laws, I can't even imagine.... We're so excited as a sector to have these laws change, because this is something we've been trying to say. You can't have violence against women exist if you don't have coercive control. It's much harder to try to have somebody charged with the larger assaults and the bigger name things. Coercive control is relevant. It's prevalent. It is something that we can see every abuser being held accountable for.

When someone is held accountable for something, it changes something in the survivor. It gives the survivor a bit more to say, “I'm not imagining this. This is actually something that is a problem that isn't just about me.” It gives survivors some control over their own lives, and it gives them some power back. We try very hard as a sector to give women power back over their lives and some autonomy. Having this recognized as something dangerous and pervasive, as we as a sector have known for many years, is is a game-changer. It's going to make things much more respectful for survivors.