Status of Women Committee on June 9th, 2026

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

Thank you for that.

My next question is for Ms. Claudine Thibaudeau.

Did you say that you have a lack of between 5,000 and 20,000 homes? Is that correct?

[Claudine Thibaudeau]

I'm talking about shelter services. It's the emergency shelter spaces. We do have a huge lack. We can refer fewer than half of the victims who are seeking shelter.

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

Here we are. We're being faced with an increase in intimate partner violence. As we all know, 76% is a huge number. We don't have enough shelters. We don't have enough secondary housing that they can go to with their family, their children.

I will speak about a special organization called EVE, or End Violence Everywhere. It was founded by Cait Alexander, who was so terrified for her life that she had to leave this country.

What suggestions do you have for this government on how we can improve the housing situation?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Ms. Thibaudeau, you may answer the question.

[Claudine Thibaudeau]

All right.

There are several things we could do, particularly on the financial front. As for the housing shortage, it's largely due to the fact that housing has become very expensive. If we could provide victims with financial assistance to help them find housing—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you very much, Ms. Thibaudeau. I'm sorry to interrupt you. Mrs. Roberts' speaking time is up.

Madam Nathan, you have five minutes.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair. Through you, I will ask some questions of Ms. MacGregor.

Many witnesses have emphasized that survivors do not experience violence in isolation from other social and economic realities, including poverty, disability, racism, immigration status and housing insecurity. Which populations of women and girls are currently the most underserved by Canada's shelter and transitional housing systems? What targeted interventions would help close these gaps?

[Nneka MacGregor]

Part of what our submission today is alluding to is the fact that there are populations, especially Black women and girls and gender-diverse and trans communities, who are the individuals who are not seen in the shelter systems. When you talk about who are the most isolated and invisible, they are these particular communities.

One of the things around shelters is that we know that, whilst they are critical services, a lot of survivors don't actually go to shelters. A lot of survivors don't have the opportunity to access the services that are there. Some of that community are Black trans individuals who are experiencing violence, Black youth who are experiencing violence, and indigenous communities.

Would you like to add to that, Sonya?

[Sonya Boyce]

I would add that survivors who have precarious immigration status often struggle accessing mainstream housing and other supports. It's primarily because their precarious status is often tied to a temporary work permit and, because of that, their income and housing can be jeopardized if they, for example, have to go to a shelter or have to call in sick and lose time at work. The fear, really, is that it will jeopardize their immigration status.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

That's understandable. Thank you for that.

I just want to follow up to say that research consistently shows that Black women and other racialized women often face unique barriers when accessing services, including experiences of discrimination, distrust of institutions and culturally inappropriate services and supports.

What policy changes are needed to ensure that violence prevention and survivor support systems better meet these needs of Black women and other racialized communities?

[Sonya Boyce]

I'll speak to a couple of things.

The national action plan identifies Black women as a priority group, but when it comes to the issue of the bilateral agreements with the different provinces and territories, the specificity around these priority groups often gets lost in the schedule B. For example, many of the schedule Bs do not mention Black women as a priority group.

At the federal level, I think a robust national action plan, when it comes time for renewal.... I would also echo previous submissions that have talked about the need for an independent, federal oversight body like a federal commissioner to oversee the implementation of the national action plan all the way down to the jurisdictional levels.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Thank you for that.

Witnesses throughout this study have emphasized that economic dependence often limits a survivor's ability to leave an abusive situation safely. I think you alluded to that in your preamble as well. What role do employment supports, income security measures, affordable child care and housing affordability play in preventing violence and supporting long-term recovery? Can you speak specifically to the groups you serve?

[Nneka MacGregor]

These are essential backbone supports that need to be in place. Without economic independence, you cannot leave. Without the ability to support yourself or your children, you cannot leave. Without the ability to access affordable housing, you cannot leave.

Having a robust infrastructure that addresses women's abilities to be economically independent, that allows women to be paid a living wage and that allows women to have access to affordable housing—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you very much, Ms. MacGregor. That is all the time we had.

Ms. Larouche, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I'll try to be brief.

There has been much discussion about the need for shelters and about Bill C‑16, which strengthens legislation by providing the criminal justice system with more tools to help victims break the cycle of violence. The recognition of coercive control is one example.

Following my meeting yesterday with the Minister of Women and Gender Equality, my concern remains whether she will have a discussion with the Minister of Justice. We vote to pass laws at the federal level, yet the administration of justice and support for victims who call your office will be managed by Quebec and the provinces.

Ms. Thibaudeau, as someone who assists victims, do you believe there will be recognition that, by giving police forces more tools under the Criminal Code, they will need additional resources?

There will come a time when the federal government will have to consider some form of funding transfer to support the justice system in the provinces and in Quebec.

[Claudine Thibaudeau]

Yes, that's clear. The police system is already struggling to meet needs related to domestic violence. For example, at the Sûreté du Québec, investigations aren't conducted by detectives. They're handled by patrol officers. Obviously, investigations conducted by patrol officers aren't the same kind as those entrusted to detectives. I think we need specialized investigators throughout the province. Right now, services are inconsistent. In some cities, victims have access to specialized investigators, while in other cities and regions, domestic violence investigations are conducted by patrol officers.

Clearly, when we introduce the concept of coercive control into the Criminal Code, it will require a massive investment in police forces as well as in the entire justice system. Some examples are the criminal court itself, Crown prosecutors, socio-judicial support services, victim assistance centres and, of course, shelters. It is therefore obvious that this will require significant investment.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Zweep, let me ask you a quick question, and I'd like you to answer in under 30 seconds.

In your opening remarks, you addressed the issue of women aged 55 and older. I am also the critic for women's issues, gender equality and seniors. We hear about the growing poverty among senior women.

Have you also observed—even among women aged 65 and older—that their financial resources, including their benefits and fixed incomes, do not allow them to break free from the cycle of violence, which leads them to seek refuge in shelters?

[Debbie Zweep]

Women over the age of 55 are our growing group, for sure, in Ontario. The second-stage shelter that we built was targeted for women over 55. The idea is that they are sharing units. Right now, they're paying $517.50.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you, Ms. Zweep.

I must interrupt you because I don't want to cut into other colleagues' speaking time.

Mrs. Goodridge, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to all our witnesses for being here today and accommodating our parliamentary schedule, which is a bit complicated sometimes, especially when we have all of these votes.

Ms. Zweep, I really appreciate what you have designed and the work you guys do in supporting rural and northern communities. I'm the member of Parliament for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake. It's a lot further north and a lot more rural, but it has a similar sort of idea and similar sorts of issues.

I was wondering if you could talk about some of the demographic breakdowns you see in terms of the number people from Thunder Bay versus from surrounding communities who are utilizing your services.

[Debbie Zweep]

We have three smaller shelters around us. Atikokan is two hours away, and Marathon and Greenstone are three hours away. We have three smaller shelters, and we have transportation policies and protocols for how women in outlying areas can access the shelter in Thunder Bay and vice versa.

I'll give you my shelter breakdown. Demographically, for this shelter, we have seen a huge increase in newcomer and immigrant women. I would say we've moved from 5% to 20% or maybe 25% over the last two years. I believe that that will increase.

That presents us with lots of opportunities to change. For instance, there's the language barrier and the question of what app we are using when we are accessing services and all of those things.

I would say that 40% of women are indigenous and often from this community or those surrounding communities. I would say that the rest are Caucasian.

One of the things that we have is that Sioux Lookout and Red Lake—very north from here—have a transportation policy as well. How do we get women out of the far north into our shelters? From there, if women aren't staying in Sioux Lookout, we have another policy of moving women to locations where they might be better served.

That is the demographic.

We have my sister shelter here, Beendigen. They are almost 100% indigenous and serve almost 100% indigenous women. Most of those women would be from Thunder Bay and surrounding areas.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

I really appreciate that, and I know that when I have met with people from a variety of different shelters across northern Alberta, through my riding and further out, there are often those cases where some of the smaller communities don't have a shelter, so they do have to send them out—

[Debbie Zweep]

Yes.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

—but then what are the policies to be able to get those people back into their communities so they continue having those supports? Do you guys have any programs or projects that you work on about trying to make sure they can reintegrate into their communities when it's safe to do so?

[Debbie Zweep]

Yes, for instance, in Sioux Lookout and Red Lake, north of us, they have a policy whereby the woman can return if it is safe, and they will assist them with transportation. Transportation is a huge expense. I think Sioux Lookout's budget alone is close to $100,000.

The policy really is that we bring them in, and we are not likely returning them to their home community unless that is their wish and unless they are safe. More often than not, women are relocating to the communities, and they more than likely have family and supports within them. The issue is when that community is not safe, such as for instance, in Greenstone. If it's not safe, then we have the protocol. They are brought in to Thunder Bay, and then we can do some more planning. Maybe it's housing we end up on, but maybe it's also a different location with Ontario or Manitoba—we have policies right across Canada for how we move women in regard to risk.