Status of Women Committee on Sept. 23rd, 2026

[Kelly Tallon Franklin]

They answer the phone and open the door. I'm sorry. That's as blunt as I can get, because when a human trafficking survivor is ready to exit, you have to move immediately, because if you don't.... The fact that they're starting to become unhinged emotionally, mentally, socially and physically.... Maybe their sobriety is at risk again or they're medicating. They're going to slip up with a trafficker and we could find them at the bottom of a lake or a river, or somewhere else.

I'm not exaggerating this. This is exactly what we go through. We've experienced it in your riding. I have driven to your office and on the way brought girls either in or out to where they need to go to get safe, because we're calling places and they have no beds available. They're shopping whether the survivor's suitable for their placement, even though there are allocated survivor beds in most agencies that they will not tell you about.

From there, once you get them through, they can't go through regular programming. They need to just sleep and heal at the beginning. The stages of recovery are different. If we're going to treat them and say, “You're on a schedule. You have to get up. You have to do chores. You have to do this,” they're out of there and back to their trafficker, or they're going to recruit within, or they're going to cause problems and you're going to say they're non-compliant. When they get referrals to another shelter.... I have a girl who was in 30 group homes, foster placements and shelters by the time she was 16. She was so non-compliant because she had been institutionalized by the lack of care and concern that they had to move her to three different child protection services communities. They turn her out at eight o'clock in the morning. How is turning somebody out at eight o'clock in the morning helpful for their trauma care in any instance?

Stage two is helping them with basic life skills, their educational needs and the other things to help reintegrate them into a healthy life that doesn't include violence.

The next stage is helping them figure out how to budget and how to put their housing needs together. They then choose to move—they are not forced to move—rebuild their lives and continue the good cycle. Maybe they'll offer basement apartments that are legal to somebody else who needs help. That's how I started.

[Marilyn Gladu, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, ON]

Excellent. Thank you.

Now I have a question for Ms. Hunter. I know the government has put forward renewed funding for the national action plan to prevent gender-based violence. It's $607.4 million. I believe your foundation endorsed that funding.

Can you talk about how important it is to prevent the cycle of violence that's just exacerbating the lack of housing and shelter space?

[Mitzie Hunter]

Thank you so much. Yes, we definitely support a strategy that ends gender-based violence. I would note that five provinces, I believe, in Canada have declared gender-based violence or intimate partner violence a crisis, with Newfoundland and Labrador being the most recent. It really shows the grave concern that we have for the safety of women, girls and gender-diverse people.

Every 48 hours in Canada, a woman or girl is killed. We know that when they choose to leave an abusive relationship, it's the most risky time. What we've been discussing in terms of the availability of safe spaces for them to go to is absolutely essential for their safety and even their survival.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you for the clarifications, Ms. Hunter.

Colleagues, I made the decision to end the meeting at 6:38 p.m., since the suspension went a little longer and we have two hours. Is that okay?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

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

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you again to both witnesses, Ms. Hunter and Ms. Tallon Franklin, for being here today.

I'm trying to understand how the experience of senior women in violent situations is different. I touched on this briefly during the first hour of the meeting.

I have a quick question for Ms. Tallon Franklin, and then I'll go to Ms. Hunter.

Can you dispel the myth that human trafficking only affects young people? Women of all ages can be trafficked, right?

[Kelly Tallon Franklin]

Human trafficking in the elderly demographic is actually on the rise, because anywhere a trafficker can make money, they're not going to leave money on the table. We're seeing more and more affecting young women, older women, women with a disability and also migrant women and girls. We're seeing things like forced begging or where they're intersecting labour trafficking with other things. For example, the women are expected to also comply in sex trafficking or CSAM, even camera work with children or to offer their children up for camera work.

It's harder for them to find placements in shelters if they have children. It's harder if they have a support pet. They're forced to leave a support dog that's registered, all to try to go into a shelter and deal with their issues.

When women are older, there's a lot of bias, questions like “Why are you here? Don't you have family?” I've heard shelter workers openly ask those questions. Then we intersect this with another type of gender-based violence: elder abuse. That might be the reason they're not living with family or other members of their community. That is the myth, and we just dispelled it. One of the hardest survivors to place anywhere—in a program, in care, in a shelter or in any level of housing—is a senior woman.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Ms. Hunter, can you add to that? You have 15 seconds. What can be done to better support senior women in these shelters?

[Mitzie Hunter]

Senior women need shelters that are designed—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

I'm so sorry, Ms. Hunter, but I have to interrupt you because Ms. Larouche's time is up.

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

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

You said it in French. Well done.

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

I am practising.

My first question is for Kelly.

Thank you, Kelly. I know we've talked before on this topic, and I'm very passionate about it. Listening to your concerns gives me that strength to keep fighting against human trafficking.

As we know, Canada has become a hub for human trafficking. We have provinces in this country—starting with Halifax, Ontario, P.E.I., New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and then going on down the list of provinces—that are experiencing the high risk of human trafficking. We also know that it makes $239.1 billion U.S. internationally and is the third-largest criminal money-maker in the world, soon to catch up to number one.

I get very frustrated. I've done undercover with police officers, and I've seen first-hand what these creeps—excuse the language—deserve. Here's my simple question: Do you feel that, in order for us to end human trafficking and protect the survivors, the laws need to meet the crime and these guys should get maximum sentences with maximum penalties, yes or no?

[Kelly Tallon Franklin]

Well, I can tell you that when I first came out, I had a very extreme view, and it extended far past just criminalization of those for whom we needed justice. I had to heal from that. My answer in the short term is yes. My answer in the long term is that we need to concurrently be educating men and boys.

However, when a woman or girl I have put in a shelter gets out and transitions and is not even transitioned for three months into housing before her perpetrator gets time served and is now crawling up her balcony and shooting her dog—when she's just re-established herself in a safe place and there are all kinds of breaches—I'm sorry, but it does not match the crime. The crime is gendered, yet there is no equity in our judicial system to ensure the safety not only of the survivor of the crime but also of the community. They are not afforded the time in incarceration to reform themselves the way that they....

I'll tell you this: I have done time, and I chose to reform myself during my time. You have a choice, but the justice does not fit the crime. The number of women and girls I've moved because of failed bail, ankle bracelets taken off, traffickers breaking into shelters and traffickers using those they are coercing and pimping who are dependent on their transitional drugs.... They are paying them off with transitional drugs in order to infiltrate our women's shelters.

I'm sorry, but our executive directors can't speak to this. They want to be equitable and fair to those in the trans community and every community, but we are putting women and girls at risk over and over and over. The police are sick of it, too.

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

Thank you for that. Many of the survivors I've spoken to say exactly the same thing.

[Kelly Tallon Franklin]

They will no longer testify, because they are afraid.

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

That's right. It's because they are afraid.

[Kelly Tallon Franklin]

We have actually gone from a 2% conviction rate in Canada to 1%, because witness protection is not being guaranteed.

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

My next question is for Mitzie.

My question for you is going to be the same. I don't know if you've ever heard of EVE. It's an organization: End Violence Everywhere. It's funded and organized by a young lady by the name of Cait Alexander, whom we've also had here as a witness. She was so afraid for her life that she had to leave the country. Why? It's because her perpetrator did not get the sentence he deserved and continued to harass her. Whenever she comes to Canada, she has to come with security.

Why is the law not strong enough to protect someone who's living in this country and is forced to move away? Do you think the laws need to meet the crime, yes or no?

[Mitzie Hunter]

Definitely. The laws should be there to protect women, girls and gender-diverse people, particularly those who sometimes hesitate to call out for help and support, because they're not getting the right types of help and support.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Thank you very much, Ms. Hunter.

That's it for Mrs. Roberts' turn.

Ms. Ménard, you're the last speaker. The floor is yours.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Yes, we're almost out of time. I'll try to be brief because this is an important issue and I want to make sure there's enough time to put forward a notice of motion for a study based on three deeply troubling observations.

According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes targeting sexual orientation and gender identity increased by 29% between 2022 and 2024, 2SLGBTQIA+ people continue to face disproportionate levels of hatred, harassment, threats and violence across Canada, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people continue to face disproportionate barriers to safety, dignity and inclusion. I therefore move:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of no fewer than eight meetings regarding hate, violence and discrimination targeting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Canada, including the factors contributing to these trends, the experiences and safety concerns of affected communities, the effectiveness of existing measures to prevent and respond to hate, and measures that could be taken to strengthen the safety and security of 2SLGBTQIA+ people and communities; that the committee report its findings and recommendations to the House and that, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee request that the government table a comprehensive response.

My colleagues will receive a copy in both official languages shortly.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I believe I have a few minutes left.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dominique Vien]

Yes, you have three minutes and two seconds.

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

Thank you.

Ms. Tallon Franklin, I believe I speak on behalf of the women who make up this committee when I say that your courage is remarkable. Your testimony also gives us hope. You have found the strength and resilience to continue lifting up women who have experienced the unthinkable.

This summer, I had the opportunity to meet with Un toit pour elles, an organization that supports survivors of human trafficking. I see Ms. Hunter is familiar with it. You've already mentioned certain considerations. If we were to envision a physical place, a shelter or transitional home, would it have to have certain physical or architectural characteristics to support people's recovery?