Mr. Speaker, every year in Canada violence drives 100,000 women and children out of their homes and into shelters, where those options exist.
In northern Canada, the problem is extreme and more women face abuse. Yet, despite greater rates of violence, 70% of northern and remote communities do not have safe houses or emergency shelters.
When it should be doing so much more, the government is doing less to help women in the north escape violence. With this so-called action plan, the government is doing nothing more than reannouncing money already promised.
The irony of the situation is that the government has actually promised less money for shelters than was given in recent years.
On this side of the House, we will not accept a frontier mentality that excuses abuse and violence as part of a rugged northern lifestyle.
We call upon the government to challenge our own patterns of violence perpetrated on women and create viable options for women facing domestic abuse in northern Canada.