Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the question asked by the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith and to rise, probably for the last time, in this beautiful and historic chamber. It has been a great honour to represent the people of Winnipeg South in the House of Commons for these past three years, and I hope to represent them in the new place for many years to come.
Last September, we celebrated an important first for Canada, the first-ever Gender Equality Week. It is a new opportunity every year to celebrate Canada's progress on advancing gender equality, reflect on the work that remains and recognize the countless benefits of gender equality for people of all genders.
We understand the importance of a strong women's movement, and how critical it is and has been to advance gender equality in Canada and around the world. That is why we are supporting equality-seeking organizations across Canada.
It was the women's movement that was instrumental in ensuring equality for women was a focus for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was the women's movement that worked to safeguard a woman's right to choose. It was the women's movement that brought gender-based violence out from the darkness and into the light. We recognize that the work of the women's movement is ongoing as efforts continue to advance gender equality in our country.
Our commitment to advancing gender equality has been clearly demonstrated since we formed government and appointed the first-ever gender-balanced cabinet. It continued to be demonstrated in budget 2018, which signalled our commitment to entrench the gender equality agenda. It also spoke directly to the issue that the hon. member is speaking about, the need to provide funding to the non-profit sector, including women's organizations, by committing $100 million in new dollars to provide reliable, predictable and accessible funds to ensure the sustainability of women's organizations. Of course, this is on top of the $200 million over five years that was allocated for a strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence.
That is not all. Just last week, the Minister of Status of Women announced more than $50 million in funding for nearly 60 projects to support survivors of gender-based violence and their families in communities across Canada. This more than doubles the initially announced funding of $20 million from budget 2017.
By providing stable, predictable and flexible funding to women's organizations, our government is able to support more organizations to continue and expand their vital activities and work collaboratively to advance gender equality.