House of Commons Hansard #366 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was consent.
Jody Wilson-Raybould LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a charter statement for Bill C-84, an act to amend the Criminal Code (bestiality and animal fighting).
Andrew Leslie LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a treaty entitled “Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Canada for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy”, done at Ottawa on November 2, 2018.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's responses to 14 petitions.
Violence Against WomenRoutine Proceedings
December 6th, 2018 / 10:05 a.m.
Peterborough—Kawartha Ontario
Liberal
Maryam Monsef LiberalMinister of Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise on this traditional territory the Algonquin people call home on this day that many Canadians will remember for generations to come.
Today, from coast to coast to coast, roses will be laid, tears will be shed and candles will be lit as we all remember the young women who lost their lives on December 6, 1989. On this day 29 years ago, an act of unspeakable violence occurred when a gunman walked into a classroom at École Polytechnique Montréal, separated the women from the men and then opened fire on the women. Thirteen young women who were students and a female administrator died that day, and several were wounded, simply because they were women.
This is a day to rededicate ourselves to ending gender-based violence, because when those women were killed, we did not just lose daughters, friends and colleagues, we lost all the potential that existed within each individual. We lost role models. We lost engineers. We lost community builders. We lost leaders who could have potentially been sitting in these seats today. It was a tremendous loss for our nation. We will never know what they may have achieved.
Today, we honour their memory by speaking their names: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
Those were young women in their twenties and early thirties. Speaking their names reminds us that there are so many other victims of gender-based violence whose names and stories we may never know. Today we honour all those who have died because of gender-based violence.
This is a day to also honour and recognize the important work of those who care for victims and survivors. This is a day to recognize the courage of survivors whose resilience reminds us why we must continue the fight to end gender-based violence.
We think of Nathalie Provost, who, on that day in 1989, confronted the gunman. She was shot four times, but she survived and is now a successful engineer. Another student that day, Heidi Rathjen, also survived the shooting and is now an advocate for stricter gun control. We stand in solidarity with them and with all survivors and the families of those who have been impacted by gender-based violence.
We continue to be inspired by the ongoing power of the # MeToo movement. For more than a year, the movement has been motivating people to share their stories, to recognize the persistence of the problem and to call for meaningful action. We must respond to their courage with courage. Anything less is cowardice.
As my hon. colleagues know, December 6 falls within the annual 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. These 16 days begin on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25, a day that also honours women who were needlessly murdered: three sisters, Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa Mirabal, who were assassinated in the Dominican Republic in 1964 for their political activism. The 16 days ends with Human Rights Day on December 10. This year's theme is #MYActionsMatter.
We all play a part in ending and preventing gender-based violence. Some wonder why our government is investing in advancing gender equality, why we have a $200-million strategy to end gender-based violence, why a third of the national housing strategy is carved out for women fleeing violence, why we are reforming our justice system to better serve cases of domestic assault and sexual assault, why we have worked together across parties in this House to pass legislation to address workplace harassment and sexual violence, and why we are making new investments to end cyber-violence and to improve the relationships our teenagers have. It is because there is a lot of work to do. The work remains. Our shelters remain full. The demand for services goes up. We all work toward the day when, as Oprah says, “no one will have to say ‘me too’ again.”
We are proud of our achievements, but nothing we do can rewrite history. On this day 29 years ago, 14 young women died simply because they were women. This anniversary will continue to act as a constant reminder of what misogyny and hatred can lead to. In honouring their memories, in speaking their names, they live on as an inspiration to all of us to keep working together to reduce and eliminate gender-based violence in all its forms.
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, although 29 years have passed since the École Polytechnique tragedy in Montreal that claimed the lives of 14 young women and seriously injured 10 others, we will always grieve the dreadful afternoon of December 6, 1989. Sadly, even though 29 years have passed since that awful tragedy, girls and women are still being killed just because they are female.
How it breaks my heart to say that, in 2017, 173 women were killed in this country and, during the first six months of this year, a girl or woman was murdered every two days. Statistics like that are unthinkable here in Canada. How shocking, how sad, that in a country as magnificent as ours, 84% of murder victims killed by a current or former intimate partner are women.
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women is about condemning all forms of violence against girls and women, including domestic, psychological and emotional violence, bullying and human trafficking, all of which must be considered extremely serious.
This year the Fédération des maisons d'hébergement pour femmes du Québec hosted a breakfast to get men involved and hear what they have to say, since violence against women is not just a women's issue; it is a men's issue, too.
It is a blight that affects society as a whole, and as business leaders, colleagues, spouses, fathers, brothers, friends and policy makers, men must play a pivotal role in addressing it. Prevention is very important, yes, but that alone cannot stop the spread of this scourge, which, year after year, continues to affect too many women.
Victims and their loved ones will always welcome annual investments to fund community projects to help survivors of violence. However, victims want more than that. They also want the Criminal Code to reflect the current reality, since there is a growing imbalance between the rights of victims and the rights of criminals. The rights of victims of crime are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, so it is vital that they be respected and that they also be strengthened.
What has the government done over the past few years? Very little, far too little, and no setbacks should be tolerated. It is so sad to see that women who are victims of violence are getting younger all the time and we still have not slowed the escalation of this violence that continues to destroy lives.
Prevention is essential, but the government also has a duty to send a clear and unequivocal message to the criminals and abusers: the sentences must fit the crime, and we will always stand up for the victims who have to live with the scars forever, essentially serving a kind of life sentence.
We need to keep funding women's organizations, but prevention also has to mean preventing murder. We therefore need to better equip police officers by giving them the power to make preventive arrests, which is still not allowed today under the Criminal Code. This what we would consider to be a concrete measure demonstrating a serious willingness to address this violence and support the courageous women and girls who report it. We no longer have time for empty promises. We urgently need to pass targeted legislation to protect victims so that all women in Canada feel safe across the country.
They must be a central component of our justice system, and abusers need to know that violence against women is a serious crime in Canada, period.
Given Canada's grim statistics on violence against women, we have no choice but to take responsibility and promise women in Canada that our Criminal Code will be adapted to properly respond to the needs of victims of violence. This is long overdue, and far too many women have already been killed.
Our desire to address violence against women and girls in Canada should never be part of a partisan debate. It must be the desire of all our communities, the country and the government. Canada must be a world leader in this regard.
We will never forget the 14 victims of the December 6, 1989 tragedy, but let us also never forget Daphné, Gabrielle, Clémence, Véronique, Kim, Josiane, Francine, Nathalie, Brigitte, Julie and all of the other women who were killed individually one after the other. They are also part of those same grim statistics of innocent victims who lost their lives in recent years because they were women.
We will always remember all of you, and we will continue to work together to ensure that no one else is added to this too-long list of your sweet names.
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, 29 years ago, Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte were killed and 14 of their classmates were injured simply because they were women.
The night before, they were studying for their final exams. The next day, their chairs were empty. They wanted to become engineers to build the world of tomorrow, but misogyny robbed them of those dreams.
As we honour the memory of those 14 women who lost their lives on December 6, 1989, we are also reminded of all those who are victims of systemic gender-based violence, because every day women are still subjected to terrible acts of violence, not to mention the day-to-day sexist comments to which men will never be exposed. In fact, half the women in Canada will experience violence in their lifetime. That is one out of two women. That is not right. Young women, indigenous women and women with disabilities experience even higher rates of violence.
Women are speaking up. Now we need to listen.
The reality is that over the past 30 years, more than 1,200 indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing. Racialized women who report violence are taken less seriously by law enforcement, and their attackers receive lighter sentences. Immigrant women are more vulnerable to domestic violence due to economic dependence, language barriers, and a lack of access to community resources. Eight in 10 trans people say they feel unsafe at school.
Since today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, we urge the Canadian government to come up with an action plan, because we can build a society where women and girls can walk freely without fear, work without fear and study without fear, no matter where they live.
Each and every one of us has a role to play in ending violence against women and girls. We need to listen, we need to believe and we need to act.
Today, we have a message for the victims of the École Polytechnique attack, for the women who have gone missing and for the survivors who are saying “me too”.
Today, we remember, so that we never forget.
Today, we stand up for them and for all women who are still targeted by sexism, misogyny and systemic violence.
Today, we remember that every action counts towards ending violence against women and girls, which too often goes unseen.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Is there unanimous consent of the House for the hon. member for Saanich-Gulf Islands to add her comments?
Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC
Mr. Speaker, it was exactly 29 years ago that Quebec was plunged into a darkness that will never leave us completely. I think that each one of us can remember where we were and what we were doing on December 6, 1989. I was watching television. The program was interrupted and I saw pictures of ambulances and the flashing lights of cruisers. I wondered in what country this horror was unfolding. In that moment, Quebec and I realized that we are not immune to such atrocities, and that hate can leash out here in Canada as it does elsewhere.
On December 6, 1989, 14 women lost their lives and 10 others were hospitalized. They were murdered simply because they were women. They were separated from the men, and one man killed them just because they were women and because they might have been feminists, they might have called for gender equality, they might have dared to believe themselves to be persons in their own right.
We must never forget the names of these victims. I, too, am going to read their names: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.
These women will not have died in vain if we continue to remember them and remember the day on which violence against women changed the face of Quebec forever.
We must remember their names every year, on December 6, to inspire discussion on the progress we are making towards equality and towards combatting violence against women. Although not everyone will be the victim of a dramatic hate crime like the victims of École Polytechnique in Montreal, many women still experience abuse in many forms.
#MeToo is no doubt the most important political and social movement in recent years. It has shown us that our experiences with abuse are not as uncommon as we think they are. Many of us know what it is like to see fear come to permeate our lives, most often at the hands of men we trust. There are more of us than we knew. In 2014, in Quebec alone, law enforcement reported nearly 16,000 domestic abuse crimes against women.
Young people are not spared this violence. One in five female high school students has been the victim of at least one act of sexual violence at the hands of a partner. The reporting rate for attacks jumped nearly 60% in the wake of the #MeToo movement. However, we must continue to take our place, stand up for our rights, remain united, and speak out against abuse. The names of the women of École Polytechnique must serve as a reminder that there is still a lot of work to be done here at home.
There is still a lot of work to be done here at home, particularly on behalf of indigenous women. Governments need to do more so that our first nations and Inuit sisters have the resources they need to feel safe and to seek refuge when they are the victims of violence.
Ending violence is everyone's responsibility, both men and women, but we women need to find strength in numbers in order to change things. The names of the women who were killed at the École Polytechnique should spur us to action. That is why as long as women do not feel as safe as men, as long as women are disproportionately victims of violence at the hands of men, and as long as women cannot objectively state that they are in every way equal to men, we will remember the women who were killed on December 6. We will do so until each of their names becomes a symbol of the progress we have made.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
I thank all hon. members for their comments.
I wish to inform the House that, because of the ministerial statement, government orders will be extended by 21 minutes.
Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 80th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
Pursuant to Standing Order 92(3)(a), the committee reports that it has concurred in the report of the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business advising that Bill C-421, an act to amend the Citizenship Act in regard to the adequate knowledge of French in Quebec, should be designated non-votable.
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.
It is entitled “New Tools for the 21st Century – The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees: An Interim Report”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
I would like to take a moment to thank the clerk, Evelyn Lukyniuk, and Madalina Chesoi and Julie Béchard, our analysts, who helped us with a very quick turnaround on this report, as well as the translators who worked into the night last evening.
Our committee heard from 18 witnesses and 16 briefs were received, all of them supporting Canada's participation in this non-binding agreement. After extensive consultation around the world, Canada has provided extremely good leadership on these two compacts and we wholeheartedly endorse Canada's participation in them.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party does not agree with the findings of the report and, as such, has attached a comprehensive dissenting report to the report that is being tabled today.
Kevin Sorenson Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB
Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 55th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled, “Report 6, Employment Training for Indigenous People—Employment and Social Development Canada, of the 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 56th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled, “Report 3, Administration of Justice in the Canadian Armed Forces, of the 2018 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
Madam Speaker, while I am on my feet, I want to wish you a very merry Christmas, as well as the staff who work for the committee. We are very fortunate to have André Léonard and Dillan Theckedath as our analysts, as well as Angela Crandall, who is in the hospital recovering from knee surgery. We wish her a speedy recovery. Nancy is filling in for her as clerk and doing a great job. We wish them all a merry Christmas. I know everyone is waiting with great expectations for these two reports from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you were to seek it, I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:
That a take-note debate on the subject of the opioid crisis in Canada take place, pursuant to Standing Order 53.1, on Monday, December 10th, 2018, and that, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, (a) any member rising to speak during the debate may indicate to the Chair that he or she will be dividing his or her time with another member; and (b) no quorum calls, dilatory motions, or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Chair.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
Does the hon. parliamentary secretary have unanimous consent to present the motion?
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by Canadians from the ridings ofEssex, Windsor—Tecumseh, and Windsor West. The petitioners call on the House of Commons to respect the rights of law-abiding firearms owners and reject the Prime Minister's plan to waste taxpayers' money studying a ban on guns that are already banned.
John Aldag Liberal Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Madam Speaker, this morning I have two petitions that I would like to table.
The first is from the residents of the city of Calgary. This petition calls on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to demonstrate federal leadership at historic places by working with the Minister of Finance to create a multi-million dollar fund in budget 2019 to support the efforts of indigenous peoples, charities and not-for-profits to save and renew historic places and to encourage private-sector investment and heritage philanthropy.
John Aldag Liberal Cloverdale—Langley City, BC
Madam Speaker, the second petition calls on the Minister of Public Services and Procurement to adopt the “Delivering Community Power” vision related to Canada Post. This would call upon Canada Post to do things such as transitioning to 100% renewable energy, converting its fleet to electric vehicles, installing public charging stations, installing solar panels and retrofitting post offices, among other things.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Questions Nos. 1998 to 2000, 2002 and 2003.
David Sweet Conservative Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON
With regard to the 1,559 organizations whose 2018 Canada Summer Jobs applications were rejected due to issues with the attestation requirement: what are the names of the organizations whose applications were rejected, broken down by riding?