Debates of March 25th, 2021

Gender-Based Violence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time with my colleague, the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

I appreciate the debate we are having tonight to highlight this pandemic within a pandemic and to highlight the seven Quebec women whose lives were taken in the past few months and, of course, the 160 women whose lives were taken this past year.

Across Canada, front-line women's agencies and police report increases of intimate partner violence at 30% to 70%. We cannot continue to stand by as women's lives are ended, and their deaths cannot go without action. Often those women who are killed have suffered many violence acts prior, and a woman who is trapped without resources, financial or otherwise, to flee has too often been a victim of many different types of abuse, not only from her partner but from a broken system and those in power unwilling to do what is truly necessary to change it.

The New Democrats have and will continue to push to change that system and to act. That is why I am so proud to support the private member's bill from my colleague, the member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, Bill C-247, which would make coercive and controlling behaviour a criminal offence.

We know that intimate partner violence has been and continues to plague our society and that the pandemic has made this problem even more acute, as the numbers from Quebec show. Patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour are also forms of violence, but these patterns are often a precursor to overt physical violence. This behaviour being seen as a criminal offence would allow earlier intervention by police, courts and service organizations without having to wait for that actual violent incident to take place.

We know that our families, communities and country are stronger when women thrive. In Canada today, it is still all too common for women to experience discrimination and gender-based violence, particularly if they are members of marginalized communities.

In Canada, there are only a patchwork of plans, programs and supports. There is no comprehensive system in place. Shelters across Canada have been asked to do more with less year after year. Some shelters in Canada have reported not receiving funding increases in nearly a decade, but they took action. They made up the difference through their own fundraising efforts. They showed the leadership that women, children and non-binary people in their neighbourhoods needed.

On the front lines, time, resources and money are limited, but incredible community leaders and volunteers take on that fight daily, and I am so grateful for them. During the pandemic, numerous women's organizations emphasized the need for core operational-based funding. It is necessary for any organization to be able to shift during an emergency to provide the community-based programming they know is needed.

During the Harper government, a great deal of that funding to institutions was cut and any funding provided was made available only under specific project-based funding. Under subsequent Liberal governments, some funding has been returned, but not to the levels required and still through that same project-based funding model.

Women's organizations must have long-term, stable, core funding so women can access the supports and advocacy they need when they need it.

For five years, the government has touted a national action plan to end gender-based violence. Whether in committee or in the House, since being elected, I have taken every opportunity to ask the government when a plan will be formalized and brought forward. Sadly, women are still waiting.

We also need action and the implementation of the calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We must implement all 231 calls for justice. This cannot be another inquiry that sits on a shelf and collects dust. Women do not need another report only to refer to when a government has been caught ignoring the problems women face, a report like the 2015 Deschamps report on sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Deschamps report has 10 recommendations, yet only two have been implemented in six years.

Gender-based violence impacts all women of all different ages, racial backgrounds and cultural groups. Everyone is at risk and everyone is a potential victim. Those at high risk, something we have heard repeatedly during this pandemic, are people who are already vulnerable. Women living in poverty, women with a disability, immigrant women, and indigenous women and children are disproportionately affected by this form of abuse and violence.

I must conclude with this. The problem is clear and the solutions can be clearer. These disturbing numbers of the murders of women from Quebec and across Canada underline the necessity of ensuring that the House and the government take action that is both effective and urgent. That is what I will continue to fight for. That is what New Democrats will continue to fight for.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for her advocacy.

How does she feel about the leader of the Conservative Party not answering her question about a woman's autonomy over her own body or the Minister for Women and Gender Equality's question about why he voted against funding the Quebec organizations that would help the very women he says that he cares about?

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Chair, I want to recognize that there are women within the Conservative Party who are pro-choice. The member for Elgin—Middlesex—London came forward as one and I work very well with her. However, the leader has to be clear, and I did not appreciate the fact that my extremely valid question was called a potshot and was seen as political. This is about decisions, allowances and the double standards within a party. It is about saying one thing but allowing another. Those are clear choices. By not allowing a woman the right to chose and by allowing for the undermining of this core fundamental value, I do not see him as genuine. I do not see his responses as genuine.

We talk about toxic masculinity. A lot of people have talked about it. To be perfectly honest, it exists in this institution. It is something that we, together, must fight, and I hope the member opposite will fight with me against that—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Chair, I enjoy working with the member for London—Fanshawe, as I did with her mother during our time together.

In 2016, a report was done regarding pay equity, and the government indicated that it was an important thing. However, we know that it does not come into effect for quite some time. It seems to me there was a lot of talk, but absolutely no action. It seems like we can talk and we can pretend to be funding things. We can do all sorts of different things.

What are the member's thoughts on pay equity and what the government has not done so far?

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Chair, the member is such an incredible ally, even across party lines. I really do appreciate that. It is so valuable to me and I cherish it, as my mother did.

Pay equity is a huge issue. It is about the assurance that women are paid the same for the same value of work and that we are truly seen on an equal level. Again, that feeds into toxic masculinity. Unfortunately, the government has, for three years, delayed putting regulations into place to implement pay equity rules that would govern federally regulated workplaces.

We have seen this in other federal institutions, such as Crown corporations like Canada Post, where women did not receive pay equity. This was challenged in the courts, but some women have actually died. The money that is being awarded to them now is being paid to their estates because they never received it.

This has longer-term implications for pensions and benefits. This is about the poverty that women face and live in. The government has the responsibility to act immediately. It has had over three years and this is its own legislation—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We have time for one last question.

The hon. member for Shefford.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague, with whom I have the honour of serving on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

She just raised the issue of pay equity and I would like her to speak more about this. It is a major concern and symbolic when it comes to increasing women's salaries. In the end, a woman who remains below the poverty level runs the risk of being trapped in a cycle of violence. However, if she takes back her economic power, she can break that cycle.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Chair, I think the member and I do incredible work across party lines on the status of women committee, and I am so grateful for her contributions.

The government introduced pay equity legislation over three years ago. This was its own legislation. It has been moving slowly, even on regulations. They were supposed to happen in January, but they still have not come forward. In addition to that, the government is allowing three to five years, and even up to eight additional years, for some federally regulated workplaces and businesses to implement the same level of pay for the same work. We—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We have to resume debate.

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, honourable colleagues, I wish I could say that I am pleased to take part in tonight's debate, but I hate the fact that we need to have this debate at all.

The truth is, we should all be panicking. We should all be terrified that we need to have a debate because there have been so many cases of femicide in Quebec and Canada. It is absolutely terrible. These are not just tragedies involving a family, an individual or a couple. We are talking about a bloodbath, something huge that should make us all shudder right now.

The fact that seven women in Quebec have been murdered by their spouses in the last seven weeks is unbelievable. Last year, 160 women were killed in Canada because they were women. That is one woman murdered every two and a half days.

How did we as a society, as a community, get to the point where femicide is in the news three times a week in Canada?

In Quebec, seven women have been killed in the last seven weeks. I want to take a moment to remember them by name.

Her name was Elisapee Angma, and she was killed on February 5 in Kuujjuaq. Her name was Marly Edouard, and she was killed on Feburary 21 in Laval. Her name was Nancy Roy, and she was killed on February 23 in Saint-Hyacinthe. Her name was Sylvie Bisson, and she was killed on March 1 in Sainte-Sophie. Her name was Myriam Dallaire, and she was also killed on March 1 in Sainte-Sophie. Her name was Nadège Jolicoeur, and she was killed on March 19 in Saint-Léonard. Her name was Rebekah Harry, and she was killed on March 23 in Montreal.

These women were not killed in a car accident or because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were simply in the wrong place. Where was that place? It was at home.

For many women and girls in Quebec and Canada, home is the most dangerous place they can be. That speaks volumes about the problems they face.

Normally, in our individual or collective psyche, home is a refuge. It is the place where we are loved, reassured and comforted. It is the place we go to when we have problems in the outside world. For many people, however, home is the worst place in the world, and they must seek refuge elsewhere.

However, when these women seek refuge elsewhere, they learn that there are not enough shelters. The Fédération des maisons d'hébergement pour femmes, an organization that represents several dozen shelters for women fleeing abuse, has an office in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. I spoke with officials from this organization a few years ago, and they told me that they had to turn away around 10,000 women a year. More than 10,000 requests a year are being turned down because there is no room, no space, no refuge for these women in need knocking at the door.

What happens then? These women have two choices. One, they can return home, where they will have to deal with a dangerous or violent husband or partner and continue to suffer until a space opens up. Two, they can move out, but since there is no shelter space available, they end up on the street.

If they decide to bring their children with them, they end up in a catch-22. If they refuse to go home for their own safety and that of their children, they are accused of endangering their children. Our police, public and legal services have not kept up with the times.

We want to prevent these situations. The Government of Quebec and the provincial governments bear much of the blame for the chronic underfunding of shelters for abused women. The federal government should and could do more as well. It goes both ways.

As a result of the pandemic, these women, who were already in sensitive and difficult situations, have unfortunately become trapped in their own homes with violent partners and toxic masculinity. We have seen an explosion of cases, and we all need to reflect on this together, as a community.

My time is up, but I could elaborate in my answers.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for his allyship on this very important cause.

I would ask the member to highlight for us the work he has done specifically in his constituency to support women who are fleeing from violence, raise awareness and build more allies within the male space to become champions of combatting intimate partner violence. What can we do collectively? I would ask the member to outline some of these items for us.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question, which is very much appreciated.

I have been working closely with women's organizations in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie and throughout Montreal for nearly 10 years now. I take part in campaigns and initiatives to create safe spaces and healthy environments in both the public and private spheres, and to establish a dialogue.

I promote the work of activists like Will Prosper, who started a movement called “Parle à ton boy”, or talk to your boy, to get men involved in the discussion about toxic masculinity and violence against women. Changing mindsets must be done together, by women and men working together. Otherwise, this problem will never be solved.

I have been actively involved in this dialogue for many years, and I contribute to some of the campaigns. I would like to acknowledge the recent work of Will Prosper.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his speech and his work.

He named the seven victims, but I would like to take a moment to do something that has not been done. I would like to offer my condolences to the friends and relatives of these seven victims and of the 160 victims who died last year in Canada, Quebec and the territories. It is important to remember these people, who are still dealing with deep trauma.

Speaking of trauma, I would like to talk about the impact of social media and how it exacerbates violence, which has worsened during the pandemic. Initiatives have been launched in Quebec, groups of parliamentarians in the National Assembly have studied this issue, and elected municipal officials are campaigning to stop online violence and end threats against female elected representatives.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Shefford.

She is quite right to point out that our thoughts are also with the families and loved ones of the women who were the victims of brutal murders, of femicide, because they were women. I think we need to say that and to use that word, as the leader of the NDP did today.

I want to come back to violence against women on social media. We know that social media sites have become toxic discussion forums that are not very respectful, not very democratic and not very respectful of human rights. That is especially true when the abusive person has a male superiority complex. These men attack female elected representatives in a very petty and cowardly way, and things are even worse for women who are MPs, mayors or municipal councillors. The level of violence they experience is completely unacceptable.

I look forward to seeing the federal government's bill on online hate, which should be coming soon. I hope that we can all work together to find solutions.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for his strong stand against gender-based violence and for talking about what happens when home is no longer a safe place.

Many organizations in my riding of Victoria have raised the issue that a lack of affordable, safe housing traps women in unsafe situations. While this has always been a reality, skyrocketing rents and COVID have made the situation worse.

Right now, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness are undergoing a project to look at the landscape of housing supports for women at the highest risk of violence. They told me that 100% of indigenous women in Victoria who are experiencing chronic homelessness cited intimate partner violence as the key reason for their housing loss. This project relates directly to article 22 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and also to the need for a national indigenous-led indigenous housing strategy—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I am sorry, but I have to give the hon. member a chance to comment on the hon. member's comment.

The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Madam Chair, I think that, without social housing, without space in women's shelters and without financial independence, it is extremely difficult for women to escape. Unfortunately, I do not have time to go into more detail, but those are the important points to consider.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Chair, over the last seven weeks, seven women in Quebec tragically lost their lives to heinous acts of domestic violence. This is incredibly alarming and, unfortunately, is reflected in provinces all across the country. I am reflecting tonight. A death because of intimate partner violence does not just happen all of a sudden. There is a lead-up to it.

Therefore, I will invite members to reflect with me this evening on what it is like to be in a home where one's every move could trigger an argument and any word that comes out of one's mouth could lead to a sharp slap across the face. I ask members to imagine their child watching and listening as their partner hurls profanities at them, and having to find their child later, hiding because they are too afraid from watching the abuse take place. I ask members to imagine the embarrassment, the shame and the helplessness.

I ask members to imagine not having anywhere to go for escape, or living miles away from their closest neighbour, or not speaking the language that others around them understand, or not having a penny to their name to seek out support to get out. Where would they go? Who would they count on?

Let me be clear. Intimate partner violence is prevalent in all cultures, ethnicities and socio-economic situations. In 2019, I had an event through my women's council in my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills on raising awareness for intimate partner violence. I remember there were about 100 women who had come to this event to learn more about the supports that are out there.

At the end of the event, there was a very young woman who approached me. She said how afraid she was for herself. I asked her what could we do. She said, “I'm a police officer, and I still feel like this in my home”. The helplessness in her eyes that day will haunt me forever.

On average, 69 women are killed by intimate partner violence every year. To put that in a different context, a report by the Canadian Women's Foundation states that a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner approximately every six days. Indigenous women are three times more likely to experience intimate partner violence. Women with disabilities are two times more likely. Research also shows that approximately 28% of domestic homicides in Canada between 2010 and 2018 involved rural and remote communities. Intimate partner violence accounted for a third of all violent crime in 2018.

In 2018 alone, about 100,000 people reported intimate partner violence to police, and 79% of them were women. This is based on data that is reported to the police. According to the police, the majority of incidents go unreported. The real number would be much, much higher. On any given night, 3,491 women and their 2,724 children sleep in shelters because it is not safe at home, and 300 women and children are turned away because shelters are full.

Over the last year, more people are staying in their homes instead of going out, obviously because of the pandemic. In this environment, where there are many struggling with their mental health, victims of intimate partner violence are living full time with their abuser.

A report by the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability found that in 2020 alone, 160 women were killed by acts of violence. This is one woman killed every two and a half days in our country. The Peel region, which is where my riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills is, sees officers responding to over 1,000 calls for family violence and intimate partner violence each month. That is 33 calls a day. Over the last two years, about 40% of all homicides in the Peel region were the product of family violence.

According to Statistics Canada analysis, calls related to domestic disturbances rose by approximately 12% between March and June 2020, according to data from 17 police forces across Canada, compared to the same period in 2019.

Women's shelters and help lines in regions across the country have experienced a major surge in calls. From March to July 2020, calls to the Vancouver Battered Women's Support Services tripled, while in Alberta, calls to specialized crisis lines for intimate partner violence increased by up to 50%. Across Canada, 54% of victim services programs saw an increase in domestic violence victims during that same period.

From September to December alone, Canada's Assaulted Women’s Helpline saw a 60% increase in calls compared to the previous year. In April to June, they saw double the number of calls from 2019.

I have spoken to shelters and police services in my riding, and they are very worried that these numbers do not reflect the whole picture. When victims are trapped with their abuser, unable to see family or friends, it limits their ability to call for help before the situation escalates. It limits the ability for services to go out and proactively reach these individuals who are need of that support.

Worse still, domestic violence is not only becoming more common, it is becoming more severe. Last year, the Ending Violence Association of Canada and Anova conducted a survey of staff and volunteers working at women's shelters, and 82% reported that violence had become more frequent. Abusers' violent tactics have changed and control over their victims has increased. They use access to technology, or the outside world, even information about the Coronavirus, as a weapon. In these cases of isolation with an abuser, the scale of violence has also escalated, with one worker describing many more cases of strangulation and serious physical assaults leading to a higher risk of lethality.

We see the same trends echoed in our partner nations across the world. UN Women and women's organizations around the world have called this the shadow pandemic, which has grown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and threatens to impact our communities long after this health crisis has passed. The data tells us that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified.

More needs to be done to prioritize addressing this crisis. It is vital that we continue to take action.

Since 2015, our government has taken firm action on this issue of intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. In 2017, we launched the first-ever federal strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence to fill important gaps and support women and girls, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ2+ members and gender non-conforming people in communities across Canada.

We launched the gender-based violence knowledge centre to coordinate federal actions under its three pillars. We announced $15.6 million in funding for projects to end violence against women and girls. We are investing more than $50 million in nearly 60 projects to support survivors of gender-based violence and their families in communities across Canada—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Unfortunately the hon. member will have to provide more information during questions and comments.

We will go to the hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Madam Chair, I am looking at my screen, and knowing people who are in the House of Commons, I can say I do not believe one single person in here wants to see violence against women. I just know that in the bottom of my heart.

I have listened to her words, and I understand, but members should imagine they are members of the Canadian Armed Forces. They should imagine knowing that Operation Honour is the person at the very top, the top brass. We all talk about the retaliation and the fear of going to the police or that upper person and what is going to happen with retaliation. Members can imagine being a woman in the Canadian Armed Forces and having nobody there to protect them.

I would like to know what this member thinks should be done to help our women in the Canadian Armed Forces, and who should be responsible for this, when we know that the top brass is being charged with these types of allegations, which are absolutely disgusting.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Chair, I thank the member for her ongoing advocacy. It was a pleasure to work with her in the all-party women's caucus in the last parliament, and I find her advocacy to be very sincere and very compelling.

With the Canadian Armed Forces, I have to say that it is not the responsibility of the survivors and women who have experienced that atrocity to be the ones who are leading that charge. In my opinion, I think there are three levels of things we can do. The first is, as members of parliament, we have our own advocacy. We could be reaching out proactively to members of the Canadian Armed Forces who live in our constituencies to ensure they are doing okay.

Secondly, we could ensure that, at the organizational institutional level, gender-based analysis is being provided on all of the actions undertaken within the Canadian Armed Forces. On a strategic, whole-of-country policy and level, we can ensure that we are really looking into, very surgically and very strategically, providing that support for those woman, and I think—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We have to go to other questions.

The hon. member for Shefford.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her speech.

She talked a lot about what is happening internationally. In my speech, I mentioned that 10% of women lived in fear of intimate partner violence during the pandemic. I said that number was three times higher for indigenous women. According to the UN, internationally, that 10% is tripled, which means that 30% of women are living in fear of intimate partner violence during the pandemic.

Even Secretary-General António Guterres lamented that the status of women has been set back 25 years. That might be in terms of finances as well as violence. That 25-year setback is alarming.

We will have to keep those facts in mind when we set up support measures for victims as we emerge from the crisis and embark on economic recovery.

How can we create gender-specific measures, as my colleague said, that include gender-based analysis plus? GBA+ is a federal strategy that must be part of all the measures that the government takes during the recovery.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Chair, if I understood the question correctly, we are talking about gender-based violence on an international stage and I have to say that Canada, being the human rights leader that it is, really has a role to play. We have been playing that role in empowering other countries around the world to take into account what gender equality means for citizenry across the world. Whether it is through funding, human rights aid across the world, or through empowering women parliamentarians across the world to advocate for gender-based analysis of of all laws in their own nations, or through multilateral agreements and organizations providing that support, I think there is no one measure that our country can take. This has to be a fulsome, holistic approach as to how we combat the culture of toxic masculinity, the culture of violence against women, the culture of using violence against women as a measure—