Mr. Speaker, I rise today with humility and resolve on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the first day of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. This is a day that demands truth-telling. It reminds us that for an issue as urgent and as widespread as gender-based violence, words alone have never been enough. Safety requires real action. Every level of government carries that responsibility. I would like to thank the Secretary of State for Nature for beginning our day and reminding us of that.
When governments hesitate, when they fail to make violence prevention a priority, lives remain at risk. We see the consequences in our communities. We feel them in our families. We witness them in grief carried by loved ones who should have never had to bury our daughters, sisters, aunties and friends.
Gender-based violence flows through our homes, our bones, our workplaces, public spaces and online spaces. It does not confine itself. It reaches everywhere, which means that our response must reach just as far.
Experts, frontline workers, municipal leaders and even former attorneys general have all said the same thing: Gender-based violence and intimate partner violence amount to an epidemic in Canada. An epidemic demands a whole-of-government response. Nothing less is acceptable.
Ending violence means speaking clearly against the growing forces of far-right misogyny, anti-feminist rhetoric and anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ hate. These ideologies do not exist in isolation. They have long been tied to violent extremism. We remember the women murdered at École Polytechnique in 1989. We honour them by refusing to let hatred take root again. Again, I would like to honour the Secretary of State for Nature for sharing her story.
Today, some elected representatives openly court groups that spread these hateful beliefs. Others have softened or abandoned their commitments to gender-based equality to appease anti-feminist voices. This is a betrayal of every woman and every gender-diverse person who has ever feared for their safety. We must stand against this extremism with absolute clarity and without hesitation.
We cannot confront gender-based violence without naming racism and the ongoing legacy of colonialism and genocide. Indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people face higher rates of violence in this country and are six times more likely than non-indigenous women to experience femicide. The crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people is not symbolic. It is not historic. It is a national emergency. In fact, the former prime minister recognized this as an ongoing genocide, yet in this year's budget, the Liberals did not include a single mention of this crisis. We are not invisible.
This omission is even more alarming when the budget centres projects of national interest that involve resource extraction on indigenous lands and territories. We know that man camps and transient workforces increase violence against indigenous women and girls. The status of women committee, in fact, confirmed this in a study during the last Parliament, calling for greater corporate responsibility and meaningful safety planning. Still, the government presented a plan crafted without the participation of indigenous women and without meaningful commitments to community safety. This is unacceptable. This is turning a blind eye to our genocide.
Indigenous women will not sit quietly while governments ignore our right to safety and our right to dignity. We deserve more than symbolic gestures. We deserve life-saving investment, long-term commitment and accountability rooted in justice.
The budget also lacked concrete plans for affordable housing, rent-geared-to-income units and safer shelter places. These are not optional supports. They are essential lifelines for people fleeing violence.
We know that poverty reduction is not separate from safety. It is the foundation of it. People cannot escape violence if they cannot afford to survive. This is why New Democrats continue to push for deeply affordable housing and a guaranteed livable basic income. We know that safety grows from stability; safety grows from dignity.
I offer my deepest gratitude to frontline organizations that continue to meet this crisis with courage and compassion. They hold the line when every other system breaks down. They create refuge where none exists. When the government attempted to gut the women and gender equality department, these organizations advocated and protected this vital funding. Their work quite literally saves lives.
However, we cannot accept half measures. We cannot accept a government that ignores reproductive health, cuts essential supports for refugees or sidesteps the needs of survivors. To fight gender-based violence is to defend human rights in their entirety. Every policy choice strengthens or weakens that defence.
These struggles are not abstract. They are about real people with real stories. I hold deep the love for survivors, for families and for communities, including my own.
Unfortunately, as we begin the 16 days of activism, we are also witnessing a troubling shift on the global stage. On the eve of this campaign, the Prime Minister has chosen to court closer ties with the U.A.E. while diluting Canada's commitments to gender equality. This signals to the world that Canada no longer expects meaningful progress on human rights in exchange for diplomatic favour.
Today, I call on all parliamentary colleagues to join me in a simple but profound commitment. Let us defend the right of every person in this country to live free from violence. Let us defend the right of every person around the world to live free of violence. Let us choose courage over convenience. Let us act.