Mr. Speaker, I am really happy to have an opportunity to rise today to discuss Bill C-15, the budget implementation act, particularly around deep concerns that have been raised on the complete void of a gender-based analysis in the budget, including for projects of national interest.
The budget, for example, does not contain one single mention of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, in spite of a study that was done by the status of women committee that directly linked increased violence against indigenous women and girls and resource extraction projects.
The whole budget relies on the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples, yet the budget has no mention of resources that will be provided for communities to put in place safety plans. The budget has no mention of how the government plans to protect indigenous women and girls from the violence that is often perpetrated in man camps, where we are seeing heightened rates of sexual trafficking, with Manitoba being the hub. There is no mention of that.
Even though the government has recognized this ongoing violence against indigenous women and girls as genocide, there is zero mention of it in this year's budget. With the government's own admission, in this year's budget, 41 measures will primarily benefit men, while only seven will primarily benefit women. This is shocking, especially with the planned budget cuts to the public service sector. Fifty-six per cent of those impacted will be women.
While I was glad to see in budget 2025 an investment of $660.5 million over five years, with $132.1 million ongoing, it came after great pressure from women's, feminist and gender-diverse organizations across the country fighting against the planned 15% cut. We know that gender equality cannot be an afterthought. It is part of a healthy, democratic Canada. However, this funding remains project-based, and these resources are not permanent.
The Liberals, in turn, expected to be thanked for only cutting women and gender equality by a smaller percentage than other departments, even though, historically, wages have been massively underfunded. The budget cut still amounts to $8 million each year. It comes at a time when countless experts and even the former Liberal attorney general have said that gender-based violence in Canada is an epidemic.
I will remind the government that the only reason we were able to protect some of that funding was the leadership of frontline organizations that fought to keep this funding in place. Even in spite of the fact that we managed to save the furniture, the Liberals have still cut these programs from their current level by roughly 50%, at a time when we need much more, not less, public support for upholding the rights of women and gender-diverse people. We cannot build a healthy economy if we exclude women, the LGBTQ+ community and gender-diverse people.
An area of deep concern is the lack of funding for sexual and reproductive health, as well as universal access to contraception. It is one of the clearest, most evidence-based investments that a government can make in people's health. It protects equality and economic security because it gives people control over their futures. It reduces health care costs and strengthens gender equality across the board.
It does not just improve sexual reproductive health and individual health, but it also drives population-level change. If people can plan when they want to have children and if they want to have children, they are more likely to stay in school, stay in the workforce and avoid cycles of poverty. Universal coverage of contraception is preventative, and it is good for the economy. It is like all good infrastructure: It saves us money in the long run.
We know this, but the only thing we are missing now is the political will to make the financial investments to make it real. We need to make sure that people can afford medication when they need it, to sustain their health and bodily autonomy. That is something that seems to be off the radar of not just the Liberals but the Conservatives too.
The word “pharmacare” was only mentioned once in the budget. Even though the Liberals signalled that it was signed into law, their commitment to universal pharmacare is failing to extend agreements to all provinces and territories that want it. We have to stop the practice of people having to pay out of pocket for contraception medications, which are vital for sexual and reproductive health.
The Liberals also broke their campaign promise to make permanent the sexual and reproductive health fund. The budget cut in health care for refugees is something that is problematic. It will escalate the cost of vital reproductive health care for women and gender-diverse people who have already been made vulnerable by displacement because of war and violence. The $400-million planned cut to health care at the end of the decade is deeply concerning. Such cuts will shrink the national leadership capacity, and we need that to coordinate prevention, equity and access across the provinces.
Let us not forget that our health care system is already tapped out. It is already tapped out. Burnout is real with health care providers, nurses, midwives and physicians. We need to make greater investments in training health care workers, to fill jobs and rebuild a robust health care system in Canada.
I have to say one of the most disappointing parts of the budget to me was the alarming signal that potentially threatens Canada's 10-year commitment to global health and rights, which includes $700 million annually for sexual and reproductive health. This has made Canada a global leader, and weakening that pledge on the global stage will not only harm millions worldwide but also erode Canada's credibility.
It is not surprising to me that our Prime Minister said he would not describe our policy as feminist foreign policy. It is shameful. We need to do more to protect gender equality in this country. We need it to be the centrepiece of a healthy economy, not an afterthought.