Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise and address Bill S-242 today. It is a bill that I believe has universal support. At the end of the day, when we think of intimate partner violence, we need to recognize that it is not just a women's issue. In fact, in many ways, we also need men to step up to the plate and address the issue in a very positive and creative way.
I believe that every member of Parliament understands the importance of the issue. In terms of intimate partner violence, we can think of coercive control, which often takes place, the stalking and the emotional and psychological impact of abuse. We can talk about how violence, whether it is physical, sexual or cyber, continues to grow and has become a real concern. The impacts physically, mentally and economically are significant. These are all the types of things we have to deal with when we talk about intimate partner violence and why it is so critically important that we do what we can.
That is what pleases me about this debate. We have seen, in the last year or so, significant actions taken. Today it is about Bill S-242, which originated from the Senate, but members will recall Bailey's law. Bailey's law originated out of the Conservative caucus. We can talk about Bill C-16. I do want to spend a bit of time talking about Bill C-16 because of the significance of Canada and the national government demonstrating leadership. I note these three pieces of legislation because they amplify the fact that parliamentarians of all political entities here in Ottawa understand how important this issue is to our society.
We all have a right to live in a safe society. Far too often, we hear of a victim of intimate partner violence. Every year, far too many women are murdered as a direct result. We need to recognize that not only the federal government has a responsibility. We see that within the legislation. There is a responsibility for governments of all levels and the many different stakeholders out there, all of which need to realize how important it is that we deal, in this case, with issues like Georgina's law.
I appreciate members sharing the comments that Georgina made before the Senate. It puts one face on the tens of thousands of victims of varying degrees throughout our nation every year. That is why we have seen the type of support we have seen in the debates thus far.
To go back to some of the issues from a personal perspective, in terms of advocacy, I remember back in the days when I was an MLA taking a tour of Osborne House. That would have been in the 1990s. Osborne House does not exist anymore. Technically, it does. It is called Willow Place now, but it performs the same sorts of services for victims.
It is important that different levels of government support these facilities, because they are providing absolutely essential services to the women in our community. These are women who have been sexually abused, physically abused and emotionally abused, and they are often scared to be in their home. They often have children. Sadly, the demand for these services is not decreasing. Collectively, we need to do a better job.
I think it was over the summer that we announced over half a billion dollars to continue the fight on gender-based violence. I was glad to hear the responses we were getting from all sides of the House when we brought in Bill C-16, because there were some historic measures that were being taken. We took into consideration patterns of coercive control and making it a criminal offence, which is truly unique, not only here in Canada, but in the Commonwealth, along with the issue of femicide.
It was quite encouraging to hear the expressions during that debate, and we are seeing a good sample of that in this debate dealing with issues like deepfakes and the emotional harm, the humiliation, as a direct result. Imagine being a 13-year-old girl or a full-grown adult who does not give consent to an abuser. These are the types of issues we have been dealing with over the last year, recognizing that some issues have to be raised above political partisanship. We want to see support for this legislation. We want to see it brought to committee.
The Minister of Women and Gender Equality has done an outstanding job of being out there in the community. The idea of having the minister ultimately providing those reports every second year is a positive thing, because it would provide a tangible update. We can bring in laws and change laws. We can provide budgetary measures to support the issue, but we need to have the numbers. We need to see the impact that it is having.
I want to extend my appreciation and thanks to those non-profit organizations and to all, females and males, who are involved in taking on this very serious societal issue.