Mr. Speaker, what a heartfelt speech from my colleague. I am so glad I was here to hear it.
I have mentioned in the House before that I worked as a family law lawyer. I worked in the violence against women sector, and I worked with women who were fleeing violence at home. Oftentimes, more than once, I would have a woman in my office who would just stop and say, “Gosh, I really do not know how I got here. This is not how I pictured my life.” When she would look back, she would see that the beginning steps were almost imperceptibly small, and it usually started with what we now call coercive control, whether it was financial, emotional or social.
I wonder if my colleague would like to comment on how Bill C-16 seeks to address criminalizing coercive control and making women feel more confident in coming forward.