Sheila Finestone

[Multiculturalism, December 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour today to present to the House, in both official languages, a letter conveying the government's position and decision on redress.

[Rogers Cable, December 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. Canada's policy is to promote shows

and programs in both official languages, French and English, in the distribution and presentation of television programming.

Furthermore, I must say that cable operators are free to decide what they will distribute. The market rules, the market decides. Subscribers are free to contact their cable company to let it know how they feel about it. Also, they can always file a complaint with the CRTC.

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 1994]

You are not the Speaker.

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague has been very committed to the whole field of action against violence and was a very important member of that committee that deposited that report.

Violence against women and children is a question which we have addressed in our red book. It is a question to which this government is very committed. It is a multifaceted program which includes legislative action, educational activity and co-operative development with our federal, provincial and territorial partners as well as with police, the advertising industry, et cetera.

I think the Minister of Justice has brought in a very significant package that does answer many of the reports. The fundamentals and our first task in this House is to bring forward legislation that will set the guidelines, the yardstick, the measurement against which we will attend to people who commit and continue violence against women.

I say that the other role we have to play is educational.

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 1994]

moved:

That this House take note of the anniversary of the murder of 14 young women at l'École polytechnique on December 6, 1989 and the continuing urgent need for action to eliminate the threat of violence in society, including the threat of violence to women.

Mr. Speaker, I am most pleased that the House has unanimously agreed to address this issue of violence against women in our society. This issue has become pervasive and has created concern for the men and women in this House and of course many organizations, associations and groups outside of this House.

The House has accepted the resolution unanimously to acknowledge the issue of the women who were murdered unconscionably five years ago. That unfortunate circumstance has given us the excellent opportunity for us to look at this issue not from a partisan political perspective but more in the interests of the well-being of the women and children and the responsibility that women have for the future of our society, for the well-being of the children, for the education and for the community work that is needed and is often the role of women.

Women have many roles in our society. Not only are they the progenitors of the future, they also educate and train our children. They do a great amount of community based work and care for the elderly. As well women are in the workforce. Women bear tremendous amounts of stress and strain. The last thing they need is a lack of respect, understanding and appreciation of the multiplicity and the importance of their role for all of us in our society.

I am pleased to rise to speak on this topic. I am pleased there was unanimous approval in this House to proceed in this way. This morning in commemoration of the national day of remembrance and action on violence against women, I talked about statistics and the magnitude of the problem in Canada. I would like to put forward a fact sheet to which women and men can refer and which organizations and institutions can look at to take proper concerted action together so we can win the fight against violence against women.

In 1993 Statistics Canada conducted a national survey on violence against women. Approximately 12,300 women were interviewed. Only behaviours considered an offence under the

Criminal Code of Canada were addressed in this survey. In fact, they were quite specific about what they were prepared to look at and include in the survey.

The survey included a wide range of behaviours such as the threat of imminent attack, attack with serious injury, unwanted sexual touching up to and including violent sexual attacks with severe injury. The findings are chilling and should advise us here in the House about our responsibility to represent, to speak for and to speak out in the interests of our constituents, half of whom are women.

In Canada 51 per cent of all women have experienced at least one incident of violence since the age of 16. Women are at greater risk from men they know than they are from strangers. Twenty-five per cent of all women have experienced violence at the hand of a current or past marital partner. In those cases weapons were used by 44 per cent of violent spouses. Twenty-one per cent of women abused by current or previous partners were assaulted during pregnancy; this is absolutely the most repugnant of the statements as far as I am concerned. One in six currently married women reported violence by their spouses and 39 per cent of those women said it happened more than once.

For sources of support that most women need and use, 51 per cent of women who ask for help turn to friends and neighbours and 42 per cent turn to family. Those figures come from the violence against women surveys in the Statistics Canada daily of November 18, 1993.

We also know how important are the homes for battered women, the transition houses and the groups that work right at the community base on these issues of violence. They enable women to leave their homes, take their children and protect themselves. They enable the women to get legal aid and some advice and counselling.

I sincerely hope that more work will be done with the batterers. If we leave them out there it will mean that some other woman is put at risk. We need to do work in that regard.

The other important aspect illustrated by this information on violence against women in Canada is that of women and firearms. On average, one woman is killed by a firearm every six days in Canada, often in a private residence and by someone she knows.

Firearms are the weapon of choice in spousal homicides. Between 1974 and 1992, 42 per cent of women murdered by their spouses were killed by bullets, 21 per cent were stabbed and another 21 per cent died from blows received.

During that same period, a married woman was nine times more likely to be killed by her spouse than by a stranger, and there were a total of 1,886 spousal homicides. Women were the victims in 76 per cent of cases. According to a study on domestic homicides conducted by the Department of Justice in 1992, only 18 per cent of firearms used by husbands who killed their wives were acquired illegally.

These are important facts to consider on a day like today and during a debate such as this one.

I would like to talk about this whole issue in terms of the human toll. The following testimonial is from a woman living in Canada today: "My husband struck me on our honeymoon. He killed our first child by kicking the four month old child in my uterus. My doctor asked me what I did and what I do to make him so mad. Our Anglican minister reminded me that I had married for better or worse. The lawyer wanted to know where I would get money to pay the fees. My mother told my husband where I was hiding".

The voice is a chilling one. It is an incisive call for change in the attitudes throughout Canadian society.

I want to point out two important realities for Canadian women. The first one is that we are more likely to be abused by an acquaintance, that is a spouse or a friend, as the hon. member from the opposition and I mentioned earlier. I feel it is very important for women to know that this is the reality and that they should take it into consideration before talking or making arrangements with anyone.

I just finished outlining some of the highlights of a Statistics Canada survey from last year. I did not outline the impact on the children who witness this violence and then become repeaters, carrying on this behaviour pattern into their own relationships with women. We find that half of the women reporting violence by men are known to them: dates, boyfriends, marital partners, friends, family and neighbours. It is very disquieting.

The second reality that I want to impress on the House is that violence and women's inequality are inextricably linked. Violence is a manifestation of women's inequality. In the words of another women: "When my husband stole a pizza he got a $100 fine. He beats me and sometimes he gets a $50 fine. I think this is awful. I am worth less than a pizza".

What messages do these words send to all women about our worth? How deeply entrenched are the old views that it is a

man's right to control his wife and his daughters, that, as in past centuries, women are possessions?

Admitting that these attitudes exist is an important step in finding solutions. As I said earlier today, I am encouraged by the level of community action taking place across Canada. As a nation we are beginning to hear what women's groups have been saying for years, that violence against women is pervasive in Canada, that it is tolerated and that violence is the most deplorable symptom of women's inequality.

On behalf of the people of Canada I would like to extend our thanks to the women and to the grassroots groups that started the shelter movement, staffed the assault crisis centres and started self-healing circles. They were determined to get the public's attention. We must ensure that their voices continue to be heard and support the work and the undertakings they have made.

The government understands that violence against women results from complex inter-related factors. That is why we favour a comprehensive approach to this issue. I was asked by one of the members of the opposition to explain the question of drunkenness and the Supreme Court of Canada ruling which cited extreme drunkenness as a defence in a case of sexual assault. This defence has since been successfully used in several other lower court cases. I find this to be totally unacceptable. The women of our caucus and I have spoken to the Minister of Justice. The Minister of Justice is equally outraged. However, the charter and the Constitution speak before the courts.

The question is how to amend the laws of this land so they will not be found wanting when we go to the courts. This kind of abysmal, unacceptable behaviour can no longer take place and be accepted and certainly that unenlightened judges do not use proper defence mechanisms from my perspective.

I would like the House to know that the Minister of Justice intends to propose amendments which he has pointed out several times. He will present an amendment to the Criminal Code to deal with self-intoxication as a defence when the House resumes in February. This Friday, on December 9, he is holding discussions with groups that have a tremendous interest in seeing the reduction of violence and enabling us to move forward in our agenda against violence against women.

Some members of this House claimed that we did not take important measures. As I said before, our responsibility lies primarily in passing appropriate legislation, and I believe that, in this respect, we truly made critical choices on a series of actions which will ultimately be complemented by other measures later on this year.

I also think that it must be recognized that we have taken important measures. Let us take a look at the firearms control program. On November 30, the Minister of Justice announced a gun control program, an important step towards eliminating violence against women. The development of a national fire arms registry, the ban on some firearms and the relaxation of prohibition orders are all measures that can be beneficial to women and used to save lives.

The National Crime Prevention Council was set up in July 1994. Among other issues, this Council will study how women are vulnerable to crime. The Council is made up of 25 members, 14 of whom are women, who come from all walks of life. As for keeping the peace, in June, the Minister of Justice tabled Bill C-42, which contains more than 100 changes to the Criminal Code, including various provisions to improve our efforts to keep the peace. For example, the police and other stakeholders will be able to ask for a peace bond in order to protect women in danger.

The national screening system to identify individuals who have sexually assaulted children is the fourth part of our approach. Announced in November, this database will enable organizations and employers to check if a job applicant has a criminal record for sexual offences before allowing the applicant to work with children. I think that this is the fifth bill on sentencing reform.

I would say to members that the sentencing reform is an important piece of legislation.

Bill C-41 gives the courts the means to make a distinction between serious violent crimes and less serious non-violent crimes. This sends a clear message to society: violence against women and children will not be tolerated. The bill stipulates that evidence that a crime, including a sexual offence, was motivated by hate or that the offender abused a position of trust or authority will be deemed by the judge to be an aggravating factor for the purpose of sentencing.

I must say that the opposition's complaints are unfounded because we have made progress. We also looked at the issue of equality before the law. Take the court challenges program, for example. In October 1994, the government reinstated that program in order to provide funding for cases of national interest regarding equality rights or language rights under the Canadian constitution.

In giving this list I do not think there can be complaints by the opposition as to the undertakings of the government with respect to violence against women. The facts should speak for themselves. Certainly there are other issues to which I can point. These include the question of legal equality, which is the court challenges program I just talked about, and public education.

In April Canadian heritage, in collaboration with other federal departments and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, launched a series of radio and television programs and ads in the first of a three-year campaign on violence in society. I want to thank the Canadian Association of Broadcasters for the undertaking. That is $10 million worth of publicity which we have enabled to happen. It will ensure that violence against women and children, violence in society and violence based on race, prejudice, hatred and bigotry no longer find a home in this country.

I just deposited in the House today a community kit on violence against women. It is to promote community action so that people in their own backyards, leur petit patelins, will take responsibility for auditing what is dangerous in their society and for undertaking collective community action to prevent violence and promote safety.

The community kit on violence against women was tested in 10 locations across the country. The stories tell us what took place, what was helpful, what was not helpful, and how the audit was a positive factor in small towns and regions and in larger cities.

We have published those stories and I think members would find them interesting reading. I advise members of the House to take a good look at this kit, take it back to their towns and villages and enable their constituents to take control of their own lives. We must control the violence that is inherent in our society and make sure that our women and children can walk the streets of our cities safely and can live in safe homes.

Over 2,000 projects have been funded across the country by Health Canada on child abuse, on violence against women and on senior abuse. The family violence initiative is now in its fourth year. It also funds the building of shelters for abused women and their children.

In June I met with my colleagues, the ministers of the status of women across Canada, in Regina. We discussed the whole question of violence against women. We discussed it from the provincial perspective and we discussed it from the federal perspective. We discussed what initiatives we each could take, collectively and collaboratively, to ensure that the lives of women and children were safe. We issued a Regina declaration on the rights of women subjected to violence. It calls on justice systems across this land to ensure the equal protection of women subjected to violence.

In November 1993 we received the Statistics Canada research which was very important. In April of this year Statistics Canada released data from a transition home survey. It revealed there was a 2 per cent increase in the occupancy rate from 1992 to 1993 by women fleeing from abusive situations.

Most women using shelters are aged 25 to 34. These women are in their child bearing years and are subjected to violence by aggressive men even when pregnant. They have children in their homes who are visibly upset and mentally disturbed by what they see, action taken against women as something acceptable within their society. Less than 10 per cent of shelters primarily served ethnocultural and visible minority women, although 41 per cent offered culturally sensitive services.

The Minister of Justice, the Minister of Health and I have conducted public consultations. We held consultations with women's groups on violence as well as on the budget and social security reform. This is a very important and effective means of understanding what is going on in our society.

During the first year of our mandate, I think we have given top priority to legislation aimed at better protecting women and children. The protection provided by law is the very foundation of personal and public security.

As we move to support the program that has been presented by my colleague, the Minister of Justice, on firearms control, I would suggest that we have an obligation to the women of the country. Women do not like guns. That is a pretty obvious understatement. Women are fearful of guns.

I do not have to argue that the issue of firearms control is one of crucial importance to women. Nationally women have already spoken out. Numerous women's organizations from across the country and from a wide variety of social and cultural backgrounds have come forward to support tougher firearms control laws.

If people want to own firearms then let them own them with responsibility. You have to get a licence and do various other things to own a car. For goodness sake, what is so terrible about doing the same thing to own a gun? We are not taking them away from people. Those people who object to firearms control should not object to having us know that they own a gun. It does not make any sense to have it any other way. Tighter restrictions on firearms are what we want and that is what we are responding to.

I would like to answer the Reform Party which is not very pleased with this. A poll conducted recently by Angus Reid revealed that as many as 70 per cent of all Canadians interviewed favoured tighter restrictions on firearms. Firearm control is also supported by Canadian teachers. In a joint statement two weeks ago the Canadian Teachers Federation and the Centrale de l'enseignement du Québec agreed that a series of measures, including the Minister of Justice's package on firearms control, was necessary to reduce violence in our society.

The Minister of Justice has consulted across the land from big cities to small cities to the towns and villages. He has met with all kinds of organizations. He has listened and he has adjusted, understanding the needs and the sport recreational aspects. He also understands what women have to say. Every one of us ought to support his measures.

We have also taken other legal measures. I think of how important the peace bond was in the amendments to the Criminal Code and the sentencing on abuse of trust. How many of us know about incestual relationships that have taken place? How many of us know of friends and children and particularly relatives whom we call on to babysit for us, who do not have a code of ethics and abuse that trust, teachers who have abused the trust, priests who have abused the trust? Abuse of trust and sexual abuse are not acceptable in Canadian society. We are moving on that bill.

We have established the national information system, the court challenges program. Other initiatives to improve the status of women, although not necessarily dealing with violence and abuse against women are equally important. There is the creation of the national breast cancer information exchange program, the establishment of the prenatal nutrition program and our work to help women achieve economic equality.

Economic equality gives women the freedom to move away from an abusive situation. If a woman is trapped with no money she fears leaving. Economic equality in our society tells women that their work is valued, that their contributions to society are honoured and respected. Therefore economic equality will help women care for themselves and their children, give them a sense of worth and a sense of independence, not merely out of the generosity of the heart of her husband, but because she contributes to his growth and development, to his success. She is deserving of a fair share of those earnings if she stays at home and raises children. Raising children in today's society is a value in and of itself.

I was very pleased to chair the task group on the treatment of child support. The government will be coming in shortly with a comprehensive package of guidelines for the courts. It will have an enforcement component and will look at tax treatment. This more comprehensive policy is long overdue.

We must find a way so that not so many children in our country are poor. Children are poor when their mothers are poor. That too is a violence against women. It is a violence against people in our society.

I would like to close my remarks by talking for a few moments about the Beijing conference which is coming up. In the international arena Canada is seen as very important and effective in addressing the concerns of women.

The machinery of government that we have set up to advise and counsel ministers on any kind of project, policy or legislation is seen as a very positive factor. The input our staff has made, because staff really equals service, and what we have been able to render in the international arena has been very important. We are not the only nation in the world seeking solutions to these issues. We can be proud of what we have done at the international level. We have played a leadership role in two key areas that I want to point out.

First was the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the declaration of the elimination of violence against women last December.

The second was the appointment of a United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women. That was an initiative of Canada as well. The rapporteur will report to the United Nations commission on human rights every year starting in March.

I had the pleasure of meeting the young woman who is filling that responsibility. We can have a sense of confidence that we are going to move forward on the international stage in this area.

In less than a year we will be meeting in Beijing for the fourth United Nations world conference on women. It has an enormous potential to act as a catalyst for change and progress on women's equality worldwide and particularly women's equality in China.

The role of the NGOs, the non-government organizations, has been very key, very different from Mexico and Nairobi. They have had a significant input into the preliminary documents we will be examining at that time. Ten key areas and key issues are of concern. It will look at women's struggles with poverty, with violence, with access to education and health, with access to power and decision making, to name but a few.

We want solutions to those problems right here for all Canadians. We do not have to wait until the UN world conference.

I encourage the women in the House to renew their commitment to women's equality today. I encourage them to speak out. The government intends to fulfil all its red book commitments with respect to the increase in funding for services for battered women. Public education campaigns will be ongoing and will enable behaviour modification with the goodwill and support of the men as partners in society. The options for removal of abusers from the home shall certainly be part and parcel of what we look at.

I am very happy to have had the opportunity here today to mention some of the things that make life more difficult for women. I look forward to working with our colleagues from the opposition and indeed with all Canadians, both men and women, who want to improve the lot of women, to prevent the increase in

violence against women and to try to educate the public in order to eliminate this problem in our society.

The roses that all the members of the House placed in the hall on behalf of the 14 women indicate that the moment has come to rethink the society in which we live.

Let us remember. I thank all members of the House for the roses which were deposited outside in the hall.

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 1994]

On what?

[Violence Against Women, December 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, today, December 6, is the day that all parties in the House have unanimously proclaimed national day of remembrance and action on violence against women.

These young women were smart, ambitious and hardworking. They had much to contribute to their families and to their country. All this was stolen from them in a burst of gunfire.

Today, 14 red roses have been placed at the entrance of the Chamber. Each rose represents the life of a young woman, a life full of promise, a life full of dreams, a life cut short by a horrifying act of violence by a man who voiced the old hidden belief that women do not have the right to equal status in a man's world.

The tragedy was a catalyst for action and the rose has become a symbol in memory of the women who died. It appears on the YWCA buttons sold each year as part of its campaign to address violence against women. It appears on the Canadian Labour Congress lapel pin as part of its new campaign.

Every year, since 1989, increasing numbers of individuals and organizations have joined forces with women's groups and other community organizations in order to bring about social change. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Quebec women's federation-many people are trying to make a difference in their community.

Our government is also a partner for change. Last week the Minister of Justice announced the government's intention to ban the type of gun that was used in Montreal. Firearms control is a life and death issue for women. In the new proposals anyone

charged with criminal harassment such as stalking will temporarily be prohibited from owning a firearm.

A national firearms registry would have enormous advantages. When responding to a domestic violence call, police would know if there was a registered firearm at the address in question.

Last year, Statistics Canada reported that, based on the definition of violence in the Criminal Code, half of Canadian women have been victims of violence in their adult life, often more than once. Men they know pose more of a danger to them than strangers.

The foundation of the federal government's multifaceted approach to violence against women in Canadian society is legislation, giving protection under the law. We have made this a priority. It is part of the solution, clearly our part. We are also working in new ways to facilitate community action.

I am pleased to have tabled today the publication entitled "Community Stories: Taking Action on Violence Against Women". It chronicles the experience of 10 communities that took part in a demonstration project of a community kit on violence against women. Both community stories and the community kit are tremendous resources for grassroots action in our own neighbourhoods. They are a source of inspiration on what is possible.

There are many other excellent resources available today for increased safety and security for all women in the workplace, in municipalities and in relationships. Violence against women is simply unacceptable. We must work together to change attitudes and behaviour that give rise to these acts, to these terrible tragedies.

Gender violence does not just threaten women; it threatens their families, their loved ones and all of us. It tears at the very fabric of our society. We need to act not just for ourselves but for our daughters and our granddaughters. It is for their right to walk safely and earn fairly anywhere in our Canada.

[Community Stories, December 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table in the House, in both official languages, a document entitled "Community Stories: Taking Action on Violence Against Women". The document contains the personal stories and history of the women applying for safety in their communities.

Today I will be moving: "That this House take note of the anniversary of the murder of 14 young women at l'École polytechnique on December 6, 1989 and the continuing urgent need for action to eliminate the threat of violence in society, including the threat of violence to women".

[Multiculturalism, December 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question and his incisive observations. Of course the answer is yes. Diversity and pluralism are the Canadian reality.

This government is committed to nation building, to ensuring that we live in an inclusive society and that we will have multicultural programs which will contain cross-cultural undertakings, intercultural exchange and will promote social harmony, social cohesion and peace.

We in this party believe that we should build a society in which racism, bigotry, intolerance and misunderstanding shall

find no home. That is the goal of this government. That is nation building and the Liberals support the multicultural program.

[Multiculturalism, November 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would certainly like to help them see the light, but I do not know if it is possible.

For less than $1 per Canadian per year, I think we are getting the best investment possible for our money, less than the cost of a chocolate bar, in order to ensure social peace, social cohesion and a country of prosperity that includes all Canadians.

I suggest to my colleague, who is a very concerned and considerate member representing a wonderful riding on the tip of Quebec between the two borders, that the amount of money we invest and the efforts that are deployed jointly by many groups in this country puts us at the forefront of fighting bigotry, racism and prejudice that is still found in the minds and hearts of many Canadians, contrary to certain thoughts expressed elsewhere in this House.