Marci Ien

[Gender-Based Violence, April 25th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, far from an afterthought, when the pandemic hit, a $3-million emergency funding top-up was what we provided to make sure that shelters could keep the lights on and keep the doors open. This work continues with the national action plan, more than half a billion dollars in the last budget to work with provinces and territories to make sure that the most vulnerable women and girls are safe.

I said that we would have women's backs and I stand by my words.

[Gender-Based Violence, March 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for shining a light on this very important issue.

Crisis hotlines are a lifeline for women fleeing domestic violence because they provide a connection to safe resources. Our announcement last week of $8 million to support crisis hotlines across Ontario is our ninth agreement with our provincial and territorial counterparts. The bottom line is, if someone is experiencing gender-based violence, when they call or text, someone will be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

[Gender-Based Violence, December 6th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the massacre at École Polytechnique was one of the most horrifying things to happen on Canadian soil. There were 14 women killed and 13 injured simply because they were women. We will always stand up for victims and survivors of gender-based violence. We support them. We honour them. We condemn anyone who tries to sully their memory, and we will not rest until every Canadian is safe.

[École polytechnique de Montréal, December 6th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because 33 years ago on this day a horrific act of violence changed our country forever. On December 6, 1989, 14 women were murdered at École Polytechnique de Montréal when a gunman walked in, separated the women from the men and opened fire.

They were murdered simply because they were women.

As a member of this place, as a member of cabinet, as a mother, as a sister and as a daughter, I stand here to say that the Government of Canada will not tolerate gender-based violence anywhere in any way in this country.

Today, on the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, we remember Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne‑Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne‑Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St‑Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik‑Widajewicz.

We also honour everyone who has been killed as a result of gender-based violence. Last year, 173 women and girls in Canada lost their lives in this way. This amounts to one woman or girl every two days.

We stand in solidarity today and every day with victims and survivors of gender-based violence and their families. We bring attention to those most at risk: women and girls; indigenous women and girls; members of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities; women and gender-diverse people with disabilities; and women living in northern, rural and remote communities. We honour and remember the women taken from us: Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe. We will not forget them.

Gender-based violence has long-term effects on individuals, families and communities. It can happen at work, in families and between acquaintances.

It is a form of abuse that costs lives, and it must not be tolerated in Canada. These acts are part of a continuum of hate that needs to be disrupted, and each one of us has the power to help break that cycle.

As my hon. colleagues know, we are currently commemorating the annual 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. Our theme is “It's Not Just”, a double meaning that reminds us of both the injustice of gender-based violence and how society perpetuates it by excusing less violent and less obvious forms.

I want to take a minute to talk about the lives impacted by these heinous acts.

In 2021, 90 homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner. Three-quarters, or 76%, of these victims were women and girls. The number of victims of intimate-partner homicide in 2021 was higher than in 2020, with 84 victims, and in 2019, there were 77 victims. This means mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins and friends. Women and girls from all walks of life were killed at the hands of their intimate partners.

Think of the children left behind when a mother is killed by her partner. Think of the mother left to carry on when her child is killed by their partner. Think of the communities left with a hole that cannot be filled when they lose an integral member. At a time when the gun lobby is using the memory of this horrendous anniversary to promote its own agenda, we must stand firm and defend the memories and legacies of those gone too soon.

There is so much to be done, and we must all be part of the solution. In the past seven years, we have shown leadership in the efforts to end gender-based violence. I would like now to speak a bit about the progress we have made so far.

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has taken a wide-ranging approach to combat gender-based violence, including but not limited to introducing the first-ever federal strategy to address gender-based violence, dedicating 25% of the national housing strategy to support women, banning assault-style weapon and putting a freeze on the sale and transfer of handguns within Canada, listing coercive control as a form of family violence in the Divorce Act, dedicating up to $30 million over five years for crisis hotlines, and working with provinces and territories to deliver a national action plan to end gender-based violence and support survivors.

On November 9, the forum of federal-provincial-territorial ministers responsible for the status of women endorsed the national action plan to end gender-based violence. Over the next 10 years, the national action plan will enable federal, provincial and territorial governments to continue working with victims and survivors, indigenous partners, direct service providers, experts, advocates, municipalities, the private sector and researchers to prevent and address gender-based violence in Canada. This work is historic, and we look forward to moving ahead with our provincial and territorial colleagues to put the plan into action.

We continue this important work in the memory of every person killed as a result of gender-based violence. We must not relent or feel defeated by the enormity of this issue. We must keep moving forward in our efforts to make Canada safer for everyone.

I want to close by addressing those who are hearing this message and who are currently experiencing gender-based violence. I urge them to talk to someone they trust and ask for help. I want to tell them that they are not alone.

[Gender-Based Violence, November 29th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, to anyone experiencing gender-based violence, we see them and we hear them. We know crisis lines are being used more than ever across the country, and we have responded. We have entered into agreements to fund crisis lines with Nova Scotia, Yukon, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. We are committed to expanding those services in the coming days.

I have to tell members, I am honoured to continue to do this work in every province and in every territory, and to know that if a person needs help, there is someone to listen on the other end of a crisis line.

[Foreign Affairs, October 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her extraordinary leadership. At the G7, I called on our allies to sign a joint statement to condemn the Iranian regime. I said at that point, and I am saying now, that this is not about head scarves. This is about human rights. I stand by that. Our government stands by that

I have to say, it takes immense courage to speak one's truth, and I was so moved last night when women did just that. They shared their stories at a vigil for Mahsa Amini. I want women here and around the world to know that we stand with them.

[Foreign Affairs, October 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her extraordinary leadership. At the G7, I called on our allies to sign a joint statement to condemn the Iranian regime. I said then and I said—

[Women and Gender Equality, October 25th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her empathetic leadership. As we close out Women's History Month, I have some thoughts on how women hold up their communities and make them stronger.

From the women working on the front lines, selflessly, simply because they want to serve, to women carving out careers and simultaneously caring for kids and senior parents, and to women marching in the streets for the right to choose, they are not invisible. We hear them and we stand with them.

[Criminal Code, June 22nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his support, and I will say with deep respect that five weeks is not slow.

[Criminal Code, June 22nd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I am based in research. I have heard it first-hand. I have talked to young women who said if they are attacked, they are not going to be protected, and I had to clear up that misinformation.

We had to act quickly. We know that it has been just over five weeks. We know that well, since the Supreme Court's decision, but we are making it abundantly clear that committing any crime is not okay. I want to repeat that: It is not okay.