Status of Women committee  Thank you very much, MP Sidhu. Congratulations on the vote in the House of Commons yesterday on your private member's bill on the framework for diabetes. I know you've been working on that since day one of being a member of Parliament. Your constituents are very smart to have sent you to Ottawa.

Status of Women committee  It is clear, Madam Chair, that the processes in place are far from perfect, and every time a survivor comes forward, we better understand the gaps in those processes. As you've heard, every single member of our government who has been asked about this...we are committed to making this better and we are committed to ensuring that we're all working towards a future where no one has to say “Me too”.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely we are. As you know, Madam Chair, we're working on the national action plan on gender-based violence. The Department of National Defence was always a strong partner in the next phase of our government's response to gender-based violence within the military, but we're expediting some of the measures, and we're also going to be working very closely with the Department of National Defence in a whole-of-government approach to make sure we improve these processes.

Status of Women committee  Madam Chair, it is the responsibility of every single one of us to ensure that survivors are heard and that they have the supports they need when they have the courage to come forward. Absolutely I take my responsibility seriously. I'm also fortunate that I'm not the only one around the table who takes on that burden.

Status of Women committee  I think the characterization here, Madam Chair, is inaccurate. There was a process in place to protect the privacy and the confidentiality of victims. That process was followed, a process that we now know needs to be significantly improved. You've heard the Prime Minister. You've heard the Minister of Defence.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Larouche. I want to acknowledge that Quebeckers have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with half of the deaths to COVID being mourned by Quebeckers who are missing their loved ones. You're absolutely—

Status of Women committee  Forgive me. Let me try that again. Madam Larouche, I want to acknowledge that Quebeckers are mourning. More than half of the deaths due to COVID in Canada have been Quebeckers. The whole country mourns with you. You're also right in that the rates of violence have gone up and that our partnership with Quebec has been instrumental in providing supports to front-line organizations.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Mr. Serré, for your leadership and hard work. MP Serré, I know this has been a difficult time for you and your team, and despite those challenges, you've helped your community get connected to high-speed Internet, and here you are championing women and gender equality.

Status of Women committee  I can say that our rural MPs, like you and MP Hutchings, have been instrumental in shaping the universal broadband fund. It is meant to connect the last mile of households that have yet to be connected to this essential service. We launched it on November 9, and in a few days, the call will close.

Status of Women committee  Some of you are shaking your heads and some of you are saying yes.

Status of Women committee  We apply an intersectional gendered lens to every decision so we can better understand the impact of the decisions we're making and then mitigate them. Our intersectional gendered lens, applied through the entirety of our COVID response, has been recognized internationally as being the best.

Status of Women committee  Thank you for that very important question, MP Sahota. As a sister, an aunt, a woman, and of course as the minister responsible for the well-being of women, when those reports of sexual assault came out, I was as outraged and as disappointed as you all were. I can assure you that we are looking into the matter, and that the investigation is ongoing.

Status of Women committee  Is this better, Madam Chair, and Ms. Sidhu?

Status of Women committee  Madam Chair, we've applied the GBA+ to our entire COVID response. I was here for that committee meeting. Minister Qualtrough was referring to the CERB, which we rolled out within a matter of days. We weren't able to do the formal GBA+ on that particular measure right away, but you can be sure that we did so as soon as it was feasible.

Status of Women committee  Madam Chair, I disagree entirely with the premise of that question. While it is true that gender-based violence is far too prevalent in this country, no government has done more than our government has to provide supports to front lines, to acknowledge it in legislation and to support particularly racialized and indigenous community organizations in their efforts to prevent and address it.