Status of Women committee  As you know, our government has been monitoring and is aware of the situation in Quebec, where young women have gone missing, and of course we send our thoughts and our prayers to the families and the young women who are in this situation. It's always a tragedy when children disa

Status of Women committee  Well, I'm excited about this year's International Women's Day, and in particular our theme here in Canada, which ties into what we talked about earlier, the theme of the granting opportunities we talked about. The theme for this year is that women's empowerment leads to equality

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for that question. You know that this issue is near and dear to me as well. I have to say, “Stay tuned.” You know that our budget will be released on March 22. There will be more detail in that budget about how we specifically intend to address the significa

Status of Women committee  I think that we will not be drilling down to the specific number of beds, but certainly you'll have a sense of the budget portfolio. Then as we move forward with our stakeholders, we'll able to define in a clearer way where that money needs to go in terms of provinces and program

Status of Women committee  At this time there is not.

Status of Women committee  Thanks. That's a two-part question as well.

Status of Women committee  On the matter of confidence around implementing the actions that come out of the inquiry, many of the things we're hearing preliminarily that would support women—first of all in avoiding the experience of violence and second in managing the experience of violence—will be addresse

Status of Women committee  I think it's a complex answer. I'm sure you agree. There's legislation, but there's also practical support. Prior to running a homeless shelter, my background was public health. That's why I'm thrilled about our government's investment in things like affordable housing, suppo

Status of Women committee  Thank you. I share your concern. I've followed with interest some of the stories that we all know about with women who have been severely bullied online, perhaps through sharing activities that should remain private, etc. It's an extremely concerning issue. It's under-reported.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much. You're absolutely right. One of the ways to address a gender wage gap is to encourage more women to enter what we call STEM professions—science, technology, etc. Status of Women knows this and has been working on it. I must commend the agency, because they'v

Status of Women committee  I think we have two questions in one. One is the issue around human trafficking. The justice department is taking the lead, and we will definitely support them in any way we can to protect women and girls, in whatever capacity that is. In terms of shelter access, from my perspec

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much. That's an excellent question. When we start moving toward the development of the gender-based violence strategy, that's when we will be able to identify with more clarity what legislative gaps exist. I've heard some concerns from different groups of stakehol

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. I'm thrilled to be leading Canada's official delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. One of the things we want to do is work with our international partners to promote the idea of gender equality. We know that countries are in different places across t

Status of Women committee  Thank you so much, Marilyn, for your very kind words. I appreciate that. I've started making my way around, but I'm a talker, so I didn't get all the way around. I hope to get to know all of you in a little more detail soon. Madam Chair, I welcome the opportunity to appear befor

Human Trafficking  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her concern and work on the issue of violence against women and girls. Preventing and addressing violence against women and girls is a priority for this government. We are working with a range of key stakeholders to address this issue, includi