Finance committee  You did a pretty good job. Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for the invitation to appear before you today as part of the pre-budget consultations. Our message to you is very simple: Canada's international assistance program should invest significantly more in women's

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Madam Chair and subcommittee members, thank you for the invitation to appear before you today. I join with my fellow witness and with other Canadian organizations in congratulating you on taking on this important study on women human rights defenders. We also hope that you will

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Currently it's zero. We were awarded a project in the fall, but we have not yet signed an agreement. To date, since 2012, we have received no money from the Canadian government.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That's an interesting question. We know that the rule of law and that space for civil society organizations to speak out freely without intimidation are very important. We know that strong and diverse social movements are important, to hold governments accountable for their poli

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think that's a very, very important issue and I believe that training is possible on a number of different levels. First is just the issue of awareness and alerting people to the issues, because even though we've had, as your chair knows, the Security Council resolution on wome

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  On peacekeepers, yes, the move to get more women deployed as UN peacekeepers is very important. Canada has an initiative called the Elsie initiative seeking to support other countries to do that. Also, there are targets within DND on deploying more women. However, one of the ke

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think that's a really good point, and thank you for the question. The thing we've learned is that working towards gender equality is not just about fixing women. It is important that women have more skills, more education, and more access to credit to build their own business

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think one of the key elements to this is that there's not one right training approach. Local organizations of defenders usually know what they need, the skills they're lacking and where to get them, and are often best placed to design their own training. Supporting these organi

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that observation. That point is right on target. One of the elements of the research that people sometimes overlook is that it's not just a matter of involving women, any women, in peace processes. It's when women have support behind them from civil society connect

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think there are numerous strategies and organizations working to try to address this issue. We do hear from women human rights defenders that digital security is of prime importance. As Rachel said, a lot of young women get targeted. We know a lot about trolls, but they are of

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Of course, with Canada's being part of the United Nations systems, we do rely heavily on UN institutions. IRCC relies heavily on UNHCR, the refugee organization, for the identification of women at risk and other refugees. Certainly it's part of the global system that we operate i

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I mentioned some, including for example how different European countries offer respite and quick visas to get defenders out of emergency situations. That's something that Canada could take another look at. It would be interesting. The Government of Sweden has piloted an emergency

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If I can answer that, in terms of not just training but overall support, it is one of the items in our current international assistance policy to funnel money to and support local women's rights organizations as drivers of change. We think this is a very positive and admirable go