Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned in the House before, there have been over 40 studies completed. I will give members a quote. This is a quote from Bernadette Smith, one of those individuals who has a sister who is missing. She said: This Action Plan is something that our fam

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times today, there are a number of initiatives this government is taking to make sure women are protected and supported. Whether that be matrimonial property rights on reserve or whether that be the victims bill of rights, we are very focused on m

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, I guess I would beg to differ with the member of the opposition. Whether it be the Native Women's Association of Canada, whether it be individual aboriginal Canadian women who have come to speak with me personally, or whether it be the friendship centres across the

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, there are a number of initiatives we have already taken that the opposition has not supported. Whether that be matrimonial property rights, actually the opportunity for a women to stay in her own home, with her children, because she has the right to be there and be p

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, I guess my question would be, why will the opposition not support the action plan we have put in place that would take action today for aboriginal women, as opposed to waiting for several years? Our focus is making sure that the women who are experiencing these viol

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before in this House, violence against women and girls is something the government takes extremely seriously. Whether that be support for shelters on reserve or off, or whether that be support for programming to make sure victims of crime are supported

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, the government is taking significant action to make sure that women and girls are safe. Whether that be our movement forward on cyberbullying and cyberharassment, the victims bill of rights, the focus we have had on punishing criminals, making sure that those who hav

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, as I have already mentioned, this week is a time to remember that crime that took place at the Polytechnique 25 years ago, in fact a Canadian tragedy. We will continue to support those victims as well as punish criminals. As I have mentioned already in this House

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned in the House already today, the government takes extremely seriously violence against women and girls and condemns these acts. Whether it be my work with Plan Canada on International Day of the Girl or recent announcements with the YWCA of Canada

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, any allegations of violence, of harassment, whether it be in a workplace, at home, or otherwise, must be taken extremely seriously. Our government has taken significant action, as I have outlined in this House today, to better protect Canadians, particularly women an

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, the massacre at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal was a Canadian tragedy. This week we remember the crimes that took place 25 years ago. While I would never think we could make sense of why those crimes took place that day, we must continue to ensure this never happe

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, our government has been committed to preventing violent crimes and violence against women and girls. Let me list some of the things we have done, and I would encourage the members opposite to participate in supporting these initiatives: the victims' bills of rights

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House many times, having gone out and met with families and spoken to them, what they want is action. Whether it be Bernadette Smith, who lost her sister and who has been unable to find her sister since 2007, or numerous other families, they wa

Aboriginal Affairs  Mr. Speaker, let me start by talking about the things this government has done and that the opposition has not supported. There is the victims bill of rights, a DNA-based missing persons index and new laws to protect victims from being harassed by those who have committed the cr

Status of Women  Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. On this side of the House, we actually have taken action, whether it be the Safe Streets and Communities Act; whether it be our new bill, looking at zero tolerance for barbaric practices; or whether it be what we have done to ensure that victims