Madam Speaker, rates of violence against women have remained largely unchanged for the past two decades. There are some sad facts that back this up.

One million women report having experienced sexual or domestic violence in the past five years. Indigenous women are more than three times more likely to experience sexual assault than non-indigenous women. Women living with disabilities experience violence two to three times more often than women living without disabilities. Domestic violence costs our economy more than $12 billion a year. More than 500 women and children are turned away from shelters on any given day.

There is not enough room at the inn, and funding is not adequate for the work that is done by the front-line organizations. Provincial and federal governments have conceded it is going to be front-line organizations that deliver safety and shelter to women experiencing violence in their home, but they do not have the funding they need to carry out the work. We have heard this again and again at the status of women committee. The lack of access to long-term, predictable operational funding is one of the biggest problems for these brave organizations that are doing this key work in our communities. We heard also at committee again and again that inadequate funding to provide enough shelter space can actually prevent women from leaving their abuser.

A witness at status of women committee, Mélanie Sarroino, said:

The woman had been waiting for months and it took all her courage just to pick up the phone and call.... I know very well that when she calls the centre, she'll get a message on the answering machine saying that they will call her back, but presently they have a six-month waiting list. You can guarantee that woman will never call back.... That's the first impact.

Since the Liberals were elected, despite good, strong words about their commitment that no women and children will be turned away from a shelter, that they are going to work to end violence against women, nothing has changed on the ground. The budget that was announced in March provided $100 million over the next five years on spending within government and for the RCMP, rather than a plan to fund direct services to women.

I am concerned about the government's spending priorities. Budget 2017 promised $80 million over the next five years for space exploration. There were no new dollars for operators of violence against women shelters. We need to see that spending get to the organizations that will deliver the services directly. We need to recognize that as opposed to $20 million a year which is what the federal government has offered for a strategy to end violence against women, the non-governmental organization movement thought that $500 million a year for a national strategy to end violence against women is what would be needed every year from now into the future until the strategy is established.

This brings me to my question for the government. If gender equality really matters, why were women shortchanged again in the budget?

Sheila Malcolmson

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Adjournment Proceedings

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