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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 189

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23
Ms. Leah Gazan
  • May/2/23 6:55:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think I just have to look at what has been going on so far. It has been almost four years since the national inquiry. In 2020, the government released $724.1 million to address the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. The money is there. How much has it spent? Only 5%. No new shelters and no new transitional homes have been built. This system is already in place. All we need is the political will to put it in place. We have Amber Alerts for child. We have weather alerts. This system is already in place. I have spoken to a minister across the way about this initiative. We were planning to set up meetings, but we do not need to meet for the sake of meetings. We need to meet with a tangible goal to have immediate action. There has been enough talking. The government needs to act now as it is costing lives.
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Context: House Hansard - 189 - May/2/23
Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)
  • May/2/23 7:52:20 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, my hon. colleague spoke about all this money. I am going to mention some of that money. Of $724.1 million that was issued in the 2020 budget, only 5% has been spent. Meanwhile, women are being murdered and going missing. We are dying on the streets, and they are throwing us in landfills. Although I was very pleased that there was support given for searching, the current government has failed to invest in keeping us alive, in real time. The minister talks about all this money: $1.6 million over six years. He knows very well that this funding is completely inadequate. I will tell members how I know that; it is because we continue to go missing and be murdered. The government, in real time, is cutting $150 million for women's shelters in September because it was emergency support given during the pandemic. I will tell members something. Gender-based violence was a crisis before the pandemic, and it has increased since the pandemic. The government should not be cutting back resources from shelters; it needs to be increasing these resources. We have a right to be safe, and we have a right to justice. The time for waiting for the government to figure it out is over. When is the minister going to get that money out the door? How is he going to ensure that women who are survivors of violence, family members of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, trans women and nonconforming women who are impacted by this violence are actually going to be able to lead these discussions?
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