I stand in the House today to recognize May as Sexual Assault Prevention Month here in the province of Ontario. Speaker, the fact is that most of us know someone who has been sexually assaulted. That’s because statistics show that in Canada, one in three women and one in eight men will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. While it can happen to anyone, women are more likely to experience sexual assault and physical violence. Indigenous women, racialized women, older women, and women with disabilities face even higher levels of violence. Sexual assault and all forms of gender-based violence have a devastating impact on individuals, communities and society as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, it is critical that people affected by violence and exploitation receive the support they need and that offenders are held accountable through the justice system.

I want to be clear: Our government has zero tolerance for sexual assault and other sexual offences. That’s why we’re taking action to prevent and address gender-based violence in all forms and providing critical supports to survivors and their children, making sure that they have the support they need to be able to heal and rebuild their lives.

Over the last year alone, our ministry invested more than $250 million for victims of violence and violence prevention initiatives. This investment supports key services such as crisis lines, sexual assault centres and emergency shelters for women and their children. It also provides programs and connects women with supports like safety planning, counselling, mental health services, supportive housing and culturally responsive healing programs.

Speaker, it would be impossible to talk about sexual assault prevention without mentioning efforts under way to combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and youth. In 2020, we released our five-year anti-human trafficking strategy with an investment of $307 million. This is the largest investment in anti-human trafficking initiatives in our history and one of the largest strategies in Canadian history among all levels of government. Under this strategy, $96 million is going directly to community-based organizations that provide wraparound, trauma-informed, culturally responsive care to survivors, including specialized support to children and youth.

We also recognize the need for specific actions to address the disproportionately high rate of violence Indigenous women and girls experience, which is why, last year, we invested more than $90 million in the Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy. This strategy includes measures to help address violence against First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and girls through investments in culturally responsive programs to reduce family violence and violence against Indigenous women and children, as well as resources to support First Nations police with sexual assault, human trafficking and domestic violence investigations.

Speaker, together with community partners, we’re working towards an Ontario that is free of violence.

In March, my colleague the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity joined the federal government to announce $8 million over four years in additional funding to support Ontario’s provincial crisis lines. These lines provide urgent help in times of crisis and support long-term healing and recovery by connecting victims to services and supports. This investment will assist our dedicated crisis lines in offering more robust services, resources and supports for survivors of gender-based violence and their families.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many front-line service providers across the province who are working tirelessly each and every day to help victims, survivors and their children rebuild their lives. We commend them for helping people who have experienced violence at their time of greatest need.

As we mark Sexual Assault Prevention Month, I hope Ontarians will take the opportunity, not only this month, but every single day, to reflect on the role we can all play in supporting survivors and ending gender-based violence. And I know that my colleague the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity has more to say on this very important matter.

It’s my honour to rise on behalf of the official opposition to respond to this statement from the ministers.

I want to begin with a comment about language. Instead of Sexual Assault Prevention Month, the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres now recognizes the month of May as Sexual Violence Prevention Month. From a survivor-centred perspective, this is a critical and necessary distinction. It shifts the focus from the legal terminology of assault to the broader experience of sexual violence, which is important given that just 6% of sexual assaults are reported to the police and even fewer are brought to court. I urge the government to follow the lead of the OCRCC and make that change as well.

Speaker, there is an epidemic of gender-based violence happening in Ontario and across Canada. The most recent StatsCan data shows that sexual assault rates are at their highest since 1996.

While anyone can experience sexual violence, we must acknowledge the social and systemic issues that make certain people more vulnerable and more at risk—particularly young people, persons living with disabilities, and trans and gender-diverse people.

On Friday, we marked Red Dress Day, which highlights the shockingly disproportionate rates of sexual violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls. That day calls on all of us to end the systemic racism that has led to so many stolen lives of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

The 6% of sexual assaults that are reported to the police are just the tip of the iceberg, as more survivors of sexual violence are turning to rape crisis centres and sexual assault centres than ever before. The OCRCC reports that in the last year alone, 81% of all Ontario sexual assault centres saw an increase in crisis line calls.

In my community, the London Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse reported a 54% increase in crisis calls in 2022, more than 10,000 calls in a single year.

Of course, London is not alone. Across this province, sexual assault centres, rape crisis centres and women’s shelters are stretched to the breaking point, operating on what is essentially the same funding model that was in place in the 1990s, without the vital increase in core funding that’s necessary to keep up with the increased demand.

Speaker, a government that was serious about sexual violence prevention would invest in proactive sexual and gender-based violence training, services and supports for survivors, and would take proactive measures to keep our post-secondary campuses safe, like passing Bill 18 to officially proclaim Consent Awareness Week every September. Instead, this government has ignored the recommendations from student organizations like OUSA during the debate on Bill 28 for training, ongoing research and data collection on campus, and consistent and effective responses to disclosures of sexual violence on campuses.

A government that was serious about sexual violence prevention would commit to implementing all of the recommendations of the Renfrew coroner’s inquest, including formally declaring intimate partner violence an epidemic. Instead, most of the recommendations remain ignored. There is still no intimate partner violence commission, still no survivor advocate, still no provincial implementation committee.

A government that was serious about sexual violence prevention would be carefully reviewing the findings of the Mass Casualty Commission report, looking at how to strengthen education requirements for police to provide more training on investigating sexual assault complaints. Instead, we see this government watering down police qualifications, even while police officers are asking for more training to help them better respond to sexual assaults.

This government had an opportunity in their 2023 budget to take meaningful action to prevent sexual violence but chose not to. In the face of the profound trauma and devastating harm caused by gender-based violence, this government made absolutely no new investments to provide the increase in stable core funding that is necessary to respond to the epidemic of gender-based violence.

Speaker, this government’s failure to act on any of these fronts tells Ontarians and especially women and girls that the epidemic of sexual violence is going to continue.

I stand today with my colleague the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services in recognizing Sexual Assault Prevention Month. May marks an important opportunity for us to reaffirm our support for women and girls and to shine a light on the horrific crime of sexual assault.

Tragically, the incidence and severity of gender-based violence increased during the pandemic, both in Canada and around the world.

Across the province, Ontarians struggle with the pain and trauma of sexual assault every day. That’s why my colleague noted that our government is taking action to prevent and address gender-based violence in all forms.

Women’s safety and well-being are fundamental to their ability to thrive. As associate minister, my work focuses on improving women’s social and economic opportunities. I’d like to share a few examples of how we are working toward both goals.

We know that financial stability can be an important factor in helping women leave abusive situations. That’s why Ontario supports women’s economic empowerment and invests in programs that help women build in-demand skills and improve their economic security and independence.

Through my ministry, we are investing $25 million over three years in our Women’s Economic Security Program and the Investing in Women’s Futures Program. These programs provide supports for women who experience social and economic barriers, including abuse and violence and isolation, so they can increase their well-being, build skills and gain employment. This investment includes a $6.9-million expansion of the Investing in Women’s Futures Program, which I announced in March. This expansion adds 10 new program sites, bringing the total number of service delivery locations across the province to 33, so more women can access the supports they need.

Another highlight of our work is our continued collaboration with the federal government, including, as my colleague mentioned, a recent announcement with our federal government partners for additional funding for Ontario’s support crisis lines.

It also includes our work on the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence that was announced last fall. Endorsed by the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the status of women, this action plan represents a commitment to work together to address gender-based violence and support victims, survivors and their families across the country.

Speaker, we continue to listen to stakeholders about how we can better prevent gender-based violence and support people experiencing or at risk of violence.

For example, across Canada, Indigenous women between the ages of 15 and 24 are three times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women. That’s one of the reasons why we established the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council. The council centres the voices, perspectives and experiences of Indigenous women in our violence prevention efforts. Their expertise is helping us to better understand how violence and racism impacts First Nation, Métis and Inuit women and girls. We’re also continuing to work with the council across government on Pathways to Safety: Ontario’s Strategy in Response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This whole-of-government strategy is helping us to confront the root causes of violence as well as identifying and addressing gaps in Ontario’s current system of supports.

We’re also investing in programs like I am a Kind Man. I am a Kind Man provides community-based healing, prevention and education, counselling and supports for Indigenous men and youth to resolve trauma and help them change attitudes and behaviours to help reduce violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Speaker, these are just a few more of the examples of how our government is working towards an Ontario free of violence and full of opportunity for all. We believe that everyone has the right to live in safety and with dignity, free from intimidation and the threat of violence, and we are working every day to make this happen.

Speaker, as we mark this month, I encourage Ontarians to have conversations with your friends and have conversations with your colleagues and family members about how we can all play a part in stopping violence.