Hon. Marilou McPhedran: This is a question to Senator Gold, please. It relates to announcements made recently about funding to deal with violence against Indigenous women and children.

The recent budget contained many ambitious promises, which are nice. However, implementation is what counts, and on this count the government track record is less than stellar. For example, this week, Ministers Miller and Hussen announced $103 million in funding for Indigenous women’s shelters. It is much needed, for sure, but this isn’t new money. It comes out of a $724‑million commitment previously made by the government in 2020, aimed at supporting Indigenous women and children facing gender-based violence. More than two and a half years later, it is reported that less than 5% of the original promised funds have been spent, without a single new shelter or house to show for it so far.

The need is acute. The danger is real. Indigenous women 15 years and older are 3.5 times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women.

Perhaps the ministers should more properly announce, “We don’t have any new money, but we are finally going to start investing the money we already promised years ago.”

As our colleague Senator Audette stated in response, it is an ongoing search for justice. At the current pace, it will take decades to implement this violence-prevention strategy.

Senator Gold, will this glacial pace continue? When will we see accelerated spending to implement promises made years ago to increase the safety of Indigenous women and children?

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Thank you very much, Senator Audette. Are you sure that this council has sufficient funding to ensure long-term sustainability?

Senator Audette: Thank you for your question. In the long term? I don’t have a magic wand to see what we need to do, but I can say that this requires a long-term commitment. Funding will be a daily reality for this not-for-profit organization. The commitment that we have right now, the information that I have right now, seeks to reassure us that this is a start. From what I understand, the organization will receive, if it hasn’t already, a charitable number, which will allow it to get funding from sources other than the federal government.

Yes, the federal government should fund the council for the long term, but the commitment that we have and the numbers that I have right now will be used to start the work and to invest.

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