Mulcair promises funds for women fleeing violence
- EFN Staff | September 01, 2015
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was in Saskatoon recently for an election announcement regarding violence against women. After a welcome that included a song by John Noon and Henry Boss Gardipy and boisterous applause from a Station 20 West room packed with NDP candidates and supporters, Tom Mulcair announced that an NDP government will ensure that no woman or child in need will be turned away from a women’s shelter and that an NDP government will also create an action plan to end violence against women in Canada.
“On a single night in April last year, more than 500 women and children who were fleeing violence were turned away from shelters across this country. Despite these alarming numbers, Stephen Harper has consistently shown that ending violence against women and girls is not a priority for his government,” said Mulcair. “My priority is to end violence against women. We must take meaningful and significant action to address the violence being faced by our sisters, mothers and daughters across Canada.”
Mulcair promised an NDP government will work with women’s groups and Indigenous communities and organizations to create a comprehensive and coordinated national action plan to end violence against women. The National Action Plan will have dedicated funding and clear benchmarks. The plan will focus on women who are most vulnerable to violence, including Indigenous women.
Kim Jonathan, Acting Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations was on hand to address the issue. “In Saskatchewan we do not have the resources to address this issue,” said Acting Chief Jonathan. “We need to give our baby girls hope and show people we are not disposable and we must be provided that due respect.”
Mulcair pointed out that this issue is extreme in Saskatchewan. “More than twice as many women in Saskatchewan report being victims of violence as the national average and indigenous women are four times more likely to face violence than other women,” said Mulcair in his speech. “My friends, this month is the first anniversary of the murder of Tina Fontaine. Her tragic death shocked this country. I say this to every mother, every daughter, to every sister that it’s time you had a Prime Minister who cared.”
Mulcair reiterated his commitment to hold an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women within the first 100 days of taking office.
“We will restore the Shelter Enhancement Program ended by the Conservatives in order to expand access to shelter and transition resources for women and girls needing support so that no woman in need is ever turned away,” said Mulcair. The promise comes with a $40 million funding commitment. They estimate that the funding could create or renovate more than 2100 spaces in first stage shelters and nearly 350 spaces in transition houses.
Mulcair insists that his party will attack the underlying issues that lead to violence against Indigenous women. “We have to work with communities so we understand and respect the issues,” said Mulcair. “It is important to remember why we apologized in the House of Commons several years ago. It is the underlying issue of racism that we will address.”