Laurel Collins

[Judges Act, February 19th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for his commitment to visit the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre. I extend that invitation to all members in the House. It is an incredible space, one that I hope is replicated in other communities.

I particularly appreciate that he talked about working across jurisdictions, because I think it is important that we work with our provincial and municipal partners to reduce stigma and support survivors in all cases. This bill is an important step toward training for judicial candidates. I think the Parole Board officers also need that.

Having a debate about the death of Marylène Levesque is a stark, horrific reminder. I think all Canadians would benefit from training and education on these issues. I would also invite the members of this House to do their own training. There is a lot of information out there. We need to come together in our communities, in our organizations and in every aspect of our world to support survivors. It is one in three women or one in six men, and those numbers are even higher for non-binary trans individuals. That means there are dozens of people in this House who have experienced sexualized violence. Our day-to-day interactions need to shift dramatically, but especially when survivors are reaching out for support or accessing services. When we are delivering services, we need to make sure they are done in trauma-informed and supportive ways.

[Judges Act, February 19th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am grateful to have the opportunity to rise to speak to this issue. For me, like many Canadians, this is a deeply personal issue.

I am among the one in three women who has experienced sexual violence and I know first-hand how the shame, guilt and stigma still persist in addressing sexual assault. I have also witnessed close friends and community members go through the legal system and struggle in dealing with the misconceptions and prejudice from support workers, police, lawyers and judges.

Having witnessed the challenges survivors face in our judicial system, many choose not to report it. Only one out of 20 sexual assault victims report to the police. A key factor for that is the lack of confidence survivors have in the judicial system to treat them fairly and to achieve a positive outcome.

For those who choose to report to the police or to pursue charges, the judicial system is rigged against them. The fear many survivors have that they will not get fair treatment is real, and it is supported by the evidence.

There is a profound lack of trust in the legal system. Out of the estimated 460,000 sexual assaults each year in Canada, only three out of every thousand lead to a conviction. That is number is staggering: three out of 1,000.

When it comes to sexual assault, it is clear that we need a systematic review of the judicial system to stop survivors from being victimized or victim-blamed, or not being informed or having reports systematically brushed aside and being badly supported by our policing and justice systems.

The Canadian justice system in its current form actually discourages sexual assault survivors or survivors of gender-based violence from coming forward. This bill seeks to take a small but important step forward in correcting the problem through training and education of judicial candidates. These future judges would get training on the current standing of sexual assault laws, namely principles of consent, conduct of sexual assault proceedings and education regarding myths and stereotypes of sexual assault complaints.

This is so important. It is a non-partisan issue. The last iteration of this bill passed unanimously in the House in the last Parliament, but was shamefully blocked by the unelected Senate. This is why the NDP agrees that legislation is needed to require judges to receive training around sexual assault.

Without taking away from the importance of the bill, which is desperately needed, we also have to acknowledge that it is just one of the needed steps. Treating sexual assault as only a criminal justice issue ignores the fact that just one in 20 victims report it to the police.

Sexual assault is also a public health issue, a personal health and wellness issue and a mental health issue. We need to treat it as such by also turning our attention to medical services, support and care. Trauma-informed approaches and an increased understanding of sexual assault among key service providers and actors is critical. This includes judges, but also police, medical professionals, lawyers and support workers.

I am also lucky to live in a riding where my constituents and I have the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre. I was lucky enough to be able to access its services when I needed them. It serves people of all genders. We know one in three women experience sexualized violence, but one in six men do as well. We know that non-binary and LGBTQ2I+ folks face disproportionate levels of sexualized violence.

We are truly fortunate to have the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre since it is Canada's only integrated sexual assault clinic. The clinic provides survivors of all genders access to trauma-informed medical and forensic exams, police interviews and crisis support, all in one safe, accessible and culturally sensitive, confidential location.

The availability of this survivor-centred care means that the vast majority of survivors in my riding will never need to go to a hospital or police station to get the care they need. When the clinic opened, the number of emergency responses more than doubled, meaning twice as many survivors were able to access emotional support, preventative medication and options for police reporting. The number of supported police interviews rose by 400%. All of this took place while diverting 280 people from the emergency room and reducing costs for other service providers.

However, the clinic has no dedicated or secure sources of funding. It relies entirely on one-time grants, and the service will be extremely vulnerable in the coming year and a half. The bill is a step in the right direction, but we also need to ensure that comprehensive support services are available for all survivors. There is so much work to do, and I am hopeful we can take this important small step forward quickly.

Judges need training to challenge the false stereotypes about sexual violence that permeate our society. We have seen too many appalling examples in recent years showing that some judges continue to hold false stereotypes about women and sexualized violence. These biases discourage all survivors from coming forward in the first place and create barriers for survivors who do so in seeking justice through the legal system.

Trauma is complex, and judges need to understand survivors' perspectives and the impact of the criminal justice system on survivors of sexual assault. The training needs to be culturally informed and relevant to the unique needs of vulnerable and marginalized populations. Some groups face disproportionately higher rates of sexual violence, and many groups face very specific barriers in seeking help from law enforcement agencies and the justice system. They include those from northern, rural and remote communities, sex workers, people who are trafficked, LGBTQ+ people, indigenous women, immigrant and refugee women and women with disabilities.

The bill could be improved at the justice committee by making sure that seminars related to sexual assault are developed in collaboration with these groups and by specifically bringing the bill within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action no. 27. We can also ensure it is in line with the calls to action from the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report.

There is a clear benefit to ensuring that judges are well informed not only about the laws that pertain to sexual assault but also about the physical, mental and emotional impacts of sexual violence on survivors and how those affect decision-making, behaviour, ability to recall and so much more. Building confidence in our courts would make more victims feel empowered to come forward.

The message sent to survivors by the Senate when it refused to pass the bill in its former iteration in the last Parliament was dismissal, a dismissal of the idea that what happens to victims of sexual assault matters, a dismissal of survivor needs and a dismissal of the real barriers they encounter. This message is reinforced throughout our whole judicial system.

Supporting this legislation sends a message to survivors that their elected members of Parliament are standing up for them and are committed to doing the work necessary to support them. We recognize the stigma and barriers they face and are working hard to give them a reason to have more confidence in our system.

[Natural Resources, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's pipe dream is a nightmare for both the environment and the economy. With the Trans Mountain expansion, the Liberals gave the largest gift to an oil company in Canadian history, and the costs just keep going up. Now the finance minister will not even say how much is too much.

We know that as the costs for TMX skyrocket, opposition to it grows too, so when will the Liberals come clean about the full cost of this pipeline and when will they admit that they were wrong to buy it in the first place?

[Relations with Indigenous Peoples, February 18th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, last week I met with indigenous youth in my riding. They told me that they do not want their children to have to fight for basic human rights the way that they, their parents and their grandparents did.

They have every reason to be concerned, because they see the government fighting indigenous kids in court. They see indigenous communities struggling without access to clean drinking water. They watched the Prime Minister spend the last few weeks denying responsibility for nation-to-nation relationships.

Will the member admit that weeks of denying responsibility were a factor in getting us to where we are now, in an emergency debate? Will the government admit that this was, and continues to be, a failure of leadership?

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member who previously made comments spoke at length about gender equity. In Canada, one in eight women will experience breast cancer in her lifetime, and the average time for treatment and recovery is 25 to 36 weeks.

However, this is not just about gender equity; it is about justice for all. For those with colon cancer the average treatment and recovery time is 37 weeks. As the member mentioned, one out of every two Canadians is going to experience cancer at some point in his or her lifetime, with an average treatment and recovery time of 52 weeks.

I ask the member across the way for her thoughts on the Liberal government's comfort with half measures when sick and injured Canadians are waiting.

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, increasing the EI sickness benefit from 15 weeks to 50 weeks is essential if we want to ensure that hard-working Canadians have the protection and insurance they need when they face serious injury or illness. New Democrats put this forward in the past two Parliaments and are proud to support this motion.

I am disheartened that the Liberal government is breaking its commitment to sick and injured workers. When in opposition, it supported extending EI sick benefits to 50 weeks, but now the Liberals would rather give $50 million to Mastercard. Why would they rather support a big corporation than support the sick and injured Canadians who need help?

[Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, February 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, in 2017, the Liberals promised an entire chapter on gender equality in this trade deal. According to sources, the renegotiated deal originally included provisions for improving conditions for working women, including provisions around workplace harassment, pay equity and gender equality.

However, these provisions disappeared in the scrubbing process. Do the member and his Conservative colleagues wonder what happened to these provisions? Will he be standing up and speaking out about the need for provisions that improve conditions for women in the workplace?

[The Environment, February 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we have more proof today that the Liberals' choices have left Canada lagging behind on its climate targets. I meet people every day who want to do their part, but while the Liberals are letting big polluters off the hook, they are making it harder and harder for families to make ends meet.

When will the Liberals end all fossil fuel subsidies and commit to a real climate plan, a climate plan that actually cuts emissions and does not leave workers and communities behind?

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I ask the hon. member to consider listening to the voices of sex workers. Sex workers are saying that sex work is work.

I also ask the hon. member about the Harper government's decision to implement Bill C-36, which criminalized the establishments that sex workers go to in order to feel safe and criminalized their ability to hire security. Does the member acknowledge that this is a factor in this death and many others?

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, violence against women is a long-standing issue that has yet to be addressed by successive Liberal and Conservative governments. Will the current government commit to implement the calls for justice in the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report, which provides many measures that seek to prevent violence against women?