Senator Gold, it has been four and a half years since the senseless and tragic murders of 22 of my fellow Nova Scotians. The Mass Casualty Commission released its final report last year, outlining 130 recommendations aimed at preventing such tragedies in the future. The Progress Monitoring Committee, established in 2023, released its first annual report last Friday. While progress has been made, the report underscores the need for greater efforts by the federal government to address gender-based and intimate partner violence, particularly through meaningful engagement with marginalized communities such as Indigenous and African-Canadian groups who are disproportionately affected.

Senator Gold, will the government commit to implementing the committee’s recommendation to improve engagement with these communities, ensuring their voices are central to developing effective, lasting policies and programs to make communities safer for all?

Thank you, Senator Gold. It’s good to hear that. While the report recognized the foundational work done by Women and Gender Equality Canada to develop an action plan to combat gender-based and intimate partner violence, it stressed that further financial investments in community-based programming are required to see tangible results in the field, especially in rural areas. Will the federal government commit to providing the long-term funding necessary to support these programs critical to ending gender-based and intimate partner violence in rural Canada?