The Government of Canada is committed to providing crucial support to Canada’s most vulnerable people. In these extraordinary times we are taking critical measures and making new investments in violence against women’s shelters and sexual assault centres to help address the critical needs of women who experience violence and their children, and to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed new and unforeseen challenges for survivors of domestic or intimate partner violence. Women experiencing violence at home are particularly vulnerable in instances of self-isolation. The places these women would normally turn to, such as community centres, places of worship, or friends’ homes, are closed. More needs to be done to make sure they have a supportive place to turn.

Women’s shelters and sexual assault centres in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell continue to provide essential services every day to survivors of gender-based violence. In these unprecedented times, there is a need for additional resources to ensure the continuity and sustainability of these services.

That’s why today, Francis Drouin MP for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell is pleased to announce financial support from the Federal Government in the amount of $25,000 to Le Centre Novas and $32,000 to Maison Interlude House. This funding is part of the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, in which the Government of Canada is investing up to $50 million to support shelters and sexual assault centres, including assistance to shelters on First Nations reserves.

To address immediate needs of shelters and sexual assault centres, the Government of Canada has dispersed funding to over 420 women’s shelters across Canada. Another $3 million has been distributed to approximately 89 sexual assault centres across the country. Indigenous Services Canada is providing up to $10 million to its existing network of 46 shelters on First Nations reserves and in Yukon to support Indigenous women and children fleeing violence.

This funding will support a range of activities, including efforts to increase safety, emergency preparedness, as well as support the business continuity of these organizations in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. Funding is expected to be used, for example, for purchasing personal protective equipment, child minding, finding women alternative housing, employees overtime and additional staff coverage and capacity.

Quick Facts

  • The overall measures announced as part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, will provide up to $27 billion in direct support to Canadian workers and businesses, plus $55 billion to meet liquidity needs of Canadian businesses and households through tax deferrals to help stabilize the economy. Combined, this $82 billion in support represents more than 3 per cent of Canada’s GDP. This wide-ranging support will help ensure Canadians can pay for rent and groceries, and help businesses continue to pay their employees and their bills during this time of uncertainty.
  • Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested over a quarter billion dollars to support capacity and sustainability of women’s and equality seeking organizations, with a focus on those supporting the underserved and underrepresented.
  • To date, our government has invested in renovating and building 7000 shelter units. A third of the National Housing Strategy is dedicated to providing affordable housing for women
  • Visit the Gender-Based Violence Knowledge Centre (KC) for access to timely and relevant information, evidence, resources and research in a single platform. The KC also provides a searchable database, which brings together existing data and evidence on content related to gender-based violence.
  • Over 100 survivor, community and family-led projects have received federal support from the Commemoration Fund to honour the lives and legacies of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, including LGBTQ and Two Spirit people.
  • In June 2017, Women and Gender Equality Canada announced the first-ever federal Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence. To date, the Government of Canada has invested over $200 million to prevent gender-based violence, support survivors and their families, and create more responsive legal and justice systems.