Anita Vandenbeld

Mr. Speaker, today is the second anniversary of the tabling of the ACVA committee report entitled “Invisible No More. The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans”. The report makes 42 recommendations and emphasizes the need to address health and research gaps, economic and social challenges, military sexual trauma, and the systemic barriers for women getting the services they are entitled to. Behind every recommendation was a woman who came forward to share her story. These are stories of service, of sacrifice, of resilience and too often, of feeling unseen. Many of those women are here in Parliament today. As co-chair of the parliamentary friendship group for veterans, I will share that we will be hosting a round table discussion this afternoon with the Invisible No More project to talk about the progress made on the recommendations and what remains to be done. As we mark this anniversary, I thank all women veterans. We see them and we hear them.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of tabling, in both official languages, the following two reports of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development: the ninth report, entitled “Amplifying Canada's Africa Strategy”, and the 10th report, entitled “Standing with Democracy and Human Rights Defenders: Strengthening Support at a Critical Time”, by the Subcommittee on International Human Rights. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to each of these two reports.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture. The petitioners are concerned that the current health of animals regulations allow the export of live horses for slaughter. Petitioners are concerned that this causes suffering due to long journeys and inhumane conditions. The petitioners call for a ban on the export of live horses for slaughter.

Mr. Speaker, every year, the Canadian Animal Health Institute hosts the Cutest Pets on Parliament Hill contest. I am thrilled to announce that my cat, Coco, was the first place winner for the cutest cat on the Hill. We got Coco a year ago from the Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue. Axelle Manley and her daughter Scarlett had fostered her for three months. They lost their home in a tragic fire when Scarlett was only four years old, and they never found their three cats. Since then, they have fostered 44 other cats. Because of their kindness, we have our beloved Coco. I want to thank CAHI and congratulate all of the other winners: the cutest dog, Tuukka; the cutest other pet, Nugget; and the best‑dressed pet, Bella. I thank all those who entered pets, everyone who participated in the contest and, especially, everyone who voted for Coco.

moved that Bill S-246, An Act respecting the recognition of wartime service, be read the first time. Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to introduce at first reading Bill S-246, the wartime service recognition act. The bill would provide for the development of a national framework for the recognition of certain military service as wartime service, and a timeline for designation of wartime service if it meets the criteria, going back to the Korean War and for future conflicts. The bill passed unanimously in the other place. It follows decades of advocacy by veterans for recognition of modern wartime service and would mean that future veterans would not need to fight for their own recognition. Canadian Armed Forces members put their life on the line for our freedom, and the bill would make sure they are properly recognized. (Motion agreed to and bill read the first time)

Mr. Speaker, last week, I was honoured to join the Soloway Jewish Community Centre of Ottawa as it celebrated its 75th anniversary at the Soloway centre in my riding. I heard heartwarming stories of dances, children's camps and friendships, even marriages, that began there. Photos from the 1950s to today reflected a generous and thriving community that has contributed so much to our city. Speakers at the event emphasized how welcome they feel at the Jewish Community Centre, something that is sadly not always the case everywhere. The deplorable and increasing anti-Semitic incidents, such as the despicable effigies in Montreal this week, make a joyful space like the Soloway centre so much more important. In addition to being a welcoming space for the Jewish community, the Soloway centre also welcomes the broader community. I thank the JCC for all it does to support our city and our neighbours.

Mr. Speaker, during committee testimony on Bill C-11, we heard from many survivors about concerns with the transfer of cases from the military system to the civilian court system. Would the Minister of National Defence tell the House whether he would be supportive if the Senate were to amend Bill C-11 to include the sunset clause as passed at the committee stage?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the important work of Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue. It is a 100% volunteer-run organization that rescues cats in need, cares for them through a network of foster homes and helps them find safe, loving families. For those cats too feral for adoption, the rescue owns a barn where the cats can live safely and be fed under a vet's care. Each year, Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue saves over 750 cats. Foster families play an especially important role in helping cats to heal, socialize and prepare for adoption. Last year, I adopted my own little Coco through Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue. She had been lovingly fostered by Axelle and Scarlette, and we are so grateful. I want to thank all the volunteers, foster families and supporters of Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue for their outstanding service to our community.

Mr. Speaker, we know that mental health and physical health are closely connected. Both are equally important for our well-being, especially for athletes competing at the highest levels. Mental health is key to a balanced life and long-term success in sport. Can the Secretary of State for Sport update the House on what our government is doing to support the mental health of national team athletes and coaches?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an incredible project in my riding, the Ottawa Tool Library. This place functions like any other library, but instead of lending books, it lends tools. Whether someone is tackling a home renovation project or a creative project, or repairing something, this place makes it possible. Through repair cafés, workshops, a tinkering school and the Dr. Phil Tool Hospital, tools are given a second chance, and our community is reminded of the values of sustainability, sharing and helping one another. I would especially like to thank Bettina Vollmerhausen and the many dedicated volunteers who teach people how to build something new, repair something old and discover skills they never knew they had. To everyone at the Ottawa Tool Library, I say thanks, and keep building.

Madam Speaker, I rise to present petition e-6827. In the context of the forthcoming elections in Bangladesh, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to call for cessation of and accountability for human rights violations, political persecution, religiously motivated violence, illegal detentions and extrajudicial killings. The petitioners are asking for internationally monitored free and fair elections with the participation of all political parties. Finally, petitioners call on Canada to support diplomatic and multilateral efforts to restore peace, democratic governance and rule of law in Bangladesh.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of Bill C-223, the keeping children safe act, introduced by my friend and colleague the member for Hamilton Mountain. I will begin by acknowledging the courage of the many survivors, advocates, legal experts and organizations who have spent years bringing these issues forward, often at great personal cost. I also want to acknowledge the work of the hundreds of organizations across Canada that have called for this reform. This is an important bill. It would protect children and families as they navigate through the court system. The bill's central purpose is protection for the survivors of intimate-partner violence and their children as they go through the already complex and emotional process of separation and divorce. This bill allows us to believe survivors and prevent them from being revictimized during the legal process. At its core, the bill asks whether we are truly centring the best interests of the child or whether we are allowing outdated assumptions and systemic blind spots to put children at risk. The answer matters, because family law decisions are not abstract; in fact they shape children's daily lives, determine whom they live with, whom they see and whether they grow up safe. Bill C-223 places the best interests of the child at the heart of all decisions. It specifies that there should be no presumption of shared custody and that decisions must be based on the safety, well-being and lived reality of the child. The bill would require legal advisers to screen for family violence, including coercive control. It would strengthen the court's ability to assess the impact of coercive control on the parent-child relationship. This is critical because coercive control is not always visible in bruises or police reports, but its effects on children are profound and long-lasting. The bill would ensure that children's views and preferences are meaningfully considered, and that they are not automatically dismissed as the product of manipulation. Bill C-223 would give children the opportunity to be heard in an age-appropriate way, with proper safeguards, and it would make safety a paramount consideration in custody decisions. Finally, Bill C-223 would prevent courts from issuing orders that retraumatize children, including forced reunification therapies or sudden reversals of primary residence in the absence of evidence that such measures are safe or necessary. In 2024, Statistics Canada reported that there were only 25,000 child and youth victims of police-reported family violence. We know that these figures only tell part of the story. Many cases of family violence are never reported. Children who have experienced or witnessed family violence carry trauma that shapes their development, their sense of security and their ability to form healthy relationships. When our family courts fail to take their fears seriously, when courts dismiss their disclosures as manipulation, or when children are forced into the care of parents who have harmed them or who have harmed the other parent, we compound that trauma. We teach them that their voices do not matter, that adults will not protect them and that the system designed to serve their best interests has in fact failed them. When I served on the status of women committee, we studied coercive control. We heard testimony from survivors, lawyers, psychologists and frontline workers. Again and again we heard how violence does not end when a relationship ends. In fact in many cases it intensifies, through the courts, through custody disputes and through the manipulation of legal processes themselves. We heard how coercive control operates not only through physical violence but also through fear, surveillance, intimidation and the erosion of autonomy. We heard repeatedly how children are drawn into that control, used as leverage, silenced or forced into situations that are unsafe, in the name of parental rights. During committee testimony, we heard heart-wrenching stories about the harm that forced reunification had on children. For example, we heard from a 17-year-old girl who told us that she was ordered by the court to go to a reunification camp in New York after her father claimed parental alienation. She told us it felt like she had been “judicially trafficked”. Those are her words. Among other things, she and her younger brother were told that their negative memories of their father were not real. They were forced to smile in photos, tell their father that they loved him and show physical affection toward their father under the threat that, if they did not, they would not be allowed to see their mother. When this witness was 16, she ran away to try to go to her mom's house. Her father had the police bring her back. She was ultimately under a no-contact order with her mother for over 500 days. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. We heard of a young woman who, at age 15, was forced into the custody of her father, who sexually abused her. Children told us over and over again that they felt that they had no voice, that nobody believed them and that there was nobody to talk to, especially when, after they finally told someone, their disclosures of abuse were repeated to the abusive parent, who would then use that to further intimidate and victimize them. Under this bill, children would be able to tell their story confidentially to the court without fear. This bill treats children as people with agency, not as property to be divided. Too often, decisions are still influenced by myths and stereotypes, such as the notion that co-parenting is always the best solution, that children who refuse contact have been manipulated, or that a parent, often the mother, who raises safety concerns should be considered unreasonable or uncooperative. Research shows that mothers are twice as likely as fathers to face allegations of parental alienation, even in cases where violence is documented. Protective actions taken to keep a child safe are reframed as hostility. Fear is reframed as non-cooperation, and children's voices are too often dismissed on the assumption that they cannot be trusted. Bill C-223 does not remove discretion from judges; it actually guides it with evidence. The bill does not diminish the importance of parental relationships. In fact, it recognizes that a relationship that is unsafe is not a relationship that is in the best interests of the child. The Standing Committee on the Status of Women heard clearly that if the courts do not understand coercive control, they may repeat it. If they prioritize formal equality over actual safety, they put children at risk. Canada has committed internationally to protecting women and children from violence. The keeping children safe act would build on that commitment by aligning our domestic framework with evidence-based best practices and international human rights obligations. We cannot meet those commitments if our laws remain out of step with what we know. Bill C-223 asks us to listen to children; take violence seriously, even when it is subtle; and ensure that the justice system does not become another tool of harm. This bill seeks to ensure that, if families experience violence, they are not revictimized by the very system that should be protecting them. For these reasons, I am proud to support the keeping children safe act, and I urge all members to do the same.

Madam Speaker, aging is difficult for most people, but for those who have experienced addictions and mental health challenges, including hospitalization and periods of homelessness throughout their lives, it is even more challenging. Recently, I toured the soon-to-open Ottawa Salus 54-unit affordable housing complex in my riding of Ottawa West—Nepean. This federally funded project will provide low-barrier supportive housing to older adults with complex social and health issues. This unique, purpose-built apartment and townhouse project near the City View Curling Club has a variety of bright social and recreation spaces, clinics and other services. It is very impressive, and it will allow residents to age in place in dignity and safety. This is just one tangible example in my riding of how our housing strategy is working and will change lives for the better.

Mr. Speaker, just a couple of weeks ago in my riding, a Jewish woman was stabbed while she was shopping in the kosher section of a grocery store. I have been meeting in living rooms with the Jewish community in my riding, and this is a culmination of what is a deplorable increase in anti-Semitism. I wonder if the secretary of state could reassure my constituents, who are scared to even go out in public, with what this bill would do to improve things for them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible communities of Ambleside and Northwest One in Ottawa West—Nepean. Both of these are celebrating their 50th anniversary. These are more than just condo towers; they are what we call NORCs, naturally occurring retirement communities. Ambleside One and Two and the Northwest One towers, Poulin and Regina, are home to many long-time residents, including some who have lived there since the beginning. These are vibrant communities where residents truly look out for each other. They host Friday night potluck meals; organize yoga, choirs and current affairs discussions; and support the surrounding communities with food drives, environmental action and more. While there are some young families, most of the residents are older adults, and their community spirit combats the social isolation of seniors, helping residents live longer, healthier and more connected lives. Congratulations to Ambleside One and Two and to Northwest One.

Mr. Speaker, throughout history, women have stepped up to serve our country in the Canadian Armed Forces: from the Wrens in World War II to the Persian Gulf War, where women first served in combat roles, to today, with a female chief of the defence staff. Women have come a long way, but it was not always easy. Women veterans still suffer today from health issues, military sexual trauma and other harms that were caused not by our adversaries but by a military culture that did not recognize that we cannot have a fully capable fighting force without full inclusion. We owe it to them to do better. One year ago today, the veterans affairs committee tabled a seminal report called “Invisible No More”. Today, some of the brave women who testified are visiting Parliament to ask that all the recommendations be fully implemented and that June 12 be women veterans appreciation day. To them and all servicewomen, we thank them and we see them.

Mr. Speaker, the people of the country of Georgia are courageously fighting for their freedom, democracy and a European future. Tens of thousands are protesting peacefully despite facing intimidation, violence and mass arrests. In the last two weeks, 500 individuals have been detained, with 70% reporting ill treatment, and over 80 required hospitalization, yet no accountability has been demanded from those responsible for the excessive force. The government is escalating its crackdown, targeting activists at their homes and violating their rights. The ruling Georgian Dream party is proposing amendments to Georgia's law on assemblies that would further restrict peaceful protest. We stand in solidarity with the Georgian people in their fight for human rights and democracy. I call for the immediate release of all detained activists and accountability for abuses. As we celebrate international Human Rights Day, we applaud the courage of the Georgian people.

Madam Speaker, last week, I hosted the meeting of the Global Network of Women Legislators in Defence, Security and Peace Portfolios, or WLID, here in Parliament, where we heard from Ukrainian MPs about being legislators in a time of war, including having an app that tells them when to leave the chamber and go to the bomb shelters. Their courage was inspiring and also reinforces our own determination to support Ukraine. Several years ago, I realized that there were very few women in defence or security portfolios globally, and I established WLID, which began as an informal WhatsApp group. It is now a global network with a secretariat, members on every continent, a website and new co-chairs from Ukraine and Zambia. The network provides a supportive space to share strategies on how to overcome gendered stereotypes and barriers in this sector and share strategies and ideas for legislators. I look forward to seeing the WLID network grow, including members in the House and the other place.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to seven petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Madam Speaker, today I will be splitting my time with the member for Kingston and the Islands. I want to start by thanking the member for Edmonton Strathcona for bringing up this vitally important issue and also for bringing up the fact that, for 18 hours, it was filibustered in committee by the Conservatives, because I think that says something. People say that abortion rights are not up for discussion in Canada, and they ask why we are even talking about it. This is why we have to talk about it, because American women also did not think that abortion rights were up for discussion. We really thought that. For our mothers, our aunts and those who had to fight for those rights, we thought that the debate was over. Now we look across, and at every opportunity, the Conservatives will avoid, at any measure, a vote on this issue, because they do not want to admit that there is a huge majority in that caucus who actually stand against a woman's right to choose. This is something I think every Canadian woman is extremely concerned about. As such, I thank the member for Edmonton Strathcona for that motion. I would like to start with a personal story. There is a member of my family of that generation that had to fight for these rights, a close member of my family, who at one point found that she was pregnant with a child that was severely handicapped. When she first immigrated to Canada, she worked in a sector with a lot of severely handicapped people, and she was deeply religious, deeply Catholic. When she found herself pregnant, she thought and prayed very much about what the right thing to do was. After going through a process where she made that choice between herself and her faith, she had to go in front of three male doctors and defend her decision, and those doctors decided that she could not have an abortion. This family member was despondent. She already had two young children, two girls, and she did not pass a psychological evaluation, because of the impact of being told, after she had prayed and come to this decision between herself and her husband, that she could not do it. Thankfully, there was a geneticist, a woman and doctor, who helped her and arranged for her to go to the United States, to Seattle, so that she could have autonomy over her own body and her own life choice. That case was one of the cases in the Morgentaler decision, which overturned that draconian abortion law in this country that said a woman had to go in front of a panel of doctors, mostly men, to justify her decision and her autonomy. I am very proud of that woman, that family member of mine. I think that, because of her, women in this country have autonomy over our own bodies. I am so proud of her. I do not want to have to redo this debate, but sadly, we do. When it comes to the reason I ran, the moment I decided that I was going to run for office in this country, I was working internationally. I was working in Africa. I was working in other parts of the world. At one point, the regional coordinator for my project, which was about women in politics, was from sub-Saharan Africa, a young woman from Mali. All of a sudden, in 2010, which was in the Harper years, the government cut funding to any international organization, no matter what other good things it was doing, if it also provided abortion. The government did it with absolutely no warning. In the coordinator's country of Mali, a clinic that had been there for 40 years, which provided all kinds of health services, which she went to as a child and which that community benefited from, was suddenly closed, just because one of the things that clinic provided was abortion. That coordinator got on Skype with me at that time in 2010, and she said, “You Canadian women are hypocrites.” I was stunned. I sort of took a moment, and I asked, “Why would you say that?” She said, “Because I went to Montreal and I studied at McGill. I know Canadian women have reproductive rights, but your government shut down a clinic in my village out of ideology. Now I know that Canadians think that it is not good enough for us African women to also have the same rights that you Canadian women have.” I was ashamed. I was actually so ashamed at that moment to be Canadian and to have my government, at that time the Harper government, do this kind of thing, which was so harmful to so many people, that I decided I had to run for office. I did not win that 2011 election, but I won in 2015. I fought hard the minute I was elected, alongside many women in this chamber, to get our feminist international assistance policy, FIAP, in place, and I was able to come full circle just a little while ago this January. As a result of FIAP, as a result of the fact that we are putting $700 million a year into SRHR, that we are the number one donor to the UNFPA and that, when the Americans pulled back, we stepped up, I went to a clinic in Kinshasa, the country where I worked before I was elected. This clinic offers, among other things, safe abortion services. I met a young girl who was in her twenties. She told me that when she was 16 and she was raped, she had nowhere to go, but then she found out about this clinic. It is because she was able to get a safe abortion in this clinic, she is now planning to go to medical school to become a doctor so that she can help other people. However, that young woman could have been dead, because 10% of maternal deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo are because of unsafe abortions. When we say that we do not want to provide abortion, we do not want to have SRHR or we do not want young women knowing their rights all over the world, we are killing women, because that is 10% of maternal deaths. We are saving lives with this policy by supporting SRHR. I was so proud of those young women. There was a group of marginalized youth who sat in a circle with me and talked about what our funding for this clinic meant to them. It was the young girls, the teenagers, who were saying that they were talking to the traditional leaders. They are talking to the faith leaders, and they are explaining. One young woman said to me, “I understand my rights, and I want to make sure that every young woman understands her rights.” These strong, incredible young women are the future, the new leadership of Africa and of the world, and they are working side-by-side with the older generations to ensure that this is something that is accepted and understood. This is not ideology. This is saving lives. This is giving rights. This is giving autonomy. This is ensuring that we have generations of young women who do not have to go through what my family member went through: the indignity and the injustice of being told, “No, you can't have an abortion.” That woman in my family still prays for that baby. She honestly says to this day, and I think she is watching, that she believes that the little baby, whom she named Jennifer, is in heaven thanking her for saving her from a life of pain. Now, that might not be everyone's choice in this place. I know that there are so many babies born with severe disabilities who are loved, but that is not the point of this discussion. The point of this discussion is that this woman made her choice by her own conscience, and she was overruled. No woman should ever be in this position, whether here in Canada or in other parts of the world, when, after tremendous thought, and with whatever faith she might believe in or not, she comes to a choice about her own body. I will never accept it, and I will stand in the House to the very last day to make sure that nobody on that side is ever going to force a woman to carry a child to term that she does not want. We are saving lives. This debate is absolutely 100% necessary. I thank the member for Edmonton Strathcona for giving us the opportunity to put our words on the record.