Status of Women committee  Again, I have to bring to the attention of the standing committee the fact that constant, regular, continuous education for young people, and at the same time their parents, is very important. You wouldn't see the results overnight. It would take an entire generation, maybe, to see the results, but the work that is being done by the federal government to create awareness through mental health programs is critical.

Status of Women committee  If I understand your question, you're asking what leads to this kind of coercive behaviour. It starts with the financial struggle that young people face, or the relationship that young people have with their parents. Again, education in school will teach children about respecting the family, respecting their parents and respecting gender.

Status of Women committee  Listening to the witnesses today who are facing domestic violence and the problem that is in society, we need to understand that the mothers who report abuse have to be protected and should still be given the authority to look after their children. The children should not be going into the care of another system, where files are created and then the children are put into foster homes as quickly as possible for care.

Status of Women committee  Yes, absolutely.

Status of Women committee  I certainly do. It's torture. It's the emotional murder of the children. How can they become future leaders? We send our children to schools to learn to become leaders, but these perpetrators pull these innocent children out of the system and society and kill them emotionally. It has to stop.

Status of Women committee  I certainly would, MP Roberts. Yes. The laws have to become stricter. The punishments have to become harder for the perpetrators.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely, I support financial support for families and young people who are fighting for financial stability. I absolutely support that, for sure, but what I want to bring to the attention of the federal government is that we all realize that there's a lack of skilled trades in this country, so when there are opportunities for young people to get into developing certain skills, the federal government needs to intervene and provide support, so that, once they become skilled trade workers, they become financially very stable as well.

Status of Women committee  Madam Chair, is that me? Are you giving me 15 seconds?

Status of Women committee  Again, I will reiterate that the educational program in the schools is very important. It has to start systematically, all over Canada. We may not see the changes within one year or so. It may take an entire generation, but we have to start somewhere.

Status of Women committee  Thank you for all the information you have shared with us. It is critical. The funding for the province trickles from the federal government coffers, and it has to be made mandatory for the provincial government to have in schools an educational program making it mandatory, first thing in the morning, to have discussions with children, share stories in a way that they understand what responsible citizens would mean and that gender equality is what makes the world a balanced world.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Thirty to forty years ago, I could walk down Yonge Street in Toronto and spot girls selling their bodies. Only God knows who was making them work in the wee hours of the night in the dead of winter. Madam Chair, the times have changed. We live in a digital world where demand for girls comes instantly on the phone and the girls are supplied by the perpetrator to men who now demand girls of the ages of 12 and 13 be sent to them.

Status of Women committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Chair, it will take me one minute more than five to complete my opening remarks. Do I have your permission to proceed?