Status of Women committee  Thank you so much for that question, and thank you for putting that bill forward. We absolutely support it. During the pandemic, we got a little grant through some federal money, and we did a little pilot project where we added in dollars, about $1,000 a month for six months to five women.

Status of Women committee  We have minimal data. It always takes money to study the long-term impacts, but we do believe that we see changes in the attitudes and behaviours of those who come to the program. One indicator, too, is that sometimes we have men call us and say, “I haven't been arrested, but can I come?

Status of Women committee  Thanks. I'll do my best, and I would defer to the indigenous women on this panel. There are a number of wonderful initiatives. We have the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women in Alberta that engages women all the time and also works with young women, and I celebrate their work in the community.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for that question. CEASE does a number of things, and some in relationship with others. We actually offer what's called the “sex trade offender program” for men who have been arrested with attempting to buy sexual services, both street-based sexual services as well as those online.

Status of Women committee  I'm very encouraged by the leadership of men in our community.

Status of Women committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity. I am calling in from the traditional territories of Treaty No. 6 first nations and Métis zone 4. I have served as the executive director for CEASE, the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation, for 25 years. I speak from the experience of a community-based organization responding to commercial sexual exploitation, sex trafficking and violence against girls and women, many of whom are indigenous.

Justice committee  There is a demand for children. We've had recent arrests in the past six months of young people who lured, groomed, recruited and sold children, so the demand is always there for young people. The majority are from 18 to 30 years old. Again, we see boyfriends selling girlfriends.

Justice committee  Hello. Thank you for this opportunity. I am speaking to you from the traditional territories of Treaty 6 first nations and the Métis people of Zone IV. I am a neighbourhood resident in a central Edmonton community that is directly impacted by commercial sexual exploitation, drug trade, poverty and homelessness.

Justice committee  Yes, I do. We again put a high priority on trauma recovery. We find that the women have experienced intergenerational trauma, which take a lot of time to heal if they're seeking to rebuild their lives. Some were abused as children, so there are layers and layers there. Then certainly they have experienced violence when they were being exploited through prostitution, whether it's been at massage and escort services, or on street or any other venue.

Justice committee  Thank you very much. Yes, we absolutely must address the poverty issues that affect women more than men. We all know that, so I won't go into it. As a quick example, in Alberta a woman who had been experiencing significant mental health challenges turned to our welfare system. She was able to get $723.

Justice committee  Thank you very, very much, Mr. Casey. Actually, we did raise this two years ago when the bill was being debated. I was one of 16 witnesses to the independent committee. We provided documentation about the harmful effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, I think that got tabled.

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  I was just going to say that the men figured out that the law had a problem, because it said only that if the man were in the car could the vehicle be seized. So men started parking their cars four blocks away. We will always need to be attentive to how the industry will try to manipulate the situation.

Justice committee  Yes. Thank you very much, Mrs. Smith. Again, in our experience, we start with a vision and then have to implement it. Bill C-36 sets out a path. Yet we know, because of all the complexities we've heard about, that some things will go awry here or there. Our community group observed, in 1995, that section 213 was not working and that it was criminalizing the party without power.

Justice committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and honourable members of Parliament and all my sister and fellow panellists. I also want to thank the technicians who made it possible for many of us to videoconference in to this important democratic process. Our organization did send a letter to Madame Boivin and Mr.