Official Languages committee  Yes, I think it's very important. I've worked with refugee women, and the issues that came up all the time were child care and access to daycare. This amendment will definitely give francophone women across the country a break so they can focus on their lives and keep working. Ms.

Official Languages committee  Yes, I do. I live in Vancouver, so I'm very aware of the problems families are encountering, not only in British Columbia, but across the country, because of inflation. Inflation and the cost of living are hitting women harder than the general population.

Official Languages committee  Ms. Boutiyeb, I'll let you answer that question.

Official Languages committee  The AFFC did a study on the specific needs of francophone immigrant women, and we learned that they face tremendous challenges because of intersecting identity factors. Women who immigrate here shoulder many burdens that women who are already settled may not, including intersecting identity factors and challenges specific to the immigration process.

Official Languages committee  I'll give you a real-life example. British Columbia, a province with no policy on French-language services, has only one organization that supports francophone women experiencing violence. It is closing its doors in March for lack of funding. Precisely because the province is under no obligation to provide services in French, the organization does not receive any core funding.

Official Languages committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I am speaking to you from the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples in Vancouver. On behalf of the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne, or the AFFC, I want to thank the Standing Committee on Official Languages for inviting us to share our recommendations on the economic development of official language minority communities.

Finance committee  We're talking about a French-speaking community of 300,000 people. Since 50% of them are women, that's 150,000 people in British Columbia. In rural areas, women can be completely isolated. This is their only way of expressing themselves in their own language against the violence they suffer.

Finance committee  During the pandemic, Inform'Elles received dozens of calls every day from women who had never called before.

Finance committee  Funding is so minimal that only one and a half people can work. Without any core funding, two full-time staff will no longer be able to work. They serve all of British Columbia. Without this funding, all women will be deprived of this service. Basically, you have to fund the salaries of two, three or four people.

Finance committee  I'll start by talking about the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which was put in place in 2022. It was a national plan, yet francophone women were not mentioned once. We therefore ask that the federal government take the lead and ensure that francophone women are mentioned in national or federal plans.

Finance committee  Thank you for your question. I'll give you a very concrete example. We're in Vancouver, British Columbia, and there's a francophone organization that deals with women who are victims of violence. We have a help line, but it will be closed in March 2024, in a few months' time, due to lack of funding.

Finance committee  No, there is no core funding. Seven of our organizations receive no core funding at all from the province. Without core funding, many organizations cannot survive.

Finance committee  Good morning, Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen members of Parliament. On behalf of the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne, or AFFC, I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Finance for this opportunity to present our recommendations for the 2024 federal budget.