The government is proclaiming May as Sexual Violence Awareness Month and is taking action to challenge attitudes, promote a culture of consent and raise awareness about sexual violence in Alberta.
Premier Notley and Minister Sabir proclaim Sexual Violence Awareness Month and announce the government-wide Commitment to End Sexual Violence with dozens of community organizations, advocates and survivors.
To start the month, the province is launching a new Commitment to End Sexual Violence. Developed through extensive consultation with dozens of front line providers, advocates and survivors, the commitment brings ten government ministries and community organizations together to deliver a coordinated, province wide response to address sexual violence in Alberta.
“Every Albertan deserves to live free from sexual harassment and assault. Sexualized violence is a crime of power and control, and governments have a duty to lead, to offer hope and healing to survivors, to make workplaces and campuses safe and to tackle the inequality at the root of this violence that most impacts women and girls.”
Rachel Notley, Premier
The commitment has three pillars:
Shift the culture towards believing survivors, challenging harmful myths and building a culture of consent
Improve the way Alberta’s social, health, justice and education systems respond to sexual violence
Support individuals by funding frontline services for survivors and delivering education and prevention programs
“I never thought I would see this day. Raising awareness about sexual violence not only helps bring these crimes out of the shadows, it’s clear with this commitment today that, for the first time, the priorities of government reflect me and the needs of survivors across this province.”
Carlynn McAneeley, survivor of sexual violence
During May, the province will announce initiatives to support the commitment and build on actions taken to address and prevent sexual harassment and assault.
Since 2015 government has invested close to $52 million to support a range of programs and services to prevent sexual violence and support survivors in communities across Alberta, including:
Provided more supports for survivors of sexual violence with a historic $8.1 million investment to increase access to counselling and cut wait times, add police and court support and provide crisis help in more communities.
A $1.2 million grant over three years at the Zebra Child Protection Centre for mental health support and counselling services for survivors of sexual and physical child abuse.
Increased funding by $25 million to help Family and Community Support Services address sexual violence, family violence, gender inequality and to promote healthy relationships.
Funded the successful #IBelieveYou campaign to promote a cultural shift toward supporting survivors and breaking the silence around sexual violence.
Boosted funding for women’s shelters by $15 million to help ensure no woman fleeing violence is turned away.
Increased access to the legal system for survivors by removing the time limit for to bring forward civil claims.
Made it easier for survivors to get out of dangerous situations by allowing them to break residential leases without financial penalty.
Provided $80,000 grant from Status of Women to stage a play about consent in high schools to educate teens about gender equality and healthy relationships.
“We are pleased to be a partner in the government’s commitment to prevent sexual violence and provide better support to those who are affected. Sexual violence is a problem that affects all communities in our province and will require a united effort by government, community organizations and individuals to eliminate.”
Debra Tomlinson, chief executive director, Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services
Commitment to End Sexual Violence:
“Every Albertan has the right to live free from violence. Perpetrators of sexual violence violate that right.
“The Government of Alberta does not tolerate these abuses of power and control. Though anyone can experience sexual violence, we recognize it impacts women and girls most. We stand firmly with survivors, advocates and community agencies to stop sexual violence in all its forms.
“We commit to supporting survivors, improving our response, and shifting to a culture of consent by advancing gender equality. We will work until all survivors are believed and supported, and this violence is eradicated from our communities.”
Quick facts:
Sexual violence is the most under-reported crime in Canada. Ninety-five per cent of survivors do not report their assaults to police.
Sexual violence most often affects women and girls. Eighty-seven per cent of survivors are women and 94 per cent of perpetrators are men.
In 2014, 83,000 Albertans reported sexual assaults.
Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act committed against someone without that person’s freely given consent. It can involve physical or non-physical contact, affect all ages and genders, and the person committing the act might be known or be a stranger.
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Pushing back the date would preserve the pensions of some of the MPs who could be voted out of office in October 2025.
Aides to the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed that MPs from the Liberal and New Democratic Party (NDP) did indeed hold closed-door “briefings” to rewrite Canada’s elections laws so that they could push back the date of the next election.
The closed-door talks between the NDP and Liberals confirmed the aides included a revision that would guarantee some of its 28 MPs, including three of Trudeau’s cabinet members, would get a pension.
Allen Sutherland, who serves as the assistant cabinet secretary, testified before the House of Commons affairs committee that the changes to the Elections Act were discussed in the meetings.
“We attended a meeting where the substance of that proposal was discussed,” he said, adding that his “understanding is the briefing was primarily oral.”
According to Sutherland, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, it was only NDP and Liberal MPs who attended the secret meetings regarding changes to Canada’s Elections Act via Bill C-65, An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act before the bill was introduced in March.
As reported by LifeSiteNews before, the Liberals were hoping to delay the 2025 federal election by a few days in what many see as a stunt to secure pensions for MPs who are projected to lose their seats. Approximately 80 MPs would qualify for pensions should they sit as MPs until at least October 27, 2025, which is the newly proposed election date. The election date is currently set for October 20, 2025.
Sutherland noted when asked by Conservative MP Luc Berthold that he recalled little from the meetings, but he did confirm he attended “two meetings of that kind.”
“Didn’t you find it unusual that a discussion about amending the Elections Act included only two political parties and excluded the others?” Berthold asked.
Sutherland responded, “It’s important to understand what my role was in those meetings which was simply to provide background information.”
Berthold then asked, “You nevertheless suggested amendments to the legislation including a change of dates?”
“My role was to provide information,” replied Sutherland, who added he could not provide the exact dates of the meetings.
MPs must serve at least six years to qualify for a pension that pays $77,900 a year. Should an election be called today, many MPs would fall short of reaching the six years, hence Bill C-65 was introduced by the Liberals and NDP.
The Liberals have claimed that pushing back the next election date is not over pensions but due to “trying to observe religious holidays,” as noted by Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen.
“Conservatives voted against this bill,” Berthold said, as they are “confident of winning re-election. We don’t need this change.”
Trudeau’s popularity is at a all-time low, but he has refused to step down as PM, call an early election, or even step aside as Liberal Party leader.
As for the amendments to elections laws, they come after months of polling in favour of the Conservative Party under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre.
A recent poll found that 70 percent of Canadians believe the country is “broken” as Trudeau focuses on less critical issues. Similarly, in January, most Canadians reported that they are worse off financially since Trudeau took office.
Additionally, a January poll showed that 46 percent of Canadians expressed a desire for the federal election to take place sooner rather than the latest mandated date in the fall of 2025.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Trump leads Harris by 184,935 in a 53%-46% split.
Former President Donald Trump was declared the winner Saturday night in Arizona, marking the final swing state for the Republican to collect in his landslide victory.
Arizona was the seventh and final swing state to be decided, securing Trump 312 Electoral College votes.
All but Coconino, Apache, Santa Cruz, and Pima counties favored Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. Maricopa County, the source of dozens of electoral challenges including a partisan ballot review of the 2020 election, is currently favoring Trump by more than 78,000 votes. Trump lost the state to President Joe Biden in 2020 by little more than 10,000 votes.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Trump leads Harris by 184,935 in a 53%-46% split.
Complete election results aren’t expected for at least another week, which is no different from previous cycles. Two-page ballots with dozens of judicial retention races and ballot propositions led to slower results in the days after polls closed. A new election integrity law enacted this year requiring polling stations to count envelopes before they can send off ballots added to the lag in results.
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns made Arizona a priority throughout the election cycle, either hosting rallies themselves or sending big-name surrogates.
Campaign volunteers descended on Maricopa County to join local activists who knocked on thousands of doors in the days before the election. Many residents complained about the barrage of phone calls, texts, emails, and flyers from numerous organizations.
