Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Alberta sexual assault centres to be consulted on spending additional $10 million

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Apr, 2024 04:01 PM
  • Alberta sexual assault centres to be consulted on spending additional $10 million

An additional $3 million is being allocated in 2024-25 to support 15 sexual assault centres.

There will be another $3 million in 2025-26 and $4 million in 2026-27.

"Nearly half of Albertans have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. That's 1.8 million too many," Family Services Minister Searle Turton told a news conference Tuesday.

"I've heard how it impacts every aspect of their well-being and their relationships, not to mention their ability to trust and feel safe."

Alberta signed a deal last fall to receive $54 million in federal funding to create and implement a 10-year strategy to end gender-based violence. 

The funding, which will be allocated to the province over four years, is part of a national plan to tackle gender-based violence. 

Turton said how the money will be spent will be determined by the sexual assault centres in roundtable discussions in the coming weeks.

"This will allow government to hear directly from centres and those who work with survivors every day how this funding can best address their urgent needs," he said.

Tanya Fir, Alberta's minister for the status of women, said the facilities represent "hope and safe havens" where survivors can receive support. 

The news was welcomed by the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services.

Corinne Ofstie, co-chief executive officer, said it will help members respond to the increasingly complex needs of individuals and communities affected by sexual violence.

"It is difficult for survivors to reach out for help in the aftermath of sexual violence," she said.

"It is critical they receive help in a timely way as close to home as possible."

MORE National ARTICLES

Online harms: Liberals seek to create digital safety commission, new ombudsperson

Online harms: Liberals seek to create digital safety commission, new ombudsperson
The Liberal government plans to create a new digital safety regulator to compel social-media platforms to take action against online harms and remove damaging content — including child sex-abuse material and intimate images shared without consent — under penalty of millions of dollars in fines.  Justice Minister Arif Virani tabled the long-awaited Online Harms Act on Monday, along with a suite of other amendments to the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act.   

Online harms: Liberals seek to create digital safety commission, new ombudsperson

Real estate association economist doubts B.C.'s flipping tax is worth the trouble

Real estate association economist doubts B.C.'s flipping tax is worth the trouble
Policy watchers are split on the value of British Columbia's upcoming provincial flipping tax targeting those looking to make a quick buck in the real estate market. Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist of the British Columbia Real Estate Association, says the tax could end up reducing the overall number of homes on the market while only applying to a small number of properties.

Real estate association economist doubts B.C.'s flipping tax is worth the trouble

Woman who stopped to check on police spike belt damage killed by fleeing truck

Woman who stopped to check on police spike belt damage killed by fleeing truck
Officers have found a stolen car used to flee a deadly hit-and-run following a high-speed police chase on the weekend, and they continue to search for a suspect. The Honda Civic was recovered early this morning outside Edmonton.  

Woman who stopped to check on police spike belt damage killed by fleeing truck

Unprovoked stabbing in Vancouver

Unprovoked stabbing in Vancouver
A 32-year-old man is accused of stabbing another man in a wheelchair in what Vancouver police say was an unprovoked attack. Police say the 34-year-old victim had been outside a shelter in the Downtown Eastside over the weekend when he was stabbed multiple times in the neck, sustaining non-life-threatening injuries. 

Unprovoked stabbing in Vancouver

B.C. workers on minimum wage will see an increase of 65 cents per hour June 1

B.C. workers on minimum wage will see an increase of 65 cents per hour June 1
Minimum-wage workers in British Columbia will get a pay hike of 65 cents an hour to $17.40 starting June 1, a move the government says will help lift more people out of poverty.  The Ministry of Labour says in a statement the 3.9-per-cent increase is consistent with the province's average inflation rate last year.   

B.C. workers on minimum wage will see an increase of 65 cents per hour June 1

Child poverty rate rises in B.C.

Child poverty rate rises in B.C.
The report makes more than two dozen recommendations, nine of them focused on raising family incomes through paying family-supporting wages or improving income supports. It says B.C.'s child poverty rate of 14.3 per cent was lower than the national average of 15.6 per cent, but the rate on 67 First Nations reserves is about double the national rate, while for single-parent families it's even higher at 40 per cent. 

Child poverty rate rises in B.C.