QUEBEC CITY -- The Quebec Liberal Party is calling on the Quebec government to set up emergency services, including setting up hotel rooms, to accommodate women fleeing domestic violence when no shelters are available.
The Official Opposition critic for the Status of Women, Isabelle Melancon, is also calling for increased funding for shelters to create additional spaces.
The MNA for Verdun believes that Public Safety Minister Genevieve Guilbault should hold an emergency meeting with stakeholders. Melancon stated that the government's actions are not up to par, neither in prevention nor in support.
She said that after the tabling of the government's most recent budget, Premier Fracçois Legault and Finance Minister Eric Girard stated that they would be prepared to provide additional funding if the needs were there.
At the end of March, the premier committed to the creation of spaces for all women who are concerned about their physical safety and said that if there was not enough money to do so, his government would add more.
In his budget, Minister Girard allocated $22 million over five years for the network of some 100 shelters that accommodate abused women seeking temporary accommodation.
Melancon says the need is there. Since the beginning of the year, 10 women have been murdered in Quebec, allegedly in the context of family violence, the most recent tragedy having occurred in Mercier, in the Montérégie region.
Isabelle Melançon also wants more support for organizations that help men, in order to act before the problems of domestic violence.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2021.
