Budget 2024 Consultation - Template for Public Hearing Participants three Please note, submissions are considered public documents and may be posted on the Committee's

Funding must be directed to Indigenous Nations and communities to ensure that they have the resources to support families in accordance with their own traditions and practices, respecting the self-determination of Indigenous Nations and communities. [...] The lack of access to legal aid directly contributes to increasingly worse feminized poverty by depleting critical resources post-separation, leading to greater indebtedness for legal costs and a lack of access to spousal and child support secured through the courts. [...] In 1992, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized that there was “no doubt that divorce and its economic effects are playing a role in the feminization of poverty in Canada.” The impact of a lack of access to the courts to secure spousal support has worsened in recent years as costs of living and housing have skyrocketed. [...] As recommended by the BCSTH, funding to the HPP program should be increased from $4 million to $20 million to ensure the program meets the scale of the need and is more widely available. [...] To learn more about the consultation and the work of the Committee, visit the Committee’s website.