BILL NO. 2

(as introduced)

1st Session, 65th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
3 Charles III, 2025

 

Private Member's Public Bill

 

Gender-based Violence Prevention Funding Act

 

Claudia Chender
Dartmouth South

First Reading: February 18, 2025

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

WHEREAS intimate partner violence has been declared an epidemic in Nova Scotia;

AND WHEREAS significant recommendations have been made to address gender-based violence in recent reports, including Turning the Tide Together (the Final Report of the Mass Casualty Commission), the Report of the Inquiry into the Deaths of the Desmond Family and the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence;

THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 This Act may be cited as the Gender-based Violence Prevention Funding Act.

2 In this Act,

"fund" means the fund established pursuant to this Act;

"Minister" means the Minister of Health and Wellness.

3 (1) Subject to Section 6, the Minister shall establish a fund to support organizations with a mandate to address gender-based violence.

(2) The fund must be based upon a funding formula that ensures organizations with a mandate to address gender-based violence have access to continuous, core funding

(3) For each fiscal year, the Minister shall calculate the level of funding required for the range of activities and the staffing needs of these organizations by taking into consideration funding for

(a) activities including the operation of shelters, transition second-stage housing, women's centres, advocacy campaigns, prevention initiatives and other matters that the Minister deems fit; and

(b) staffing, including executive directors, case managers, relief workers, mental health crisis-management line respondents, safety coordinators, child and youth workers, outreach, research and grant officers, admission support personnel and other positions that the Minister deems fit.

4 (1) The Minister shall establish a community-based advisory body on gender-based violence to provide consultation and oversight on funding amounts.

(2) The advisory board shall consist of

(a) staff of shelters, transitional housing facilities, women's centres and advocacy groups;

(b) individuals with lived experience of gender-based violence; and

(c) representatives from 2SLGBTQIA+, Indigenous and African Nova Scotian communities.

5 Each fiscal year, the Minister shall deliver a public report for the previous fiscal year outlining a cost breakdown that details how much of the fund was spent on the range of activities referred to in Section 3.

6 The money required for the purpose of this Act must be paid out of money appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.