Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women Committee on Feb. 6th, 2014

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

Thank you so much. I would like to thank both of you for being here today, Ms. Redsky and Dr. Blackstock, and for your time this evening. We really appreciate it. We're going to suspend for a minute to go in camera.

Ms Ashton.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

I really appreciate Ms. Brown's sharing the information based on the point of order that my colleague raised last week. I'm wondering if that list of academic reports—I'm not sure what an academic report is, actually—could be shared with the other members of the committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

We can't share them unless they are in both official languages. They can be received but not distributed is my understanding. Is that correct?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Yes.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

We agree to receiving it through the committee and perhaps the committee can make sure it's translated. I realize that Ms. Brown brought it up as a result of our request. The number she referred to last week was 120,000. I'm surprised to see that it's 435 today, but we certainly would like to see that list.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Madam Chair, I downloaded 22 reports as an example for the committee to see how many studies there are out there. When I presented them I said that in just the 22 studies that I downloaded, 437 academic reports are cited. We could download all of them, and I'm sure the compounding effect of the number of studies that are there should satisfy Ms. Ashton that an enormous number of studies have been done.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

I think the point is probably more to make the point that there are that many studies rather than to have them, the ones that Ms. Brown has submitted to be translated and considered.

I think it wasn't Ms. Brown's intention to have them considered in the report as such, as opposed to making the point that there are many studies out there. I think we can all concede that point.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

I'm sorry I cannot concede that, and Ms. Brown asks if I'm.... It's not a question of my being okay with any one member's actions here. There is word on the record referencing 120,000 reports, 435 reports, 22 reports, and this information is being wielded as the truth.

My concern is that Bernadette Smith and anyone who is referred to reports not have their name used inappropriately by anyone's testimony. What you have, Madam Chair, has been used to supply Ms. Brown's argumentation. I'm concerned that we aren't getting to see the facts that are being shared with you as the chair. I would certainly be concerned if the analysts are being given information and the rest of us don't know if it is factual or not.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

As I said, that's not the case.

This is an issue of reports that I don't think you're tabling. Am I correct?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

They don't have to be tabled.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

You don't want them to be considered for the report. The point is simply that in a very short period of time it was able to.... In any case because they are not in both official languages, these are not reports that will be considered for the report.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Chair, I have no idea what is going on. They're either tabled or they're not tabled. Journal articles are generally in both official languages.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

That's a very good point so—

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Again I don't know what the member's doing. Without an analysis of these reports, how do we know what they are saying? Who has analysed them? Compared to the 120,000 reports she said there were last week, I'm afraid this is some sort of cover for her inaccuracy last week, and I don't know that we can be party to that. She is trying to pretend that almost every witness we've had has said there needs to be a national public inquiry, that there needs to be a national action plan, and that constitutes action. This stunt with a bunch of papers is not going to fool any of us.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

To answer your question, they are not being tabled; they are not being received, and they won't be considered. I'm quite happy to give them back to you because that's the case. I don't think this is an issue and I do not want to cut into the time we need in camera for drafting instructions.

I'm going to once again thank the witnesses for being here, and we're going to suspend for one minute to prepare for the next part of our meeting.

[Proceedings continue in camera]