It certainly is an honour to have you here at our committee, and an honour to speak with you and have your intelligence and your expertise come to the table. As a committee, we thank you for that.
Today in Winnipeg we had a very disturbing story about kids and the sex trade, about kids as young as eight years old being used and abused by men, with 70% of those children being aboriginal children.
As you know, Ms. Jacobs, we have been studying the human trafficking issue here at the status of women committee. Today we asked you to come to speak on economic concerns of aboriginal women. When I listen to you speak today, I think we're at a point in our Canadian history when we have to think a little differently from how we thought before.
Many of the things you talk about I'm personally aware of only because our son is married to an Ojibwa girl. She tells me many things. Her sister is in social work and family services, and many stories and many testimonies come forward.
We as a committee wanted to talk about how we could attack the problems that are facing women. When I read a story and know about what's happening to these young children coming from homes where they don't have enough to eat, it's sometimes what you call survival sex, and it's not only by human traffickers, but by peers who also encourage them to do the tricks so that they can survive.
We talk about programming. I've also been a firm believer that education is a window that helps a lot of people. I think about your testimony today, about going through school and becoming a lawyer, and about your daughter now wanting to be in the medical field. Could you please comment on the education side of it from your perspective?
What kinds of things could be put in place to help young families and children? There are many young moms who are raising children. I've met many of these young moms, and they love their children just like I love my children. They want the best, but the worries and the stress on their shoulders just from daily life, whether it's substance or whether betrayal or whatever happens to them, impact them in a very negative way. Could you please make some comment on the education side, as you see it, in terms of opening doors to economic stability for young moms? We are talking about more than seniors, as my colleague Ms. Minna said. For young moms, as well as seniors and young people, I know that's a big question, but could you do that?