Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Sinclair and guests who are here before us.
I deeply appreciate the sentiments you have shared today. I was particularly fond of your statement that you are not in competition with anyone, that you are there to work together because the need is so immense for our indigenous veterans.
I believe most, if not all, Canadians would and should be outraged to know that veterans, and particularly indigenous veterans, given the history of Canada's colonialism and the ongoing challenges of racism that you have pointed out, are unable to access proper culturally relevant supports and services.
I'm new to this committee, but I know that in previous meetings there have been discussions on the lack of data on access to government services by indigenous veterans.
One grand chief, Steven Ross, said in a previous meeting:
Regarding the quality of services received by indigenous veterans, the services may be there, and may be utilized by indigenous veterans, but we are unaware of the percentage of veterans accessing these services and the types of services being requested and provided.
Given the trauma experience and the trust that is needed, do you agree with such statements? What can be done to have better outreach to new indigenous veterans?