Mr. Speaker, the original purpose of the study of violence against Aboriginal women was to gain a better understanding of the extent and nature of violence, examine the root causes and recommend solutions in consultation with Aboriginal women.
This report does not do that. Over 150 witnesses spoke to the committee and offered sound recommendations to the government.
I am very sad to announce that the report tabled in the House today has virtually nothing in common with the testimony. The report omits huge portions of the content heard during testimony, offers no recommendations whatsoever that would commit the government to act, and does not acknowledge the humanitarian crisis facing aboriginal women.
This report does not really broach the subject of violence. It is nothing but a list of government programs. And yet, the committee did not hear most of the contents of this report. The programs described as solutions in this report were never mentioned. The final report silences aboriginal women in an attempt to clear the government of all responsibility.
New Democrats have written a dissenting opinion to make recommendations based on the witness testimony. New Democrats will honour the testimony aboriginal women offered us. We will work on collaborative, consultative solutions to end the systemic violence. We will never be complacent to this crisis.