Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  On the issues around children involved in the child welfare system, there is an extremely high level of aboriginal children involved in the child welfare system for a variety of reasons, mostly because there are intergenerational issues, but also because there's maltreatment, and that has to be addressed.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  Without a doubt, the education investment is a really important one, and as that issue proceeds at the federal level, if there is the ability to get broad-based agreement and have a legislative instrument through the Parliament of Canada, that can allow us to have a more solid footing for that, with greater accountability for outcomes and results, particularly for girls.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  I think the difficulty is the fact that the victim, particularly where it's a girl, will face retaliation from other members of the community, and the victim will suffer additionally and unnecessarily. There have to be supports around the victim. Unfortunately, in my work what I find is mostly it's retaliation against the victim, and you do not have the issue of sexual abuse, for instance, coming forward, being addressed adequately, because they're discouraged from doing so because they fear actual retaliation or retribution, which is a reality in their life.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  I think it's extremely important that the issues be looked at. I certainly don't disagree with it. I think I see the issue a little bit differently. I think there are unique issues around murdered and missing women that require attention, whether something's a cold file or a police file.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  When that act was proclaimed in December—and it was a long time coming—I felt, very much so, that it would create a new remedy, or clarify a remedy, which is a protective order that could be obtained under that act and executed on a reserve to allow women and children to remain in the home, even if they were not, for instance, the holders of a certificate of possession of that property or a location ticket under a reserve Indian Act land system.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  So we have these very big gaps around what actually happens, for instance when girls are not safe.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  I really don't feel it is because of the fact that these basic issues, as I said earlier... A standard of service on reserve that is equivalent to off reserve.... So levels of support for victims, standards of policing and safety, and standards of child welfare are not equivalent to what are available off reserve.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  Fine, thank you, Romeo.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  I would say that among the issues we face at a national level—we have a greater awareness of the issue perhaps in the public eye—is the lack of a federal presence to disrupt some of these known pathways. Just as examples, there are the absence of strong protections for the rights of children, of the concept of the best interest of the child being a very significant issue around keeping them safe, keeping them supported, and keeping indigenous children connected to their families and communities, which they have a right to.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  I'd like to speak just a bit about a few other topics that I think increase vulnerability for women in particular. I did a report, and my reports are publicly available at the website of the B.C. Representative for Children and Youth. I apologize for the fact that it is not the policy of the legislature of British Columbia to translate all reports into French, so I know that they are not going to be automatically deposited with your committee, but I invite committee members to look at them.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  Thank you again, Madam Chair, and thank you to members of the committee. I'll just give you a very short background on my role. I am an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and in that role I'm the representative for children and youth. I do a number of things.

Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women committee  Yes, I can hear you. Can you hear me fine?

Status of Women committee  One of the challenges is this transition to adulthood. The approach in British Columbia and most provinces is that it happens around 18 or 19. In British Columbia it's 19. But through research and experience with Canadian families we know that adolescence extends into the early twenties.

Status of Women committee  No, there isn't much of a difference. It's just that we have an elevated teen pregnancy rate, so the dependency ratio, the requirement that there be a young mother.... Mothering and not having achieved the education, then not having the personal support within a family context to be parent at a young age, if they keep the child, which young girls and women often do....

Status of Women committee  Well, I'm an officer of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, so I oversee the child welfare system. In British Columbia the child poverty rate is around 12% or a bit higher than the national rate. In terms of effective interventions to reduce child poverty, I think there is a fairly broad consensus among everyone with respect to the market basket measure and allowing a parent or parents adequate social assistance to attend to the immediate needs of their children, with an adequate amount of money for housing, shelter, healthy food, and basic necessities, all of which are required.