Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You're on a roll right now and you might make history. This is a Bill that concerns all children. There must be recognition and, of course, inclusion. We're the main actors, those who know the needs of our people. I hear the young girl. We also listen to young people. They must have a voice, along with women and men — who also have parental duties.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's for the Bill to include positive obligations for the Canadian government and provinces to take all necessary measures to improve socio-economic conditions for indigenous children and families, including those who live off reserve and in urban areas. In fact, we live in two realities: the one within communities and the one outside of them.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I can easily compare both situations. Given the scale of a community and its general history, we know that access to housing is a major issue within a community, as well as access to services, among others. We know that all indigenous communities — there are 54 of them in Quebec — are in economic survival mode.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Several indigenous organizations took part in the consultation process. At Femmes autochtones du Québec, this is how we proceed with consultations: we go to Nations members and take time to explain situations. Based on all the information given to them, our members — that, is, First Nations women — give us guidance or recommendations.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Tshinashkumitin.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  This is a big challenge, and I have a short amount of time for my speech.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I have already had to shorten my speech two or three times. The second priority is the state's duty to offer compensation. We all know that decades of assimilation policies have left deep scars on our indigenous peoples, scars which even now are too often passed down from generation to generation and will take time to heal.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Madam Chair, Honourable Vice-Presidents, Honourable Members of the Committee, kuei. [The witness speaks in Innu.] [French] Before starting, I would like to take a moment to recognize the anishinabe nation and thank it for welcoming us on its vast unceded territory. Quebec Native Women Inc., or QNW, is a non-profit, non-partisan and bilingual organization.

Status of Women committee  Yes.

Status of Women committee  Thank you.

Status of Women committee  We provide training for the workers. Each shelter then establishes its plan for the kids. It can be done through games or awareness workshops. However, I cannot give you a more detailed answer. But I can tell you about the training we provide directly to the workers according to their needs.

Status of Women committee  Quebec Native Women does not provide those programs. They are provided by the shelters.

Status of Women committee  When I worked in the shelters, one worker led the youth activities, always about violence, of course. However, you have to be careful because you have to recognize that, when that worker leaves, the work still has to be done. So we got a summer student job, but afterwards, for the rest of the year, we had no worker to work directly with the kids.

Status of Women committee  I worked in a shelter where we wanted to establish a day centre as well, precisely to work on prevention and awareness. It is a regional centre. That means that it has only four rooms with two or three beds, depending on the types of families that can be accepted. I can tell you that, for a regional shelter, four rooms are not a lot.

Status of Women committee  I can tell you that, no, it is not enough. Just now, we were talking about confidentiality. In a community, everyone knows everyone else. In Schefferville for example, people may not want to go to the shelter, which is just next door. That is because they know the women who work there and everyone is going to know who is in the shelter.