Thank you for your testimony and for helping us understand the gravity of this inequity and the evidence.
The tuberculosis sub-working group had a resolution, which was to reduce TB incidence to 3.6 per 100,000 among on-reserve first nations and Inuit peoples. I noted in some of the testimony that the rates were stable at 27.3% until 2008. But I also heard that they're rising. What's the current rate? What is the trend? Where are we heading with that? Really, I just want to understand the rates and where they're headed.
Second, is a holistic approach needed, with goals and measures? That seems to be something we've heard, and I presume this is a common view. To what degree is tuberculosis being addressed as part of the whole health of the aboriginal status and Inuit and Métis people as opposed to being treated as a separate disease?
Finally, if it is tied in with the social determinants, which we've heard from everyone it is, what's the role of the federal government in terms of providing leadership and pulling other levels of government together? What's needed to have that actually happen?