Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My questions are going to be for Mr. Marchand.
Mr. Marchand, almost 10 years ago, Shannon Daub, who co-authored the report “Red Women Rising”, came to see the indigenous relations committee at Metro Vancouver. I remember her saying in her presentation that no woman should be homeless on her own land. The report says, “Nothing changes because our lives are not valued and because people think violence against us is 'normal' and 'how it is'.”
You said in your initial statement that, “Federally, there is no long-term plan to address the end of operating agreements” and that, as a result, “we are witnessing the expected displacement of residents” from their once-stable subsidized housing. I added that piece about “stable” and “subsidized,” because that's what the operating agreements held for. You also mentioned “an increase in homelessness and growing encampments.”
We all knew the operating agreements were coming up for expiration. We all know how long they are and how soon they're coming up for expiration. How did the federal government's walking away from those operating agreements impact indigenous women, and how can the government avoid repeating this in the future?