Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on April 12th, 2016

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

You succinctly answered my first question. I'd like to know more about the mechanisms that need to be in place—financial accountability, if you will—to ensure that this funding gets to where it is supposed to get to.

[Dawn Lavell-Harvard]

Absolutely. I think we can get back to you with some concrete specifics. I think one of the most important things is that organizations such as the Native Women's Association of Canada and arm's-length human rights groups, the watchdogs who have brought attention to this issue, are part of the oversight moving forward. We need somebody who is genuinely arm's-length, because that independence is really important. If you are 100% in a department of government, you cannot be independent enough to ensure that the hard questions are asked and that the long-term strategies are put in place.

We can get back to you on the specifics of legal processes, because that's not my forte. It's all about independent civil society oversight. That includes not only the implementation of the recommendations, but also oversight of the policing issues of the complaints that will come forward, to see that they're not just identified for a nice story and that the process doesn't just become a record of tragedies, but that there's a commitment to do something about this and to make sure that independent oversight happens. Again, that requires budgets.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

We're done there, Todd.

Thank you so much, Ms. Lavell-Harvard and Mr. Peters, for sharing your time and your knowledge with us, and for teaching us today. Your passion and your focus underline the importance of the issues facing aboriginal women in Canada. Thank you.

With that, could I ask for a motion to adjourn?

[An hon. member]

So moved.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

We're adjourned.