Thank you, Bob.
Thank you to our minister for being here today.
Minister, it is well known that indigenous women are by far the highest represented victim group in human trafficking in Canada while being only 4% of the women's population in Canada. A 2014 report by the Canadian Women's Foundation established that at least 50% of the female victims of sex trafficking in Canada were indigenous. In Winnipeg it was more like 70% or 80% and in Edmonton, a city near where I live, 40% to 50% of sex crime victims are indigenous women.
Last fall your government announced a national strategy to combat human trafficking with funding. I'm just wondering if you have any idea why your department was left out of that funding initiative.