Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for appearing today.
I think a lot of questions have been exhausted by my colleagues, but I do have a couple.
First of all, I wanted to say congratulations to Ms. Pate for receiving the Governor General's award last year. I think that's a good recognition. It was in regard to international advocacy for marginalized victims and criminalized women. I bet that was a bit of a surprise in that it was during the reign of a Conservative government, especially after your negative comments about Bill C-10 and our law-and-order agenda. I do congratulate you for that.
I was a lawyer in Fort McMurray for a period of time, and I did have the opportunity to defend somebody regarding the battered wife syndrome, although I was not successful with the defence of self-defence. I noticed—and I just want to make a point of this—that the justice in that case did give a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be served in the community. So he did recognize that in the sentencing, notwithstanding that he didn't recognize it in the defence itself. I think that seems to be more and more utilized by the courts today in regard to battered wife syndrome.
I was just curious, Ms. Pate. Do you believe that women have to or should ever be incarcerated?