I will try to stay within the time limits myself, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much for your testimony. This is very helpful to us to put this together. I know it's appreciated by everyone here.
I have just a couple of questions. One of the materials we were given here has a quote from an article on domestic legal aid's claim to equality, by Patricia Hughes. It's about 20 years old, but I'd just like to get your comments as to whether any progress has been made. I have a feeling there hasn't been that much progress.
Mr. Ferguson, you talked about the decrease in civil legal aid. Here's the quote from Patricia Hughes:
...men receive the assistance of the state in defending their abuse of women, while women receive less assistance fending off the abuse or removing themselves from it.
That statement is 20 years old. What's the situation today? Is it still the same? Has there been progress made in this area? It seems to me there might not be progress in terms of civil legal aid because....