I would agree with the statement that was made around concern around the bias and the folks who are represented in those numbers. As was previously mentioned, our study involved 10 years of evidence and is a community-based study. We have sex workers on our team, sex workers collecting data, sex workers informing all aspects of the project and community advisory activities. We worked really hard with the community to make sure that the research was representative of the experiences of the diversity of sex workers who operate across different types of venues in metro Vancouver.
Our statistics show a very different trend from what was presented by Statistics Canada. I would urge the committee to look at both, and in particular consider the rigour of our evidence, that it is peer-reviewed and the Statistics Canada research is not, to the best of my knowledge. These are studies that have been published in some of the most prestigious medical journals. Expert reviewers from all around the world look at the evidence and ensure it is rigorous. We feel very confident in the quality of our data and who it represents.