Thank you. I apologize if my Internet cuts out. I'm on my cellular data, so it's kind of shaky.
I think my brief draws out some really good assumptions as to how the law treats indigenous women in particular. It makes assumptions about who we are and about what we do.
When I walk into a mall, I'm not a lawyer; I'm an indigenous woman. I will experience racism and surveillance as an indigenous women. When I walk into a new court room, if the court security doesn't recognize me, I'm not a lawyer. I'm an indigenous woman and they will assume that I'm there as a client in a case. I'm probably one of the persons charged.
We have to remember that's how the law treats and sees indigenous women. Most importantly, that's how society sees indigenous women.
We have to look at what this law does and doesn't do. We also have to remember that Bedford said that if one life is lost under this law, that's sufficient. We don't say how many people benefit. We don't say whether it benefited one or two people. If one life is lost, that's it.
We've heard here today that there have been seven. There have many. I think that's what we need to focus on.