Witnesses, thank you to all of you not just for your time here but for the pieces of your soul you have had to put on full display here. Certainly, I speak for my colleagues. We all felt it. We didn't just hear it; we felt it. I'm new to this chamber. I make no comment as to what's happened in previous parliaments, but I certainly came here largely to deal with some of these issues head-on, so I thank you very much for helping us do this.
Mr. Broadfoot, I met you this summer at one of the vigils for your daughter. I saw how the community in London rallied around her and celebrated her life and all that she did in her 17 years. Sadly, we had to acknowledge all that won't be in the decades that should have come of her life. I know you never wanted to have to be the advocate that you are, but you are and we are better off for it. I'm grateful for that.
You made a comment which is so painfully obvious, but I think it bears repeating here, that if your daughter's abuser had been behind bars, your daughter would still be alive. We have heard testimony from some of the academic set, some of the witnesses that our Liberal colleagues have called, who like to put an emphasis on the rights of the accused. However, there is only one life; there is only one shot that we have when intimate partner violence is at issue here.
Explain your message if you could, Mr. Broadfoot, to those who believe that this is an abstract discussion about rights and not a life-or-death issue for women and girls.