Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the sixth meeting of the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women.
I'd like to begin by thanking our witness, the Native Women's Association of Canada, for being here today. This committee recognizes the important role you play in identifying these horrific issues that this committee has been created to study. For this reason we believe your organization should play an important role in the work of this committee.
I'm happy to inform you that the committee has adopted a report that outlines the role your organization will play in this study. The committee would like NWAC to be an expert witness for this committee to rely on for guidance in the study we are undertaking.
More specifically, we're proposing that your organization be invited to appear at the beginning of each of the themes the committee previously agreed would frame our study, these being violence and it's causes, front-line assistance, and preventing violence against aboriginal women.
We believe this will ensure your organization has multiple opportunities to appear as a witness before the committee, and to provide your expert views on the areas you think this committee should consider as we begin each theme, each section of the study. Of course, you're always welcome to attend all of the public meetings, if you so choose.
It is our hope that as an expert witness your expertise will help guide the committee as we undertake our study on behalf of the victims of these horrific cases.
Today we welcome you again. Please take as much time as you would like for your opening remarks. Normally it's 10 minutes. I'm sure you won't get any argument from anyone here if you want to take much longer than that. Please give us all the advice and information you would like us to have at this point, because we feel that's a very good place for us to begin.
When the three of you are finished your remarks, we will have our regular round of questions for you.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Audette.