Thank you very much.
I'll be splitting my time with Ms. Ashton.
Thank you very much to the witnesses for coming here today. This committee has just started, so we're really just getting into the program and understanding what's going on. That said, many of us have worked in these areas and have participated in other committees, so we do have a background and a familiarity with the issues that we're looking at here.
As Tracy said at the beginning and as we've heard from many people, there have certainly been many reports and recommendations on this issue. So how do we actually get to solutions, how do we actually get to helping communities that are in distress, and how do we actually get to helping women who are facing violence in the aboriginal community?
We've had a number of witnesses from government departments. Our first couple of meetings were with government departments here in Ottawa.
One question I have for all of you, because I think you're very familiar with the scene, is how aware do you think aboriginal communities, particularly organizations that service women, are of federal programs, and how effective are they? Do you see big gaps in service?
We've been told that safety plans exist and programs against violence against women, but it's hard to actually know how effective they are. Certainly the voice of the community in that regard is very important, so if any of you have any insight on how you see those programs working, or not working, and what is effective and what isn't, I think it would be very helpful to us.
Would any of you like to comment on that? Perhaps you would keep your comments short, because my colleague, Ms. Ashton, is also going to ask a question.