Thanks very much.
First, both of you again have called for a national commission of inquiry, and in spite of the parliamentary secretary's quoting Shawn Atleo, it is important that we get back on the record that the AFN has also called for a national commission of public inquiry, as has NWAC, all the premiers, etc., so you're in good company.
Why this panel is so important is what we hear across this country is that people seem to care about victims' rights, unless the victim is indigenous, and then all of a sudden they are blamed. That includes those who aren't with us, and it's only their families now who have been victimized by this loss.
When we began this committee a year ago, the rate of murder clearance across Canada was about 84%. At that time the rate of murder clearance fell to 50% if the victim was indigenous. This is appalling to Canadians to understand it could be that different. What we have heard is somehow the investigation or the follow-up is not of the same quality because the victim, the murdered or missing individual.... It was viewed to be inevitable because somebody worked on the street or had problems with addiction or those things, and so they didn't actually follow it up properly.
What has been your experience how we would explain the differential for being able to solve these? Without solving them, we can't really prevent it, and without solving them, the families have no closure, have no real trust in the system, which begets and begets.
Can you explain how this can be so different if the victim is indigenous?