The government has undertaken many different initiatives, for which I certainly commend the government, but I think we're here today just to look at....
In terms of a national inquiry, an inquiry would give us an ability to understand the scope of the problem. As I said in my earlier testimony, the data aren't sufficient. An inquiry would allow us to identify those underlying causes so that we can address them and prioritize them. We can also give an opportunity for the recommendations in the action plans to be reflective and inclusive of their lived experience and knowledge.
When you ask me that question, I would say this. What I have seen across the country is that no community is the same. The different communities will have different resources, different capabilities, and different challenges. We often talk of the north in terms of challenges. As we know, there are, I believe, about 53 fly-in communities. For some victims, the whole criminal justice system has to fly in and fly out, and when they do, there are no resources left to them.
You ask me how this could benefit.... In our country there are many communities, and there are some phenomenal initiatives that are going on in our country, but we have to take this big picture look in order to ensure that we have a solid foundation on which to build as we go into the future.
There's the example you've given, and there are many other examples in this country. Again, I know there are many I could look at and have funded. I think we really do need to ensure that the voices of the families and the victims are very much involved in that foundational piece in order to be able to prioritize.