For having an opportunity for Canadians to see and to examine exactly what all of these issues and priorities are, I think an inquiry is one way, but another way.... About a week and a half ago, I had the privilege of attending a symposium on confidence in the Canadian criminal justice system. They talked about awareness being important. One of the issues was that how we treat people and how we support people within the criminal justice system is directly linked to their confidence in it.
We've heard a lot of people talk here today. Awareness is one piece, but how we're going to treat victims.... They're going to come forward if they trust and respect that the agency they are coming forward to is going to listen to them, that they're going to be believed, supported, and informed, and that they're considered, that they matter. This is something you build. It is a relationship that communities build. That's going to continue to take a lot of effort on our parts in order to ensure that victims truly get the supports they need.
When we look at the general population when it comes to sexual assault, for example, we know that a large majority of sexual assault victims do not report for many different reasons. The more we can build healthy and safe communities that are going to allow victims to feel informed, supported, and considered, and to feel that they matter and are protected...because you have to be able to know that you're going to be safe when you come forward with that information.