Thank you, Madam Chair.
I was not aware that the court challenges program has been before three committees, but I think it's of particular interest to this committee, Madam Chair, because of the impact of its cancellation on women.
I can give you one particular situation I'm familiar with. It's called the Sharon McIvor case out of British Columbia. It's a case involving aboriginal women who lost their status because of legislation implemented by the government in 1986, called Bill C-31, which had unintended consequences for aboriginal women and diminished their status as they had progressive generations.
What happened in that case is that Sharon McIvor challenged the government—as it had a direct impact on children—through the court challenges program, and was successful. She was successful in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
What's happened now is that the Government of Canada is challenging her in the Supreme Court of Canada, and she now doesn't have the resources of the court challenges program to fight her case in the Supreme Court. That's one concrete example I'm aware of that has a very significant impact on the lives of aboriginal women.
There may be more, and I think it's important that we be able to review it, and speak to it and recommend on it. Whether we are successful or not, I think it's important that it be part of the public record.