Status of Women Committee on April 21st, 2010

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I'm going to call the meeting to order.

Welcome to our witnesses.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), this committee is studying violence against aboriginal women.

I would like to ask if the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan and the Métis National Council are appearing as one group. You are? Thank you.

Witnesses have 10 minutes, and if there is more than one witness for a group, you can share your 10 minutes. Each person isn't allowed 10 minutes, each group is allowed 10 minutes. I will give you notice when you have two minutes left so that you can wrap up what you have to say.

I will begin with the Assembly of First Nations and Chief Elizabeth Cloud from the women's council.

We also have the Métis Nation Saskatchewan, with Helene Johnson, regional director of the eastern region 2; and the Métis National Council, with Wenda Watteyne, executive director.

The Native Women's Association of Canada, NWAC, has Kate Rexe, director, Sisters In Spirit; and Karen Green, executive director.

Then we have the Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association, with Tracy O'Hearn, executive director; Joyce Ford, manager of special projects; and Sandra Tucker, manager of abuse issues.

These are our witnesses for today.

I'll begin with the Assembly of First Nations.

Chief Cloud, you have 10 minutes.

[Chief Elizabeth Cloud, Women's Council, Assembly of First Nations]

Thank you.

Let me begin by thanking the chair and members of the committee for the invitation to appear before you on behalf of the Assembly of First Nations women's council.

My name is Chief Elizabeth Cloud. I represent the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point in southern Ontario, known as the place where Dudley George was shot and killed in 1995.

The Assembly of First Nations is a national organization representing first nations citizens in Canada, inclusive of gender and residency. The AFN women's council works to ensure that the concerns and perspectives of first nations women inform all the work of the AFN. I represent the Ontario women chiefs at the national council.

Violence against indigenous women is not only a criminal concern or a social issue, it is also a fundamental human rights issue. Evidence suggests that indigenous women are targeted for violence and fail to receive an adequate level of protection by the state because of their gender and indigenous identity.

In a 2004 Canadian government survey, indigenous women reported rates of violence--including domestic violence and sexual assault--three and a half times higher than non-indigenous women. An earlier survey conducted in 1996 by Indian and Northern Affairs noted that young first nations women are five times more likely than other women to die as a result of violence.

There is still a lack of national data. Police in Canada often do not even record whether or not the victims of crime are indigenous. According to a 2009 report by Amnesty International, Saskatchewan is the only jurisdiction in Canada where information on long-term cases of missing and murdered women has been compiled by state authorities and made public. In that province in 2007, a joint committee of government, indigenous people, police, and community groups reported that 60% of the long-term cases of missing women are indigenous, although indigenous women make up only 6% of that population. The fate of these women remains unknown to this date.

The Native Women's Association of Canada has used the testimony of family members and media reports to create an ongoing list of indigenous women who have gone missing or been murdered over the last three decades. They have collected information on more than 520 cases. We are sincerely grateful for all of the work they do. We understand that it's going to be reported--hopefully today--that there is even a higher number of recorded cases.

While there are limitations on available data, a strong and compelling picture has emerged, and the rates at which indigenous women are experiencing violence in a targeted fashion are nothing short of appalling. In addition, an Amnesty International 2009 report notes that police have often failed to take reports of missing and murdered women seriously, delaying investigations, or making little effort to conduct searches or otherwise seek public help in the search for missing indigenous women. A lack of responsiveness by police services is no doubt a contributing factor to the number of cases that remain unsolved.

Amnesty's report also notes that perpetrators may target indigenous women, believing that the indifference of police or society to the well-being of indigenous women will allow them to escape justice. It is for these reasons that, as I stated earlier, violence against indigenous women is more than a criminal concern or a social issue but a human rights issue.

The Assembly of First Nations was pleased to hear the importance of this issue recognized in the Speech from the Throne last month and welcomes a commitment of new funding to begin addressing the issue. However, there are concerns with regard to how this money will be spent and whether it will provide the necessary and critical supports for women at risk or currently experiencing violence.

We need to recognize that there is a need for more shelters. Across Canada there are fewer than 40 emergency shelters serving indigenous women. This is not acceptable, particularly given the disproportionate rates at which first nations women experience violence.

There is also a need for better victim services and supports, along with targeted programs to assist women who have been trafficked in the sex trade.

Last year the Assembly of First Nations committed to joining the Native Women's Association of Canada, Amnesty International, and others in a call for a national action plan. This would include dedicated advocacy with all levels of government through the best means possible, bringing clear focus and attention to this issue, including making authorities more accountable for their actions.

It is our position that such a plan would, first, recognize violence faced by indigenous women; second, work to build an effective and unbiased police response through appropriate training; third, supply adequate resources and coordination to address violence; fourth, improve public awareness and accountability through the consistent collection and publication of comprehensive national statistics on rates of violent crime against indigenous women; and fifth, include supports to reduce the risk to aboriginal women by closing the economic and social gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people in Canada.

The Assembly of First Nations has also called for the creation of a joint parliamentary committee--made up of this council, the status of women; aboriginal affairs; justice and human rights; and public safety--to study the issue of why so many indigenous women and girls are missing or have been murdered, why so many cases remain unsolved, and to provide specific recommendations on how to address and prevent a continuation of these conditions.

While specific policing responses are within provincial jurisdiction, the matter requires national oversight and coordination in a manner that is elevated above the specific mandate of a federal department.

Others are looking closely at this issue, and it is an item of attention and key concern for the aboriginal affairs ministers working group, created by the Council of the Federation last summer. The aboriginal affairs ministers working group will be meeting in Toronto next week, and we hope it will not only make this a priority focus, but will also agree on the need to develop a more coordinated approached to address violence against aboriginal women and girls, including addressing systemic influences such as the health, social, and economic status of aboriginal women.

As a closing thought, the federal government has recently signalled its intention to take steps towards endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which sets out minimum standards for human rights. Article 22 of the declaration states that:

Particular attention shall be paid to the rights and special needs of indigenous elders, women, youth, children and persons with disabilities in the implementation of this Declaration.

And it continues:

States shall take measures, in conjunction with indigenous peoples, to ensure that indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is currently under way in New York, and our National Chief, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, is presenting to the forum tomorrow afternoon. He will be calling for international attention to the alarmingly high rates of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, and the high rates of violence against indigenous women and girls.

It is our belief that Parliament can and should play a role in addressing this situation in collaboration with the indigenous leadership and women's organizations, and can take concrete steps to address the underlying issues that continue to place first nations women at risk.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Chief Cloud.

Now I will go to the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan and the Métis National Council.

Who will be speaking for you? Will you both share it?

Thank you.

Helene Johnson, please begin.

[Helene Johnson, Regional Director, Eastern Region 2, Métis Nation Saskatchewan]

Good afternoon.

I would like to begin by thanking the honourable members for providing the Métis National Council with the opportunity to appear before you today. We commend the committee for its examination of the root causes, extent, and types of violence experienced by aboriginal women, and its desire to recommend solutions in cooperation with aboriginal women.

Women account for over 50% of all Métis in the Métis homeland of Canada. The homeland includes the prairie provinces and extends into Ontario, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and the United States. The 2006 census reveals that there are a little over 170,000 women who identify as Métis in the homeland. The Métis National Council represents the Métis nation at the national and international level. Through democratically elected representatives, the Métis National Council governing members speak on behalf of the Métis nation in Canada.

Our population is very youthful. Fully 25% of Métis women in the homeland are under the age of 15. Another 26% are between the ages of 15 and 29. The majority of Métis women are in fact children and youth.

Violence and discrimination against Métis and other indigenous women in Canada are a human rights concern that is national in scope and tragic in scale. Over the past several years, evidence of systemic discrimination and brutal violence towards Métis, first nations, and Inuit women has made it impossible for Canadians and the international community to deny. Reports about delays in investigating the disappearances of aboriginal women in Vancouver's downtown east side and in other centres such as Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Toronto have revealed unjust treatment of aboriginal women in Canada. Lack of Métis-specific data on incidence rates prevents us from providing a precise statistical view of the nature and extent of violence against Métis women. However, Métis women, their families, and communities know too well the magnitude of discrimination and violence.

Some research has been undertaken on Métis victims in the sex trade, for example, that demonstrates the stark reality many women and youth find themselves in. We would like to commend the federal government's recent budget commitment to address violence against aboriginal women. Initiatives such as the Native Women's Association of Canada's Sisters In Spirit campaign have played a role in raising awareness of issues through its research, education, and policy initiative.

According to NWAC's report, there are currently 582 known cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women or girls. It can be safely and sadly assumed that many of these cases are those of Métis women and girls. Another relevant report, which was produced by Amnesty International, is entitled No More Stolen Sisters. The report describes violence and discrimination against indigenous women as a major human rights concern.

The Métis National Council supports Amnesty's call for the federal government to create a national plan of action to protect the rights of Métis, first nations, and Inuit women. It agrees that a plan of action must include the collection and routine publication of gender-disaggregated data on health and social and economic conditions for Métis, first nations, and Inuit women and men, including the rates of violence against women; standardized protocols for police handling of missing persons cases that recognize the specific risks of aboriginal women; improved police investigations into missing persons cases and unsolved murders involving aboriginal women; and adequate, sustained, long-term funding to ensure the provision of culturally relevant services to meet the needs of Métis women and girls at risk of violence or in contact with the police and justice systems.

The Métis National Council urges the federal government to take a strong leadership role in response to deeply entrenched discrimination and to the large numbers of women who have been murdered or gone missing in Canada. As initiated by the Council of the Federation, an aboriginal affairs working group has been formed, consisting of provincial aboriginal affairs ministers and aboriginal leaders. It is preparing for a meeting on April 28 to address economic development, education, and violence against aboriginal women. At its initial meeting last fall, the working group reiterated the premiers' call for a first ministers meeting on aboriginal issues. The Métis nation also urges the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of first ministers with Métis, first nations, and Inuit leaders as soon as possible.

The complex and extensive nature of violence against Métis women will require a massive undertaking. It will need to involve multiple levels of government and include justice, law enforcement, child welfare, and social service agencies.

The MNC encourages the establishment of task forces such as the Manitoba Integrated Task Force for Missing and Murdered Women. This task force includes representatives of the Government of Manitoba, RCMP, the Winnipeg Police Service, and a spokesperson for Métis women in Manitoba. Meaningful change is not possible without sustained collaboration, political will at all levels, and adequate financial investments.

We would like to take this opportunity to further address the committee on issues of access to federal resources. Core funding for Métis women was previously administered through the Department of Canadian Heritage, and it is now being administered through the office of the federal interlocutor for Métis. However, this core funding is limited to incorporated women's organizations.

This policy has been a long-standing source of frustration among Métis nation leaders, both male and female, because it prohibits democratically elected Métis governments from accessing these much-needed resources. Status of Women Canada has a mandate to promote the full participation of women in the economic, social, and democratic life of Canada.

The MNC is pleased to report that 48% of the elected provincial leaders are women. In two of our larger governing members, the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Manitoba Métis Federation, the percentage of democratically elected female leaders is 64% and 52% respectively. Métis women are elected both in general provincial elections and as women representatives. Women are elected to regional and provincial Métis councils and boards, and they are often responsible for the women's portfolios, or designated as ministers responsible for women.

Yet resources such as the Status of Women's partnerships and community funds cannot be accessed. This has been a detriment to Métis women, children, family, and communities. Current government policy imposes an approach to funding that is inconsistent with Métis nation governance. The Métis National Council recommends a review of government policy on core funding. It is open to working with federal departments to find an appropriate solution.

In summary, I would like to reiterate three recommendations.

The first is that members of the committee and the federal government more broadly take a leadership role in addressing violence against women by supporting a distinctions-based approach to social and economic inequalities between aboriginal peoples and the general population, including a Métis-specific plan of action; participating in and supporting the ongoing work of the aboriginal affairs working group; and calling upon the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of first ministers and Métis first nations and Inuit leaders to address the priority areas identified by the aboriginal affairs working group.

Two is that dedicated resources be provided to allow focused engagement between Métis nations, federal and provincial governments, service agencies, the justice system, courts, and police forces to address issues of violence against Métis women, including missing and murdered Métis women and girls.

Three is that the federal government work with Métis nations to address long-standing bureaucratic barriers to accessing funding for Métis women through Status of Women Canada and other agencies, such as the office of the federal interlocutor of INAC. This is an important starting point to advance the equality of Métis women in the manner that is consistent with the aspirations of Métis women and respectful of Métis nation governance.

In closing, the Métis nation is resolved to support, protect, and respect the rights of Métis children, women, and youth. We as a nation have lost too many of our mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, and children to violence. This cannot be tolerated in a just society.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Ms. Johnson.

We now move to the Native Women's Association of Canada, and we have Kate Rexe and Karen Green.

Will you share the time? Will you speak separately? What will happen?

[Kate Rexe, Director, Sisters In Spirit, Native Women's Association of Canada]

Karen Green wasn't able to make it today, so it will just be me. I will take the whole 10 minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Then please begin, Ms. Rexe.

[Kate Rexe]

Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.

I would like to thank everyone for being here today to allow each of the groups to speak on behalf of aboriginal women.

I'll begin by sharing a bit of history. In 2004 the Native Women's Association of Canada was funded for the Sisters In Spirit campaign, which was a campaign to raise awareness about missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada. At the time, it was believed that over the past 30 years, approximately 500 aboriginal women and girls had gone missing or had been found murdered in communities across Canada. However, government, society, and the media remained silent on this issue.

In 2010, the silence has been broken, but we still have a lot of work to do.

In 2005 the Native Women's Association of Canada was funded for the Sisters In Spirit research, education, and policy initiative, which was a five-year initiative to provide evidence of the number of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada, as well as the root causes, circumstances, and trends of violence that lead to disappearance and death.

This has not been an easy task. In terms of our research methodology, we started from scratch. Previous to this research initiative there was no real methodology for collecting community-based information and providing evidence based on police data and criminal justice data for aboriginal women who have gone missing or been found murdered. As was identified by the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, there is very little information relating to aboriginal identity, specifically Métis, first nations, or Inuit identity of victims of crime.

The evidence gathered over the past five years has not simply been about research or numbers, but about the lives of women and girls who are lost. The stories that have been shared by families to honour the lives of missing and murdered sisters, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and aunties remind us that each life was beautiful, each woman was strong, and each person is missed very much by her family.

We have gathered life stories and statistical information that have been a very valuable part of our research initiative. Using a mixed method approach, the method has evolved based on a collaborative and reciprocal process privileging the experiences of aboriginal women and girls and their families, and allowing for different perspectives, cultures, values, traditions, and needs, all of which need to be shared.

The research process is guided by the cultural and ethical values of caring, sharing, trust, and strength, which are important to this type of research because of their sensitive nature and the understanding that many of these voices, and the voices of families, have been lost over the previous generation.

The stories have also helped us to understand the circumstances, root causes, and trends surrounding missing and murdered aboriginal women, and to identify appropriate responses for action. It is aboriginal women and girls, families, and communities who understand what the most appropriate actions must be.

We have also taken seriously the need to successfully relay our findings back to the families, aboriginal communities, as well as the general public, provincial and federal governments, and various government departments, which all have a stake in this issue.

Over the course of this initiative, we have also learned there is no comprehensive source of data of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls. Based on police data and jurisdictions across the country, police do not collect the ethnic identity for victims in a comprehensive or any kind of systemic way. The victims of crime are often gone without being identified.

NWAC now holds the only source of data of both missing and murdered women. We have been working very closely with police, including the RCMP, to make sure this data is verified and accurate based on information from their files.

In terms of the broader issues of violence against aboriginal women and girls, we have come to understand that academic literature and literature on violence tends to focus on family violence or domestic violence, but the experiences of aboriginal women and girls are much broader. It is also not just an aboriginal issue or women's issue, but an issue that needs to be addressed by all Canadians. We need to make sure that all the appropriate departments and ministries within government acknowledge that this is an issue of justice, public safety, culture, housing, economic security, and so on.

Over the course of the past five years, we have come to understand that violence against aboriginal women and girls is actually systemic, gendered racism and violence facing aboriginal women, which is the result of a legacy of colonization that devalues aboriginal women in Canadian society.

This devaluing of aboriginal women is evident when examining the disproportionate experiences of violence, the high rates of disappearance, and the disturbingly high number of murders among aboriginal women and girls. What is even more disturbing, however, is the very low clearance rate of homicides. We have recently found that the clearance rate is actually a very low 53% of all homicide cases in Canada, compared to Statistics Canada's report that found in 2005 that homicide cases in Canada overall had an 84% clearance rate.

What we also know, based on information collected through our research initiative, is that experiences of violence and the silence surrounding the experiences of violence are often mistaken for acceptance.

We know that aboriginal identity is one of the strongest predictors of violence in Canada. Aboriginal peoples are three times more likely to experience violence than any other group and, as was mentioned by Chief Cloud, aboriginal women are 3.5 times more likely to experience violence.

According to Statistics Canada, aboriginal women are also seven times more likely to be murdered than non-aboriginal women in Canada. Violence is often unreported in 60% of cases, it is believed, and violence is often linked to circumstances of vulnerability including low income, housing insecurity, age--an issue of youth--as well as geography, and sex.

Our recent research findings have shown that aboriginal women and girls are also as likely to be killed by a stranger or an acquaintance as they are by an intimate partner. This is very different from the experiences of non-aboriginal women in Canada, whose homicide rates are often attributed to intimate partner violence.

In terms of the research findings that we released today, in a report entitled What Their Stories Tell Us, we know that there are 582 cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women and girls across the country. These cases identify a disproportionately high number of missing and murdered women in the western provinces, as well as a disproportionately high number that we have identified over the past 10 years. Two-thirds of the cases have come from the western provinces, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. British Columbia has the highest number of cases as well as the highest percentage of cases, with 160.

We also know that a great majority of the women were young. More than half of these women and girls were under the age of 31. If we are going to design measures that appropriately address issues of violence, we must take into account the needs of young women and youth. Many women were also mothers. As I mentioned before, we know that nearly half of the cases of murdered women and girls remain unsolved cases, with only 53% of the cases having a clearance rate.

We know that the majority of cases also occur in urban areas, but that we can't forget the circumstances of violence affecting on-reserve communities, rural and remote areas, northern communities, Métis territories, and having an identity-specific response to meet the cultural needs of victims of crime.

In summarizing the research findings and identifying trends related to root causes and circumstances, there are a number of key findings that should inform policy decisions, victim services, and action.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute.

[Kate Rexe]

Thank you.

Great strides have been made over the past five years to understand what the experiences of violence are. We look forward to continuing this work and assisting governments, police and justice systems, educators, service providers, and communities to take responsibility for moving forward with action.

In conclusion, there are many issues that must be addressed and that require the cooperation and collaboration of all communities, police and justice officials, service providers, and all levels of government. This collaboration must put the voices of aboriginal women first. As aboriginal women are the experts in this story, they must be acknowledged as having the answers if we are going to make any true and lasting change.

We do look forward to having new partnerships built and moving forward, not just with all of the partnerships that we see here, but also with the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

Now we will move to the final witness, and that would be Pauktuutit Inuit Women.

Will you be speaking, Ms. O'Hearn?

[Tracy O'Hearn, Executive Director, Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association]

Yes, I will.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

So you will not be sharing your time.

[Tracy O'Hearn]

That's right.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Good. Thank you.

Begin, please.

[Tracy O'Hearn]

Thank you very much.

We'd like to begin by thanking you, Dr. Fry, the co-chairs, and members of this committee for providing us with this opportunity to address this very important issue.

We also bring greetings from Elisapee Sheutiapik, Pauktuutit's president, who was not able to be here today. She's certainly with us in spirit.

We support all the comments made by the previous speakers--our colleagues--and we welcome the opportunity to work together. We don't have that opportunity enough.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Pauktuutit, it was incorporated in 1984. It just celebrated its 25th anniversary. It is the national representative organization of all Inuit women in Canada. It was incorporated to address the many social issues communities were experiencing during the early days of land claims negotiations.

Since that time, Pauktuutit has broken the silence on very painful and difficult issues, such as violence against Inuit women and the sexual abuse of children. It has developed a very strong and credible reputation, because it is in close contact with women in the communities and has proven to be an effective vehicle for positive change. Other priorities over time have included political, social, and economic equality, and numerous health issues, including maternal and child health and midwifery.

Fundamental to all of Pauktuutit's work is the recognition of the uniqueness of Inuit culture and the responsibility for working within a framework that not only supports, but strengthens, Inuit-specific approaches, language, and culture.

Between 1984 and 2007, 244 resolutions were passed at the organization's annual general meetings. We did an initial analysis of them, and the top five priorities over 25 years related to political equality, health, social issues, the administration of justice, and abuse. Violence against women continues to be a significant physical and mental health issue.

Our time is short today, so we will make a brief presentation and would welcome your questions.

We just held our most recent annual general meeting here in Ottawa at the end of March, and the board of directors and delegates had an opportunity to meet with the minister responsible for the Status of Women at that time. Issues related to women's safety and the lack of safe shelters dominated the discussions.

Inuit women live in 53 communities, spread across four vast geographic regions of the Arctic, spanning four times zones. There are eight major dialects of Inuktitut, and all communities are fly-in, pretty much.

There are only 15 safe shelters to serve 53 communities, and not all of these shelters may be operating at any given time due to operating costs, human resources, capacity issues, or even the lack of an adequate building to house women.

I won't repeat a lot of the statistics our colleagues have shared about rates of violence, but according to Statistics Canada, spousal homicide rates in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut were 7.3% for women and 3.6% for men, compared to 1.0% for women and 0.03% in the general population. Sexual offences recorded by the police in 2004 were three to six times higher in the Northwest Territories and between seven to 14 times higher in Nunavut. It must also be noted that Inuit women who live in the north also live in Arctic Quebec, the region of Nunavik, and in Nunatsiavut, which is now implementing self-government in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. So it's not exclusive to the territories or north of 60.

We won't take a lot of time today discussing the many unique factors that contribute to these shocking rates of violence against Inuit women, but we must note that the lack of community infrastructure, including housing options and the availability, or lack thereof, of crisis intervention and support services for victims, are significant barriers to ensuring women's safety.

We would like now to offer some recommendations related to the recent federal announcement of $10 million to address violence against women. We welcome this commitment from the federal government, and we commend our sisters at the Native Women's Association of Canada for their outstanding work. However, in our discussions with NWAC, they acknowledged that they were not able to undertake Inuit-specific research and certainly support Pauktuutit in our efforts to address violence against women. We would ask this committee to help us ensure there is an equitable allocation of these resources to enable Pauktuutit and its members in the communities and regions to undertake Inuit-specific initiatives.

There is a need for a national forum of Inuit women to identify their own priorities and action plans. We heard clearly at our recent AGM that the lack of housing options and safe shelters is a huge issue for all of our members, all of the women in the communities. For a woman in a fly-in community without a shelter, there may be no safety if she's not able to get on a plane and go to another community, and given the cost of air travel in this country, doing so may be simply prohibitive.

We heard one story of a woman in Nunavut who asked social services to relocate her from her community and her violent partner. Her request was denied, and the next day she was murdered. In January this year an Inuk woman in Nunatsiavut was murdered by her spouse. This must stop.

Child sexual abuse is also a significant priority for Inuit women. A study done by Pauktuutit in the early 1990s indicated that up to 85% of health care providers and social service workers were aware of specific incidents of child sexual abuse. We do not know what the rates are today. There are also Inuit children at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation in urban areas. My colleague Sandy will be appearing before the Dallaire round table tomorrow.

We need adequate resources to conduct research on the prevalence of child sexual abuse of Inuit children across the country. We know from research in the general population that women will often take steps towards leaving an abusive situation when their children are at risk. We also know that this is the time when they are at the greatest risk of being murdered. There is an urgent need for effective and safe interventions for Inuit children who are being sexually abused within their families.

Pauktuutit has developed significant expertise in issues related to violence against women and their children. We have a national strategy to prevent abuse, and we are currently working with Status of Women Canada on a two-year project on abuse prevention. One emphasis of this project is abuse prevention through developing the leadership skills of women. We've also developed an initial action plan and communications strategy on child sexual abuse in conjunction with some of our recent work on this issue.

We need the assistance of many partners, including the federal government, to undertake substantive and broad-reaching holistic initiatives to save the lives of Inuit women and children. We have brought some copies of some of our work for you, and we would be delighted to talk with you any time.

We'd like to end by sharing our vision for our abuse prevention strategy. That vision is of an Inuit society of healthy individuals who respect the past and embrace the future as Inuit and who live in support of families in caring communities. In our vision, violence and abuse are rare occurrences that are dealt with swiftly and justly according to Inuit ways. Abusers are held accountable for their actions, and both victims and abusers are supported in their healing process.

We thank you very much for your time today, and we're available any time. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Now we're going to move to the questions and answers. There will be one round of seven minutes each for questions and answers. I'd like everybody to be as brief as possible.

We will begin this first round with Anita Neville for the Liberals.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Thank you.

I thank you all very much for being here today.

As you're all undoubtedly aware, this is the first day of what will be, I suspect, a very substantial study on the question of violence against aboriginal women.

Before I ask a question, let me take the opportunity to publicly acknowledge Sisters In Spirit and the spectacular report they tabled today. I've had the opportunity to read it. It's comprehensive, detailed, and thoughtful, and it encompasses a whole host of issues. Congratulations to you on the work you've done, particularly on bringing the issue of the missing and murdered aboriginal women to light. It's just excellent.

I have so many questions that I don't know where to begin. Some of them are small, detailed ones, and some of them are sort of overarching larger questions. Because you are the first group we've had here to talk on the issue, I'm going to identify a couple of overarching issues and then ask whoever wants to comment to speak to them.

When I read the Sisters In Spirit report I was struck, Ms. Rexe, by your detailed discussion on the impact of colonization on women and communities.

I'll ask any one of you who wants to answer to speak to the issue of colonization, residential schools, and the impact that's had on women. That's one issue.

If we have time, I'd like you to talk about some of the root social issues you deal with.

Pauktuutit, you talked about housing and the challenges of housing. I've been in a number of first nations communities and have seen first-hand the challenges of housing. I was in the Northwest Territories and was flabbergasted by the cost of housing. I saw the shelters that women didn't move out of because they had nowhere to go, and the challenges of that. I'd like some comments on that.

I know it's a faraway issue, but how important do you see Canada's endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? Many have been calling for it for a very long time. I'd like some comments.

So let's start with those three. I suspect there won't even be time for that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Who would like to begin?

Ms. Rexe.

[Kate Rexe]

I'll make a very quick comment on the last question, because we can share the report that was recently released addressing issues of colonization against aboriginal women in Canada.

On the UN declaration, I can't speak as an authority for the Native Women's Association of Canada, but I do believe that if there is an endorsement of the UN declaration, tangible measures must be taken to ensure that the responsibilities and rights of aboriginal people, specifically first nations, Métis, and Inuit women, are recognized through the endorsement. So having the appropriate responses, services, and resources available to all women in communities and their families must also come along with any endorsement of rights as recognized internationally.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Would anyone else like to speak to that?

There were three questions here, so pick one.

[Chief Elizabeth Cloud]

On colonization, I would say what I heard my aunt say just a month ago. Our first nation has a municipal table with Lambton Shores. Obviously we're still getting over the effects of the Ipperwash crisis. I brought my aunt in to speak to the mayor and all of his colleagues and elected council members so they would understand the effects of the residential schools in my own community. The mayor and all of his council members, wards, were actually appalled to know that people who lived 10 miles down the road were taken when they were very small children.

My aunt went through a residential school, and she said, you know, I never knew how to love my children. That's what I raised, and those generational effects are still there today. It took away the ability of our grandparents to show love. When you can't show love in a family, it creates all sorts of social problems in that family.

So the effects of colonization, not only with the residential schools and other things, are still clearly felt in our communities today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Is there anyone else who wanted to tackle any of the other questions?

Go ahead, Ms. Johnson.

[Helene Johnson]

As a survivor of residential schools, I can speak on the effect of violence against women. There was so much lost within those schools. There was a lot of violence done to women, to girls and boys, but I'm a woman, so I can speak to that aspect.

When we left residential schools, unless you very consciously made a choice that you weren't going to perpetuate what was done to you in those schools... That's why we've got the intergenerational effect. I very consciously made a decision that I was not going to abuse my children, because what you learned in those schools was abuse, whether it was mental, physical, or sexual. But by the same token, I also didn't know how to discipline effectively. I knew what I wasn't going to do, but I didn't know what to do when it came to discipline, and you can feel it with my children and my grandchildren. Those effects, those behaviours, are still there.

It gets better and better with each generation. My daughter does stuff with my grandchildren. I don't know where she got it from; she sure as blazes never got it from me. She does crafts with them and does all these things. I never did that with my children because I didn't know how to play with them, and the reason is that I wasn't taught that in residential schools.

Getting over that and recognizing it, I think, is a big step.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Ms. Johnson.

I think we will move to the next round.

We will go to the Bloc and Mr. Desnoyers.