I will speak. I'm Assistant Commissioner Bob Paulson.
Madam Chair, hon. members of the committee, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak about violence against Aboriginal women in Canada.
As you know, the RCMP, in partnership with other police services, has an important role to play in making our communities safe. We are the provincial police service in eight out of ten provinces. We provide police services to the territories and many municipalities throughout Canada. As such, we also provide essential police services to first nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.
Aboriginal communities are one of the RCMP's five strategic priorities. Violence of any kind in aboriginal communities, as in any other Canadian community, concerns us. Prevention, education, and enforcement are areas where we are focused and actively improving our efforts. The key to reducing violence is the need to have broad and meaningful engagement across all levels of government and civil society.
I have my colleague, Chief Superintendent Russ Mirasty, and other colleagues here with me today and we will be happy to tell you about our initiatives and answer any questions.
Merci.