My name is Rob Clarke. I'm from one of the first nations. I believe I met some of you on the aboriginal affairs committee, actually, which I sit on, or maybe you came to my office to meet with me.
I'm not usually sitting on this committee, but I'm very honoured to be actually coming in and listening to some of the issues here about aboriginal women.
My home reserve is in Muskeg Lake, right in the middle of Saskatchewan. One of the interesting parts of my constituency is the great portion of northern Saskatchewan that's in my riding, two-thirds of the province, and about 72% are aboriginal. That's where my background comes into play. Being a former RCMP member of 18 years, almost all my service was dealing with the non-aboriginal population, the Métis, and the first nations in northern and remote Saskatchewan. I've seen the best in people, and I've seen the worst in people. I know what people are capable of doing to each other and to the aboriginal women and the aboriginal men, and it's a cycle. Somehow we have to address the cycle to stop it from all angles.
Coming through here and to your communities—and many of you have travelled a great deal on your own time and probably on your own money from your pockets just to come here to testify—I'm very thankful that you came to relay your stories to us so the regular committee members can take that back and put it in the report to bring it before the House of Commons.
Again, thank you very much.