Good morning.
I want to thank all the witnesses for coming.
We are here as the House of Commons committee pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) to look at the issue of violence against aboriginal women.
When we speak to the issue of violence, we're looking at the scope of violence. We mean every kind of violence, not simply physical violence or sexual violence, but emotional violence, systemic violence. We're looking at the causes of it. What are the root causes that make aboriginal women the victims of such a high level of violence? So those are the things we're looking at, and, with you, we're looking at trying to find solutions, of course within the federal jurisdiction, that are practical and that will actually make a difference.
This is an issue people have been dealing with for as long as I can remember, for as long as I have been a member of Parliament, and yet we have been able to do very little about it. I know that, necessarily, government and Parliament cannot do anything about it, but there may be things we can facilitate, legislation we can pass, policies we can make, or whatever is within our jurisdiction to begin to look at making a difference. We're hoping that we will do that with your assistance, with your input, so that we do the most effective things for change that we can do. So thank you for coming.
Normally we give everyone ten minutes to present. I notice there are four groups in the first bit. I think if we allow for a ten-minute presentation from everyone, we will not have any opportunity to interact. What I wanted to do, even though this is a quasi-formal meeting, is to have something that is recorded but not as formal. So I'd like each of you to introduce yourself—I'm going to give you about three minutes—and to give a quick synopsis of what it is you think, what you feel based on what we talked about earlier on, and what I said was the mandate. Then we can open it up to a more interactive kind of discussion, where we may ask questions, you can ask us questions, so that we can sort of get a dialogue going, as opposed to having some sort of formal hearing.
How do you feel about that? Does that sounds good? Okay.
So why don't we start with the Fredericton Native Friendship Centre, with Tamara Polchies, and then we will go in order so that we can move through. Then when you finish, I think all of us around the table will be given a minute--not three--to introduce ourselves and to say where we're from, so that you know who we are.