Bonjour. I will try to do this in English and in French, because sometimes my emotion is in French.
Violence against women is unacceptable in Canada. For all of us it's very important to understand why violence against aboriginal women is so common. You speak about men and the violence against young women--
I'll say this in French.
It is very important for us to understand this.
As Ms. Demers has said, we have another reality here. We know little about aboriginal women's reality and what we do know comes either from the media or from what we hear.
You have talked a lot about education and intergenerational problems. What can we do, the committee, the government and the opposition together, to provide as much help as possible for aboriginal women in this situation? How can we give you the best means to protect yourselves?
We have heard that the police in some communities are slow to intervene. Physical, verbal, emotional and sexual violence are unacceptable. So what can we do here to give you as much support as possible and help you to succeed as well as possible?