Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all for being here this morning.
As you're undoubtedly aware, the study this committee is undertaking is on violence against aboriginal women. I have a number of questions.
The aboriginal affairs committee did a review of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation as well. I'm specifically concerned about how your programs are responding to the issues of violence against women. You've given us a view, a substantial listing of funding and program dollars, increases, decreases, reallocations, whatever. But we know that with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation...the native women's shelter in Montreal had to close its doors. We know that the—I hope I pronounce it correctly—Minwaashin Lodge in Ontario had to close its doors. We know that Tamara's House in Saskatchewan had to close its doors. And we know that there were other funded programs that dealt directly with violence against women.
I'm interested in knowing what focus is given specifically to the issues related to violence against women. We know that the legacy of residential schools is wide-reaching and profound, but our focus is on violence against aboriginal women. I'd like to hear your comments.
One other question I'd like to ask is one the analyst prepared. I understand, and we know, that there was a recommendation that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation be funded, that funding be continued, because the evaluation of it was positive.
Do you have any information not available to the evaluators that contributed to the non-renewal of funds for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, as was recommended? If so, could you share that with the committee?