Thank you, Ms. Loeppky. I think the time has ended for that.
Before I thank the panel for coming, we do have five minutes left. I did not ask a question in the last panel because we ran out of time, but I would like to now. There are some questions that came up from some of the members of the committee for which I felt I might like to get a more fulsome answer.
One of the things we heard, especially when we were in Saskatchewan, was that some women said they fall into a catch-22 situation. They come into town--because we're in Winnipeg, I'm speaking about off reserve. We are told that some of the issues on reserve can be dealt with on reserve. But when people come into the city, they face this whole mess of whose jurisdiction they are in, and it's a sort of lost area.
What we heard was that women would leave and come into the city, where they'd be afraid and they'd go to a shelter, where they may not be accepted, or only for a short period of time, and they would be facing the question of their children being taken away from them. In order to keep their children, they also have to have a place to live. When they are given welfare, it isn't enough, quite often, in the city to rent a place large enough for them and their children, so they therefore don't even qualify. It's a catch-22, and the children are then taken away. So the women are forced out of the home they know. They've come into a strange place in a city. They've not only lost their family ties, but they've lost their children. Their children are also traumatized from losing their family, and now a mother, who doesn't seem to want to take care of them, as far the kids are concerned, because she doesn't have a place to keep them.
It's a vicious cycle. It doesn't really solve any of the problems--and we know housing is one of the issues. I'd like to hear what you think we can do.
I have a real concern about the issue of urban aboriginal women who face violence, because I think we have to find a way to stop this jurisdictional problem. If the federal government, as far as I'm concerned, has a fiduciary responsibility to aboriginal people, I believe that responsibility should be there no matter where the aboriginal people live and no matter what the issues are. It's about health. It's about their children. It's about safety. It's about security. It's about housing. These issues should be taken care of and not be left in the provincial jurisdiction. The province, really, is left holding the bag for a lot of these services, and these women fall in between the cracks. This violence and this problem continue.
What do you suggest? I'm asking you a question and I'd like you to speak very frankly. It doesn't mean you're going to do it, but I would like you to find a response to this, because it is the problem.
Mr. Robinson.