Thank you, Madam Chair.
Welcome to all of you. My question is for all of you.
Mr. Lanigan, you scared me a little when you said that it would take between 10 and 15 years to meet social housing needs, because you may be right. This would mean that, if we want to fight violence against women, we have decided to focus on poverty and the lack of housing, since these are some of the main reasons why there is violence against women.
I have a question for Ms. Mitchell. In 2005, there was a shortfall of between 20,000 to 35,000 housing units on aboriginal reserves. In 2006, 26% of natives living on reserve were living in overcrowded housing conditions. As for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, that figure stood at 40%.
Does the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development have a strategy to counter this problem? Indeed, it is a fact that overcrowded housing is one of the main factors that lead to violence against women.