I'm going to call the meeting to order. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), this committee is doing a study on violence against aboriginal women.
We are looking at the root causes of that violence, the extent of the violence, and the nature of the violence. By that, we mean not just domestic violence but societal violence--if there's any present generic violence of any other kind. The nature of the violence means whether it is psychological, physical, sexual...there are different types of violence. Or is it in fact discrimination, which is in itself a major form of violence against people, especially if it's racism?
Having said that, I'm hoping that we will be able to get our witnesses to speak to some of those issues.
Many of you here know how this works. There's going to be a seven-minute presentation. I will give you a two-minute and a one-minute signal, because if we don't do that, we have so many presenters that we won't have any time for questions. After those presentations there will be a question and answer period in which you can expand on some of the things you may not have been able to say in your seven-minute presentation.
We will begin with the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development and Barbara Lawless.