Again, I want to thank the ministers for being here today and providing us with such a comprehensive overview of Bill S-2.
I used to work in the downtown eastside in Vancouver where I was a native youth and family worker and there I saw the effects of not having Bill S-2, where women and children were routinely on the streets because they were not able to stay in their matrimonial homes. So I also believe that this is a very important bill and one whose time has come. I think, as we've heard today in terms of saving lives, this will create safe places for women and children to stay in, as well as give equal rights to women.
I want to ask Minister Valcourt about the centre of excellence, because in my work there, as well as over the many years that I've done policy and program development for different levels of government, we recognize indeed that building capacity is very important.
Therefore, I was struck by the addition of the centre of excellence, which I think is a brilliant idea. It's not a presupposed formula, so that centre of excellence is there to assist and support the various communities and first nations to implement their own laws and acts. Where that doesn't happen within a certain time frame, my understanding is that the federal rules will apply.
So I'd like to ask the minister about how this centre of excellence is going to transfer the knowledge, information, and education about rights to these various communities across Canada and also create the centre of excellence to provide links, supports, and program expertise, all of the things the opposition members are talking about, and provide access to all those things, to existing experts and program services for those women and children who so need this Bill S-2.
Thank you.