Thank you.
We have heard of the program in Saskatchewan, which is definitely positive. We'd certainly love to see it extend across the country. We were heartened to hear from Status of Women officials a few weeks ago that in fact there is an examination into why the criteria isn't being met by the vast majority of indigenous women's organizations. We certainly encourage that process because clearly two out of 62 organizations is unacceptable.
Minister, I have had the chance over the last number of weeks to hear from service providers, advocates, lawyers, shelter and transition house workers, all who work in the area of violence against women. Most recently I had a chance to be in British Columbia to hear from people on the ground there.
What I've been hearing from people across the country is very similar in messaging, a kind of frustration the people at the front lines are facing as a result of cutbacks, particularly from the federal government. In fact in the NGO community we are hearing from people that are saying they are effectively subsidizing the work of government and that when it comes to their priorities, accessing short-term project funding does not give them the kind of security and stability to deal with critical issues in the area of violence against women.
My question is about how you would respond directly to these service providers who are telling us that the granting programs of your department do not meet their needs.