Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Minister.
First of all, thank you for the white ribbon. I think it's important to acknowledge the fear and the pain that women who are abused face. Also, I regard this as a remembrance of Jack Layton, the co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign to end violence.
Minister, you are certainly welcome here today. It's been quite a while. In fact, I think it was March 2012 since the Minister of Status of Women has been to this committee. Since it's your committee I know your appearance here—and the more often the better in the future—would be most appreciated.
My first question is in regard to the 2010 Native Women's Association collection of data. As you know, that was collecting data on the nearly 600 missing and murdered indigenous women. Unfortunately, that money was diverted away by the government from Sisters in Spirit, and since that time, there have been no new numbers. We know that the violence continues and that more indigenous women are missing, trafficked, kidnapped, and even killed.
Last year we saw an overwhelming consensus among the premiers of Canada, as well as the AFN and NWAC, calling for a national inquiry and action plan into missing and murdered indigenous women. The NDP, as I'm sure you know, has also called for this inquiry.
Violence against missing and murdered aboriginal women, against indigenous women, in general, has been studied almost 30 times by this Parliament and previous Parliaments, yet recommendations from these studies seem not to be implemented. They seem to, as the president of NWAC said, go on a shelf.
Will your government conduct the inquiry that's been asked for?