Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to both of the witnesses.
I'm hoping that you can paint a picture for us that starts even earlier, of the factors that are bringing indigenous women into the justice system and into incarceration in the first place. Then, what is the collateral damage for their extended families? How can that perpetuate more interactions with the justice system and the penal system?
I'm elected in British Columbia. We have terrible stories, again and again, of trauma, including sexual abuse, which can set women apart who are living in poverty in B.C. Many of them are indigenous and are vulnerable because of the economic injustice that puts them into situations that are less safe. Because of trauma, this maybe gets them into addiction, which can exacerbate interactions with the criminal justice system.
Can you talk more about that history and the cycle of violence we're seeing, which can affect the next generation as well?
That's to both witnesses, Vicki Chartrand from Bishop's University, and Véronique Picard from Quebec Native Women.