Thank you, Chair.
Thanks to all the witnesses. I appreciate your time and your work. I have a very limited questioning time, so I hope you can answer my questions really quickly.
I would appreciate hearing from both the Department of Justice and the Public Health Agency to help me reconcile the Public Health Agency saying that a prime directive is to ensure the justice system is appropriate to deter offenders and is sensitive to the needs of victims, with having the justice department saying the prosecution is in the hands of the provinces and the federal role is more in programming.
The corollary we've expressed around the table is our concern about under-reporting of domestic violence. If it's so in the headlines for grown-up women, young women, and girls, and if they experience sexual violence, how on earth are they ever going to feel confident about coming forward and reporting?
I'm hoping you'll tell me that your respective departments are internally talking about what you can do to further encourage victims to come forward, what kinds of reforms you might be contemplating through the criminal justice system to better accommodate victims of sexual crimes, and what a national action plan to fight violence against women might do to connect the provincial response and our national response.
Any insight there?