They have every reason to be afraid. They are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, and we, as a country, are going to benefit when our communities are safer for indigenous women and girls.
MP Shin, it's not if there will be a second wave, it's how the second wave or the third wave will look and where it will hit hardest. In indigenous communities where there have been containment efforts, where communities have been in charge of their own health services, able to share their data, they've been able to respond really effectively. I want to thank them for that.
We are going to continue to support those who are providing shelters for indigenous women and girls on and off reserve. We are going to continue to ensure they are at the table and that we are hearing directly from them, and we are going to continue to ensure that they benefit from the various government supports in place right now so they are not made even more vulnerable because of COVID. Provinces and territories are also committed to this work, and I'm grateful to see multi-party support for this work in 2020 because indigenous communities have been let down by government for too long. We can do better, and we will.