Thank you, Deputy Grand Chief.
In terms of intimate partner violence and violence against indigenous women, we know that the root causes are so much bigger than just finding programs that work and so forth. It really has to do with poverty and the lack of housing, the lack of infrastructure, and the lack of clean drinking water that our people have experienced for decades.
There's a lack of housing and there's inadequate infrastructure. Our families and our people have lived in poverty for so long. They have had no way of ensuring safety in our communities. That all plays into that factor of ensuring that people have guaranteed livable income and that our families, and our women especially, are lifted out of poverty and empowered in terms of regaining their roles within their communities.
It's all interconnected. I'm sure everyone knows that. The issues are larger than just looking at programming for women who are experiencing violence. It's much larger and it's interconnected. Obviously, it's related to colonialism and the systemic violence that our people experience.
Meegwetch.