I'm happy to speak to that.
I grew up in northern B.C. and even as a young girl going to elementary school and starting high school, if I were walking in my little town, I was being cruised by older men trying to pick me up. Physically, indigenous women are always targeted in this way and that hasn't changed in those small northern towns. Now one of the best places to look for indigenous women is along the highways where they're trying to hitchhike to go to visit a friend or go to a doctor's appointment, or for whatever reason.
So, yes, these transportation.... It's not just the Greyhound bus closing down, but also we have some other sectors that are providing services. You can only get on the health bus if you have a health issue and you have to have a prescription; or you can only get a ride into town if you're from one of the first nations communities, or if you have proof that you're going to see your doctor. It's ridiculous how that bus drives empty up and down the highways all day and through our communities because people don't have the right documentation to get a ride.
Yes, it could be better coordinated and better organized for our people.
Friendship centres are trying to provide little routes between centres. We have a few buses and cars up there, and we're trying to provide cellphones to make it safer for women who, indeed, actually have to hitchhike.
It isn't safe and we need to create more safety. We enjoy this kind of safety in the city. I can hop on a bus any time and go just about anywhere I want within the 50-mile radius, but up in the north that's absolutely not possible and it's not safe.