All right. That's wonderful.
I'm so impressed and so grateful that we get to hear from you ladies tonight. I have to say that I'm a little frustrated, because I like things to happen and get done, and to hear that it's been 30 years.... We are at a significant crossroads at this point, so I have a question for the three of you, and I'm thinking especially for Dr. Eichler.
We know from testimony at our last meeting that an organization called the Survivor Perspectives Consulting Group is already working in the field of military sexual trauma, with men and women in the military, at that level where the choice is for a “permanent, independent external oversight mechanism”, informed by the voices of lived experiences. Is that something that you would see as absolutely vital? That's my first question, because I was so overwhelmed with excitement over that program.
Secondly, there's the research that we're hearing we do not have in Canada. If we start at the ground level, how long will that take? I am wondering if, for you, as researchers, you would be at the place where you would tell the government that in the United States they have robust research that they have worked on. Would we not be wise to inform the government with a recommendation that our researchers get that information and be able to review it, while at the same time survivors are sharing their life experiences and beginning to heal throughout the military?
Have they used all these various types of research? What have they found out? What can we use or draw on for our best practices, at least to a certain level, while we look at the gaps that are still here for women in Canada who serve in the military? What is the perspective on that?
Are we looking at starting at the ground level again, rather than taking advantage of what already exists with regard to women in the military? That's my question.