Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for raising the question because it shows interest from all members around the House. I think we all have to work together to address this problem.
A number of other federal government agencies and departments are also working on the issue with other levels of government and aboriginal organizations on many different initiatives to assist aboriginal women, in addition to the work underway at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Allow me to reiterate to the House that there are horizontal initiatives underway, such as the Vancouver agreement, which is developing alternative strategies and mechanisms to support urban aboriginal women. Furthermore, the Status of Women Canada, in particular, is making a commitment to fund national initiatives undertaken by aboriginal women's organizations on the issue of violence against aboriginal women.
The Department of Canadian Heritage is also focused on addressing violence against aboriginal women through the aboriginal women's program. This initiative enables aboriginal women to influence policies, programs, legislation and decision-making that affect their well-being. The Attorney General of Canada has implemented the national strategy on community safety and crime prevention, which provides support to projects supporting crime prevention and increasing the personal security of women and girls.
There is considerable effort underway with regard to ensuring that aboriginal women can achieve the equality of life which they so rightly deserve. Indian and Northern--