Mr. Speaker, in September the federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for the status of women agreed to host a policy forum with aboriginal women in 2006 to discuss violence.
The objective of the forum is to give aboriginal women an opportunity to share their experiences and make suggestions for solutions. It will also strengthen the collective capacity to address issues of violence and mobilize governments and aboriginal organizations to develop policy initiatives to help reduce the rate of violent incidences.
Violence against anyone is unacceptable, but the violence experienced by women is part of a wider social problem that requires special attention. Providing a forum to explore ways to deal with this issue is another step toward finding effective solutions. Unfortunately, violence against women is a significant and persistent social and economic problem in our country.
I ask my hon. colleagues to join me in commending the ministers for initiating this event.