Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition on behalf of the Native Women's Association of Canada, which urges the government to hold a national public inquiry into the ongoing tragedy of the drastically disproportionate numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada. The petition also calls on the government to involve those most affected by this tragic issue, aboriginal women, in the design and implementation of this inquiry.
I would like to take the opportunity to recognize that the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, Michèle Audette, is on the Hill today, with Elder Annie St. Georges and loved ones of the victims, to speak about their online petition which also calls for a national inquiry. It has more than 17,000 signatures.