Mr. Speaker, indigenous women in this country carry a heavy burden on their backs beginning as children.
Countless families experience intergenerational traumatization. Indigenous women are three to five times more likely to experience violence than non-indigenous women. This traumatization is often explained as the root causes of violence. Alcohol, suicide, abuse, and victims of violence are symptoms of this underlying traumatization. The Auditor General reported his concern regarding overrepresentation of indigenous women in federal penitentiaries. Acts of violence are often committed by individuals for whom violence has become normalized, having themselves been victimized in childhood.
In northern Saskatchewan there are sparse options for access to shelters and limited support for victims and abusers. Individuals end up further entrenched in the cycle of abuse and poverty.
I call upon the government to urgently address these matters. We must act now.