Health committee  I believe you have somebody coming next week who may be able to speak to that more specifically, because my research really focuses on indigenous women.

Health committee  What steps do I think could improve data reporting? From my understanding, going back at least 10 years, you already have the data. It just needs to be put together in a certain way to present it in terms of knowing the rates of sterilization across the country for aboriginal peo

Health committee  The majority of my work has been historical. The historical documents that I've looked at show that in those cases, the federal government was able to query those hospital records. I don't have access.

Health committee  It's all right, I understand French.

Health committee  I'll qualify this by saying that you're asking me, so you're getting my opinions. There are laws in Canada for things such as assault, and the very fact that forced sterilization is not considered a crime under existing law is part of the problem. Whether or not a law is put in

Health committee  Yes, there were over 1,000.

Health committee  Yes.

Health committee  I'm saying that, based on my reading of the historical record, a consistent concern of the Canadian government and Indian policy has been to reduce the number of Indians, undermine indigenous connections to the land and reduce expenditures.

Health committee  That's right.

Health committee  Thank you for having me today and for considering this issue. I've been researching and thinking about the issue of coerced sterilization for over 10 years now. I want to highlight that indigenous women have been experiencing this issue for much longer than that. I also want to