Justice committee  In regard to the in-person services for those elders who are privileged enough to still maintain their households, we worry about them at the indigenous level, but in regard to what we have instituted, you might have heard of bear patrol or mama patrol, those types of community-l

Justice committee  Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Let's just say [Technical difficulty—Editor].

Justice committee  [Technical difficulty—Editor] to say, “Grandma and Grandpa, you can't go out for a walk on your own because you might get lost.” Do you know how insulting that would be? Would you try that on your grandparents if they liked to walk around? I hardly think so. However, in order f

Justice committee  That's called the “dream list” for the elders. They would like to see elder lodges. We would like to see an elder lodge placed in every one of the 637 first nations communities across the country, all able to hire every kind of health care professional that they can within those

Justice committee  That becomes the jurisdictional issue—and, again, we're trying to get it to stop—between the health care provider having certain powers available to them and...why is there no indigenous health care access centre within those areas? Why is there no outreach being defined for that

Justice committee  If a report is going to be identified in the indigenous community at that level, then we have to think of a safe space for them to quickly go to. Once it's reported, how do we evacuate that nurse, the person, the people involved [Technical difficulty—Editor].

Justice committee  Not a problem. It was about evacuating people from any further harm, so removing all parties.

Justice committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Fortin. I will try to look at what it is in regard to the first nations specifically. In that community, we've been inundated via an exhausting list of external factors—drugs, loss of jobs, money, and under this current COVID environment, people being

Justice committee  It is the same reality. I think it's even increased when they get to an off-reserve environment. Due to the societal values and factors that come into play, they become victims within what was supposed to be a safe space for them. Their ability to catch a bus, their ability to si

Justice committee  If the current socio-economic conditions aren't addressed for the indigenous population, the violence against all members of that indigenous community, especially the most vulnerable—elders and children—will continue at its present rate and will increase. Therefore, addressing th

Justice committee  [Technical difficulty—Editor].

Justice committee  Thank you, Ms. Khalid. My name is Marilee Nowgesic. I am the chief executive officer for the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association. I am in the unceded Algonquin territory of the Anishinabe people. I am here in Ottawa. I am originally from Thunder Bay/Fort William First Nation