Status of Women committee  Well, I really believe that we have to take the preventative measures and reach, as we are at this moment...we have a program for young girls. I think the lack of programs has resulted in all of these bad statistics. I've said this: if you have no money, you have no rights. So I

Status of Women committee  I want every parliamentarian and every leader--provincial, federal, and municipal--to be aware of and proclaim the injustice to aboriginal women.

Status of Women committee  Yes. The consultation and the representation can easily be addressed by giving the representative the resources to consult with her own women. It's not impossible. You don't send someone there out of the blue; you send them there empowered with the voice of the women, and those a

Status of Women committee  The amount of money is not sufficient; $23 million is nothing. Divide it up across the country and you have nothing. The question, as I understand it, was how can we better appropriate the funding to realize some results. Number one, stop the $10,000 to $20,000. They have denied

Status of Women committee  We had a declaration on the Decade of Difference for aboriginal women, which we proclaimed in 2005. A man and his wife drove all the way from High Prairie, Alberta, which is quite a way up north, to be there. What he said to me, and I admire him for his courage, was, “The woman g

Status of Women committee  The saddest story I ever heard was from a mother who gave birth to her baby and a worker came in and said, “I'll watch the baby and you can take a shower.” When she came back, the baby was gone. If as a mother you lost your newborn, you'd go crazy—and that is what happens. It's s

Status of Women committee  I first want to compliment the government on endorsing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This is, to my mind, a very hopeful and very real opportunity for all of us as Canadians to address the needs of aboriginal women in full consultation with them. For every

Status of Women committee  I'm pleased to agree on the screening of judges—and they should be screened before they become judges—and also police officers in recruiting. Especially police officers should be screened as to their prejudices and their biases and their discrimination against aboriginal women.

Status of Women committee  Oh, I'm so glad you asked that question. No, there aren't, because of the lack of funding at the regional level. The money all goes to the national organizations.

Status of Women committee  Oh, no. We never.... That's totally unreasonable for them to give us money, and I mean that in every—

Status of Women committee  No.

Status of Women committee  Because the rule of the government is that only the national organizations will be funded.

Status of Women committee  Well, the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women has been pleading and asking for stable funding, core funding, any kind of stable funding that will keep our doors open, because we have 16 chapters, but one of the greatest difficulties we face is that we have projects.

Status of Women committee  An example, a real example, was Linda Bull, a professor at Athabasca University in this province. She was accused of shoplifting in the Safeway. She was so shocked and so disillusioned, and so angry and so frustrated. They eventually apologized to her, because of course it was no

Status of Women committee  I would certainly advise that there be consultation before the implementation of the bill. It's critical that the women be consulted, because, as you say, it could possibly result in more violence and more disruption. It's long overdue, but it's just one in the list of many viola