Mr. Gargan, I agree with your comments that aboriginal women suffer greatly at the hands of stereotypes. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if I went down to the police station this weekend and said, "constable, I have been raped," that my complaint would be dealt with differently than if I were an aboriginal woman, either in this community or in other communities in the territories. There is no doubt in my mind about that. I will be afforded greater credibility because I am white, and that is wrong.
One of the points which I am trying to make in the report is that the problem with credibility extends across gender lines as well. Generally speaking, women, be they white or aboriginal, are not afforded the same credibility that men are. When I go to a bank to ask to borrow money I have more difficulty doing that because I am a woman. When I go into a police station and want to complain about something I have more difficulty because I am a woman. Within the culture of women, aboriginal women suffer from that tremendously.
With respect to the question of apprising within the education system, other means to dispute resolution, I believe that is canvassed in the recommendations. Specifically in the third recommendation, I have suggested that not only should people be taught the present system, so that they have an understanding of it, because I believe that the power to cause change comes through that knowledge, I have also suggested that there be a comparison of other means to dispute resolution and problem solving that are used in different cultures.
I do not think that we should go into this process with the assumption that the way in which things are presently done is right. I think we ought to look at all of the options and see what best suits our needs in this jurisdiction. I think this jurisdiction has unique opportunities to be creative in how it deals with these issues. In being creative we must look to dispute resolution mechanisms that have existed long before western European methods were ever brought to the Northwest Territories. Your comments in this respect are reflected in the report and I think they reflect the concern of many people in the territories.