She said the probe has been called as a result of the “courageous women and families” who knew something was very wrong and the “vulnerability and injustice that has to stop”.
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The coalition on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, a group initially formed in response to B.C.’s Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, released a statement Wednesday sounding the alarm on “gaps in the framework that stand to undermine the good intentions that have led to the formation of the inquiry”.
In most cases, the perpetrators were known to the victims. In 2013 Human Rights Watch issued a report on police treatment of indigenous women in northern British Columbia that documented not only police failures to protect indigenous women from violence, but also police abuse of these women and girls. It’s expected to be completed at the end of 2018.
The federal government also announced that $16.17-million will be provided to create family information liaison units in each province as well as increase victims services funding to provide what it called “culturally appropriate services” to families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and survivors of violence.
“We can not move forward until we face and recognise and put a stop to this ongoing tragedy. Our indigenous women and girls lives depend on it”.
Although Canada is generally considered to be at the forefront of women’s rights with a gender-balanced cabinet, its indigenous female population has faced decades of violence – and now the government is determined to find out why. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government appointed five commissioners to prepare a report with recommendations for addressing the problem.
No Atlantic Canada representation among appointed commissionersHart Perley from Tobique First Nation in N.B. travelled to Halifax to take part in the January 20 meeting about an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.
Achneepineskum worked in Indigenous legal services for 23 years, and recalls families telling her they believed the death of their loved one wasn’t “accidental”, as it had been labelled by police.
“I think the worldwide community in general is looking to see Canada live up to the human rights principles and values that it espouses”, said Meghan Rhoad, with Human Rights Watch in Washington, D.C.
Alex Neve, executive director of Amnesty International Canada, welcomed the inquiry but also said “there are still doubts, uncertainty and concern” as to how it will examine Canada’s police and justice systems and include provincial and territorial governments.
“I know that they are extraordinary people, I know they fully appreciate and understand the sacredness of the role they’ve all just agreed to, and they will do everything within their power to ensure that the national inquiry meets its mandate.
We recognize that five people can not represent the diversity of our country and NWAC will work with the National Inquiry to ensure that all voices that need to be heard will be heard”.
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“Systems that are broken need to be fixed”, Bellegarde said.
