The federal government has announced the beginning of a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal woman and girls.
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The inquiry comes after consistent pressure on the government to look into the almost 1,200 RCMP documented cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls between 1980 and 2012.
The announcement marks a strong contrast from the previous Conservative government, during which then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeatedly rejected the idea of an inquiry for missing and murdered Indigenous women, saying it was “not high on our radar”.
He also reiterated numerous pledges he made on the campaign trail before the October vote that saw large numbers of First Nations people turn out to the polls and 10 indigenous people elected – two of whom were named to Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet.
That includes: establishing an inquiry on missing women, implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and eliminating the education “funding gap” that discriminates against aboriginal children taught on reserves.
Among those recommendations is a public inquiry into the tragic phenomenon of missing and murdered aboriginal women, something to which the Liberal government has already committed.
The prime minister is expected highlight the need to develop a nation-to-nation relationship with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples – a promise repeated in Friday’s throne speech.
Moving forward, the Liberal government will begin engaging with survivors, family members, and loved ones of victims, as well as National Aboriginal, provincial, and territorial representatives in order to gain perspective on the design and scope of the inquiry.
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Status of Women Minister Patricia Hajdu are scheduled to announce the details of a pre-inquiry consultation process in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon.
At this mornings Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau, Quebec, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke about reconciliation.
“This is going to be done in a different way, in a more substantive fashion, where families and victims are going to be heard from first and foremost”.
Coon Come said, however, he is hopeful about the new government’s approach.
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The Liberals have promised to spend two years and $40 million on the study. “That’s one of the pieces we’re starting with because we think that getting those attitudes will allow us to help shift those attitudes so that those women are treated differently in society in general and in the justice system in particular”.
