At a press conference held on August 3, 2016 the federal government announced the launch of the official inquiry into Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. Justice Minister Jody Wilson Raybould said “We need to identify the causes of those disparities and take action now”.
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Alex Neve, executive director of Amnesty International Canada, told Al Jazeera that “there are still doubts, uncertainty and concern” about the extent to which the inquiry will be able to investigate Canada’s federal and provincial justice systems and police forces. “Judge Buller-Bennett will bring leadership and experience to this important and historic process”.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in 2014 that 1,017 aboriginal women had been murdered between 1980 and 2012.
The commission is empowered to compel witnesses to testify, as a court is.
Mary Teegee, with the Carrier Sekani Family Services, said the federal government’s decision to call the inquiry finally acknowledges there is a problem in Canada.
Dinah Shelton came to Canada to learn more about the issue in 2013 when she was rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an arm of the Organization of American States. Trudeau’s plan stipulates inquiry into missing indigenous women, investments in indigenous people’s education, as well as and an overview of the legislation imposed on indigenous people by the previous governments.
Bridget Perrier, whose adoptive daughter’s biological mother was killed by British Columbia pig farmer and mass murderer Robert Pickton between 1999 and 2002, said police accountability is imperative to understanding why Indigenous women disappear and die.
For over a decade, Indigenous community leaders and human rights advocates across Canada have urged Ottawa to formulate a national strategy to address high rates of violence against Indigenous women and girls.
The provinces and territories had to support the inquiry terms of reference to allow the commissioners to examine issues that cross jurisdictional boundaries, including policing and child welfare.
As for the $16-million being provided to the provinces to create a family liaison unit within their victim services programs, Doyle-Bedwell said the amount falls short of what is needed to help families and survivors. It focused on women reported missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside between 1997 and 2002.
The reports from global human rights groups have included recommendations on how police handle investigations involving missing or murdered indigenous females and also on how to deal with allegations of police misconduct.
The inquiry is to start at the beginning of September and, according to the government, run through the end of 2018, at a cost of $53.9 million Canadian dollars (more than $40 million USA dollars).
Williams, who works with women and victims of violence, said she’s not sure she’s ready to embrace this inquiry.
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Overall, said Jarrett, Wednesday’s announcement was a positive one, and she added Saunders’ family wasn’t willing to let her death be in vain. North Wilson said. “They are the ones who deserve the credit for the fact that we are now talking about an inquiry because they pushed the issues”.
