The federal government is preparing to mark the end of its work to shape the design and scope of the inquiry examining missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.
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” ‘When you look at the real depth and breadth of this tragedy, it’s way bigger than we had thought, ‘ Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said at a news conference with Minister for the Status of Women Patty Hajdu this week in Ottawa”.
Justice Canada is also putting an additional $16.17 million toward “family information liaison units” in provinces and territories, tasked with offering support and seeking information on behalf of families.
The United Nations and other worldwide human rights bodies and non-governmental organizations have all issued reports on the almost 1,200 indigenous women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government appointed five commissioners to prepare a report with recommendations for addressing the problem.
The government budgeted more than 53 million dollars for the inquiry.
BBC reporter Joanna Jolly went on the trail of the murdered and missing to find out why so many of Winnipeg’s Aboriginal women and girls have been killed.
Mary Teegee said it is a good day because “finally the nation has validated that there is an issue in the country of Canada” and that it is “finally an acknowledgement that indigenous lives of girls and women matter”.
We know why our women are going missing.
“We know that the inquiry cannot undo the injustices that indigenous peoples have suffered over decades, but we can review what’s happened in the past, reflect on our present circumstances, and chart a path moving forward”. The Vancouver Sun says the new inquiry will benefit from British Columbia’s experience in “trying to tackle one of Canada’s most troubling social issues”.
But she survived, which gave the long-time Edmonton advocate a unique insight into the thousands of Indigenous women who have not survived in Canada.
The inquiry, led by B.C.’s first female First Nations judge, Marion Buller, will begin on September 1, 2016, and last two years. The families of the victims in particular wanted all Indigenous women to lead the report. “But more importantly, I believe that they will do everything that they can to honour MMIWG families and their particular loved ones”. They are also more likely to be incarcerated or be victims of violent crime and addiction.
“I really want to assure the indigenous population that the police will co-operate fully with all facets of the inquiry”, Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said Tuesday. It will also examine policing and child welfare practices.
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Through her involvement with the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal over the last 17 years, executive director Nakuset says she’s witnessed enormous progress in the city’s aboriginal community. “We need to start working as of right now, in collaboration with indigenous chiefs and leaders and every level of government to help indigenous women and improve their living conditions”.
