After years of pressure from aboriginal communities, family members, advocates, human rights groups and frontline workers, the federal government finally announced details of the long-awaited inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
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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”.
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.
Although former Prime Minister Stephen Harper rejected the idea claiming enough studies have been done, the launch of the new federal inquiry honours an election campaign commitment previous year by Justin Trudeau’s victorious Liberals.
The Liberal government originally committed $40-million over two years to conduct the inquiry.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found in 2014 that 1,017 aboriginal women had been murdered between 1980 and 2012.
They will study and report on the roots of the violence that indigenous women and girls experience. It will also examine policing and child welfare practices.
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. 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”.
Buller was named to the provincial court bench in 1994 after a law career that included serving as commission counsel for the Cariboo-Chilcotin Justice Inquiry into how indigenous people are treated by the legal system.
Five commissioners, headed by Marion Buller, the first female First Nations judge in British Colombia, are overseeing the investigation, which will cost around $41 million. “I do have hope that we’ll make progress for indigenous women in Canada through the inquiry”.
The four other commissioners are former Quebec Native Women’s Association president Michèle Audette, Saskatchewan Métis lawyer Marilyn Poitras, Ontario First Nations lawyer Brian Eyolfson and Nunavut-raised lawyer Qajaq Robinson.
“The appointment of a northerner to the commission is encouraging”, said the ministers.
“Violence against women and girls, especially Indigenous women and girls, is a systemic human rights issue”.
Posters of missing women hang at a Vancouver shop in 2001.
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Smith said when her sister, Claudette Osborne, went missing from Winnipeg in 2008, the police gave them little more than a file number. “Obviously, there’s a lack of respect for women and girls on reserves”, he said, throwing part of the blame back at native communities. “The B.C. government is pleased to confirm B.C.’s support for, and intention to participate fully in, the national inquiry”.
