Families disappointed in missing/murdered women report

Bridget Tolley is concerned that while politicians hammer out the need for a national public inquiry into murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls, those who are supposed to be at the centre of the issue will be forgotten.

“A national inquiry would tell a lot, but how many years are we going to stand around calling for this while nothing is being done, and, in the meantime, can’t we start using that money and looking after our women?” asked an emotional Tolley.

The push for a national inquiry suffered a major setback in early March when the Conservative-dominated all-party committee examining the issue of murdered and missing Aboriginal women tabled its report and failed to recommend the government take that big step.

Tolley, who is Algonquin from the Kitigan Zibi reserve and the co-founder of Families of Sisters in Spirit, made a presentation to the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women in which she called for a national public inquiry. She was among the two dozen organizations the committee heard from along with government departments, various policing organizations, and individuals.

It was a difficult presentation to make, said Tolley, who is still waiting for justice for her mother Gladys. She was struck and killed by a Quebec police cruiser 12-and-a-half years ago. There has been no admission of wrongdoing from the Sûreté du Québec.

And Tolley’s family is not the only one hurting.

“In Vancouver, they’ve marched for 23 years. How many more generations do we have to march?” Tolley asked. “It’s really hard for us to keep fighting against a government that refuses to help.”

Tolley would rather see some money spent on improving health, education and living conditions on reserves and increasing the number of beds in shelters and healing programs.

“We know what needs to be done. Why don’t we start doing something now?” she asked.

Tolley said 18 years of reports and provincial inquiries have already been carried out on the issue with few recommendations implemented.

“All we keep doing is reports and reports and all that keeps happening is more women and girls go missing.”

Tolley is not convinced that a change in government will have much impact on a national inquiry, noting that neither leader for the federal Liberals or federal NDP have made the commitment. However, both the Liberal and NDP members on the special committee wrote dissenting opinions, which included their own recommendations.

“We should really all be working together to do this,” said Tolley. “It has become so political that the women have been forgotten.”
The special committee was formed in February 2013 and almost from the beginning there was dissension. The Native Women’s Association of Canada stopped its involvement claiming the role it was given was not the role NWAC wanted. When the committee tabled its report, NWAC president stated in a news release, “This report fails to show the needed commitment and resources to adequately address this ongoing tragedy – a tragedy that is a reflection on Canada as a whole.”

Prior to the release of the report, NWAC delivered a petition with 23,000 signatures calling for a national public inquiry. NWAC also issued a statement listing eight families who had been recently impacted by the death of a female member. The Sisters-in-Spirit initiative identified 528 Aboriginal women and girls who have gone missing or been murdered between 2005 and 2010.

The Assembly of First Nations released a statement claiming the report “disappoints victims and families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and does not go far enough to address the issue….”

In July 2013, the AFN released a National Action Plan aimed at ending violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Recommendations from that plan included the implementation and fulfilment of treaties, First Nations control over lands and resource revenues, and developing a United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ implementation strategy.
Representatives from AFN and NWAC were joined less than a week after the special committee’s report was tabled by representatives from the Congress of Aboriginal People, the Metis National Council, and National Association of Friendship Centres to discuss strategy.

A news release issued by CAP following the meeting stated, “It was unanimously agreed upon that a national inquiry into missing and murdered women and girls must be undertaken and that all Aboriginal organizations work together in developing a collaborative approach.”

Also calling for a national public inquiry is the Canadian Bar Association, which represents the majority of lawyers in the country.

“We think it’s the effective tool to have a voice for this issue,” said Aimee Craft, past chair of the CBA’s National Aboriginal Law Section. “When you have violations of human rights and unequal treatment, that’s enough to sound an alarm. The fact that the situation persists for an extended period of time may be enough to call a national inquiry.”

Craft maintains that while the newest report aims at continuing the changes that are occurring in the system and institutions, it does not address individual and systemic racism. She says the national inquiry would do that and could be tasked with examining existing reports and appraising existing recommendations.

Craft adds there is no guarantee that whatever recommendations come out of a national inquiry would be implemented. However, those recommendations would be an “effective tool” for lobbying for action, she said.