With RCMP report Canadians may now begin to listen

Now that the RCMP has offered its own startling figures on the number of murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls, those calling for a public national inquiry on the subject feel that Canadians will be willing to listen.

“A lot of the public and government agencies probably had the opinion that the numbers NWAC had come out with between 2005 and 2010 were inflated,” said Claudette Dumont-Smith, executive director of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. “Now that we’re seeing more than double (those figures) by an agency like the RCMP … I think it’s going to lend a lot of credence to the issue. That it really is an issue that is of great concern, and should be of great concern to all Canadians.”

On May 16, the RCMP released its report entitled Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview, indicating that 1,017 Indigenous women had been murdered and another 164 had gone missing between 1980 and 2012. That number is more than double the 582 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls that NWAC and Sisters in Spirit had counted.

“If we were talking about white women of that number who were missing – of either number… – there would be complete outrage across the country,” said Leigh Naturkach, manager of violence prevention programs with the Canadian Women’s Foundation. “When you look at what’s going on in Canada, racism and discrimination, this speaks to how we view Aboriginal women in this country.”

“There’s always (been a) disconnect or divide between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal,” said Dumont-Smith.

NWAC was made aware last fall by the RCMP that the force was collecting figures for murdered and missing Aboriginal women. Dumont-Smith says she believes the RCMP caved to public pressure in finally taking action as murders of Aboriginal women continued.

“This report is the most comprehensive data set that has ever been compiled by the Canadian police community on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. It comes as a result of extensive research and collaboration and it is our hope that it will contribute to the Canadian conversation on this very, very important subject,” said Janice Armstrong, Deputy Commissioner Contract and Aboriginal Policing, RCMP.

“I’m not at all surprised with the figures the RCMP came up with,” said Dumont-Smith.

The numbers established by NWAC were through secondary research sources, mostly newspaper reports that identified the missing or murdered women as Indigenous. In making its presentation to the special Commons committee report on violence against Aboriginal women, NWAC made it clear that it felt its numbers were low. While that sentiment was included in the confidential draft version obtained by CBC News, it was not part of the final report.

The draft report also called for a national commission of public inquiry into missing or murdered Aboriginal women; that recommendations was also not in the final report.

“We heard from our sources that the first draft was more factual, that the final report had been watered-down and we were not happy with what came out as a final report,” said Dumont-Smith.
The special all-party but Conservative-dominated committee was formed in February 2013 and almost from the beginning there was dissension. NWAC pulled out claiming it wasn’t given the voice it wanted.

Naturkach says statistics show that Aboriginal women are 3.5 times more likely to be victims of violence.

While Naturkach is frustrated that years of work by her organization and others, such as NWAC, on behalf of Aboriginal women have resulted in limited action, she is grateful that the RCMP’s findings will have an impact.

“Groups who have known these pieces and who have been talking to these issues for years… if it’s coming from a different body, a different message, as problematic as it is that it’s taken this long, the more voices who are talking about it, from whatever sector, is important,” she said.

“The purpose of this review was to validate and corroborate the research that had previously been conducted on this topic and to bolster it with police data,” said Tyler Bates, Director of National Aboriginal Policing, RCMP.

Naturkach says the Canadian Women’s Foundation will continue to push for a national public inquiry while continuing its programming focus of improving the lives of Aboriginal women.
“We absolutely applaud the Native Women’s Association and other groups who have been lobbying the federal government for years. We will continue to support them and be a voice for what they are trying to accomplish,” she said.

In United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya’s report released mid-May, Anaya referred to missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls as a “disturbing phenomena” and backed the call for a comprehensive, nation-wide inquiry.