Inquiry forges ahead despite growing criticism

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2017 (3045 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The national inquiry for missing and murdered Indigenous women announced its schedule Thursday, including a stop in Winnipeg in October, but local advocates say their faith in it likely can’t be restored.

The head of the inquiry denied the process is drifting, saying she believes it’s moving at “lightning speed.” Marion Buller announced Thursday the inquiry will hold nine community hearings across Canada this fall, amid controversy over the resignation of executive director Michele Morneau and complaints from families about delays and poor communication.

Buller was asked about comments made by Manitoba Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson, who called for Buller to step down and the inquiry to restart.

“I don’t intend to resign,” Buller replied firmly.

“Things are not drifting. We have to put this in the right context. We started on Sept. 1, four commissioners and myself and a piece of paper, our terms of reference. In eight months, we hired staff, we opened offices, we put life to our terms of reference and we held our first hearing.

“In my view, that’s lightning speed.”

Advocate Hilda Anderson-Pyrz said the inquiry has lost its way because of delays and lack of transparency.

“I feel the inquiry has lost its credibility with so many key people leaving in such a short time,” she said Thursday. “They should be pushing a reset button. We are almost a year into the inquiry.”

Anderson-Pyrz said she realized there were problems when her repeated calls to the inquiry phone line were never returned.

“It’s not fair to people if they are not returning calls to family members,” she said. “A bureaucratic approach will not work. It has to be an Indigenous-led approach.”

Her 37-year-old sister, Dawn Anderson, died in Leaf Rapids in 2012. Her front door was kicked in, the phone was ripped off the wall and screams were heard. Her death was ruled to be caused by hypothermia related to intoxication, but her family believes she was a victim of violence.

Manitoba MLA Nahanni Fontaine, who was the former NDP government’s adviser on missing and murdered Indigenous women’s issues, said she believes the inquiry’s short time frame is the problem.

After the Liberals gained power in late 2015, the government announced the inquiry with a budget of about $54 million. It said a final report would be due at the end of 2018, with an interim report released this November.

Fontaine said because of her years of experience organizing an annual two-day meeting for family members of missing and slain women, she knows the inquiry needs more time.

“I don’t think people really understand the logistics of putting a national inquiry together,” she said.

“To properly and independently and fairly execute a national inquiry, it takes years to set up, never mind actually doing research, interviews and hearings.

“(Inquiry commissioners) have to have more time because this will be the only time these people will be able to tell their loved ones’ stories,” she said.

Buller said the next community hearings will be held beginning Sept. 10 in Thunder Bay, Ont. The inquiry will be in Winnipeg on Oct 16.

Buller also said two expert panels will speak to the inquiry this year on the topics of Indigenous laws and decolonization and human rights.

Executive director Michele Moreau resigned last week, citing personal reasons. The Native Women’s Association of Canada noted several other staff members have also left recently and urged the inquiry to be more transparent and reassuring to families.

Buller said people are leaving for personal and positive reasons, as some have been offered “jobs of a lifetime.”

North Wilson, the Manitoba chief who has called for Buller’s resignation, said she did not feel reassured by Buller’s remarks.

“It didn’t seem confident and it didn’t seem sincere. The tone almost looked scripted throughout,” she said. “It’s nothing against her at all in any way. I just don’t feel like it’s a person that the families are putting a lot of hope and faith in.”

North Wilson said she would like to see a chief commissioner who is better known among grassroots organizations and families. Buller comes from a legal background and was British Columbia’s first female Indigenous judge.

Buller reiterated on Thursday she intends to ask the federal government for more time and money. However, she said she and her research team have already begun drafting the interim report and plan to submit it on time.

— with files from The Canadian Press

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca