NDP pledges measures to improve safety, justice for Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit people

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This article was published 11/08/2023 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Loved ones of murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people gathered Friday at The Forks to hear how a Manitoba NDP government would tackle the crises that claimed them.

In the lead-up to the provincial election, the New Democrats say they’d reinstate a special adviser to government on MMIWG2S+ issues, set up 24-7 drop-in centres in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson, and take action on the 231 calls to justice in the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls final report.

“I don’t think that it’s necessarily one thing that’s going to end the crisis or epidemic levels of violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people,” NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine said at a news conference in Winnipeg, surrounded by victims’ families and Indigenous caucus colleagues.

“It’s going to be a series of things we’re committed to do.”

It includes working with the Manitoba Police Commission, law enforcement and the community to enact regulations under the Police Services Act to strengthen how MMIWG2S+ investigations are conducted.

“Police standards ensure response and investigative benchmarks are consistent, and that the public can have ongoing confidence in police services,” said Fontaine, NDP families critic.

“Professional standards provide assurances that practices continue regardless of if there are staff changes in units or in administration,” said the MLA for St. Johns, who served as the MMIWGS2+ special adviser to the former Manitoba NDP government before being elected to office.

If elected Oct. 3, the NDP plans to establish a database tracking the missing and to ensure nationwide police data systems are used consistently when an MMIWG2S+ case is investigated.

Such promises are reassuring to one Manitoba family, hoping others are spared the anguish they experienced.

Gerri-Lee Pangman and Kim McPherson — whose sister Jennifer McPherson, 41, was murdered in B.C. in 2013 — say authorities haven’t given such cases the attention they deserve, compounding the grief of impacted families.

In 2014, Jennifer McPherson’s husband, Traigo Andretti, was convicted of first-degree murder. He later pleaded guilty to killing Myrna Letandre, 36, in Winnipeg in 2006 (her body was found in 2013). Andretti, 40, died by suicide in custody in 2018.

“They need to do a much better job to solve these cases and it doesn’t seem to be a priority,” Kim McPherson said in an interview at The Forks. “They don’t have the right investigative measures or interest to investigate missing Indigenous women.”

Pangman said the lack of investigation into Letandre’s missing persons case left a killer on the loose for years. “Our sister would be here today. She would be alive.”

Fontaine said the NDP believes new police standards for MMIWG2S+ cases can be developed, with collaboration.

However, while the provincial government can set the tone and suggest approaches, it doesn’t have the jurisdiction or authority to tell the Winnipeg Police Service or RMCP how to do their jobs — and for good reason, said University of Manitoba Prof. Frank Cormier.

“We don’t want elected politicians directing our police, for obvious reasons,” said Cormier, who teaches criminology. “There are plenty of countries around the world where parties and politicians of various stripes will direct police and we’ve all seen how badly that can turn out.

“What governments can do is set policy for the province, and they could say, ‘We wish to see certain things in the way these particular cases are handled by police,’” Cormier said.

“Whether or not the police fully accept and adopt those standards, that is pretty much up to the police organization.”

Meantime, Fontaine said it’s a life-or-death situation in Manitoba, and urgent action is required. “There is an ongoing genocide and we have to protect (MMIWG2S+).”

At an unrelated event Friday, Premier Heather Stefanson said her Tory government has taken action.

“We have made significant investments during our time in government to MMIWG,” she said. “I do believe that there is more work that we can do, but there are significant steps that we’ve already taken.”

— with files from Danielle Da Silva

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca