No price, timeline attached to MMIW inquiry as gov’t launches first phase

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This article was published 08/12/2015 (3628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The new Liberal government launched the first phase of a national inquiry into the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women Tuesday, but there is no pricetag or timeline yet for the inquiry to take place.

The announcement came the same day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly. Trudeau told the chiefs he will make good on his campaign pledge to renew the relationship with Canada’s indigenous people, starting with a long-awaited national inquiry.

“We have made this inquiry a priority for our government because those touched by this national tragedy have waited long enough,” he said, drawing a standing ovation at a special assembly of chiefs in Gatineau, Que., Tuesday.

A few hours later, three of his cabinet ministers outlined the first phase of the process, which will include several months of consultation with families of victims, provinces, indigenous organizations and others, to come up with the terms of reference, the objectives, and hopefully, the names of the commissioners who will be tasked with seeing it through.

“This phase is about setting the tone for a collaborative, inclusive process,” Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said at a press conference outside the House of Commons.

Bennett, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Status of Women Minister Patricia Hajdu will meet with families of missing or murdered women in the National Capital Region in an all-day event planned for Friday. Over the coming months, the ministers or their staff will meet with families, provincial government representatives, indigenous organizations and any other stakeholders across the country.

“All of what we will hear will help us determine the objectives, the scope and the parameters of the inquiry,” said Bennett.

The first phase has no set timeline but Bennett said she is hoping to be able to announce the second phase this spring. During the election, the Liberals promised $40 million over two years for a national inquiry but Bennett said Tuesday that “was a placeholder in the platform.”

“We now have learned we need to go out and consult with families before we put any (limits) on the inquiry itself,” Bennett said. “So we are going to go out and listen, and then we will — then we will determine.”

The former Conservative government refused to call an inquiry, much to the disappointment of First Nations in Canada, but interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose says she supports the inquiry now.

The inquiry was also welcomed by indigenous leaders across the country, who have been calling for an inquiry for at least eight years. Several family members of victims were on Parliament Hill for the announcement and welcomed it.

Bernadette Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne-Tyo has been missing from Winnipeg since July 2008, said she felt she had to be there for the announcement because she has been waiting many years for an inquiry to happen.

“It’s emotional today,” Smith said. “I think just that we’ve come to this moment in time. Our voices are actually being heard and they are actually doing something about this tragedy. Our loved ones continue top go missing. These numbers aren’t going away.”

RCMP say more than 1,000 indigenous women have been murdered in Canada since 1980. Indigenous women account for about four per cent of the female population but 16 per cent of the homicide victims. Native leaders have pushed for a national inquiry for almost a decade now, arguing the country needs to figure out what is behind the high rate of violence and how it can be stopped.

Smith said she didn’t get a formal invitation to attend from the government, nor did she receive an invitation to participate in the initial consultation between the ministers and families Friday.

However, after she asked to attend, they said yes.

“I plan to talk about my experience in my sister’s disappearance, that the resources weren’t there for us when she went missing.”

Osborne-Tyo was 21 when she disappeared on July 25, 2008. Her family has expressed frustration at the police response, as well as to the lack of services available to help Osborne-Tyo with a drug addiction before she disappeared.

Seven years later, Smith said the families are often the ones left to lead the charge in their loved one’s cases. It was family members in Manitoba, she said, who took it upon themselves to drag the Red River to search for evidence of women who have gone missing or been murdered in Manitoba.

“We can’t do this alone anymore,” said Smith, who fought tears many times during the day Tuesday. “We need Canada to help.”

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca