Canada to launch inquiry into murdered aboriginal women

Former prime minister Stephen Harper has said these tragedies were not due to a sociological phenomenon but rather were crimes to be investigated by police.

Trudeau also cited his promise to eliminate the annual two per cent funding cap for reserve programs and services, a move recommended by the Senate earlier this year and strongly supported by Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett.

With traditional drumming and chanting, the chiefs here honoured the presence of the new prime minister.

Trudeau’s speech, delivered to a special assembly of chiefs from the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Que., is part of a broader promise to reset the fractured relationship between Ottawa and Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples.

An elder stands beside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after he was presented with a blanket at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau.

“Chiefs, it is indeed a new day on Turtle Island”, he said, using a native name for North America. “We’re going to do something more efficient for the coalition”, he said. We know this approach is wrong, and we know it doesn’t work.

Finally, Trudeau vowed to repeal all legislation “unilaterally” imposed on Canada’s indigenous people by the previous Conservative government. Either way, every Liberal MP should now do the honourable thing by either resigning their own seats voluntarily, or asking the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and hold another election. This includes questions about who should conduct the inquiry, the length of the inquiry, who should be heard, and what issues should be considered.

A 2014 report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police identified 1,181 murdered or missing aboriginal women dating back to 1952.

Christine Simard-Chicago, who lost a cousin to the hardscrabble street life of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, said she believes the inquiry will prove to be a “hard road” for many. “Inaction ends today. This is why we need to hear from all Canadians – especially survivors, families and loved ones, Indigenous organizations, and provinces and territories – to help us identify the best process for this inquiry”. Rachelle Venne with the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women thought people would be outraged but said she was shocked by the silence.

The Green Party applauded the government’s plan for extensive consultation with the families and communities of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

He says “the victims deserve justice” and “their families, an opportunity to heal”. “We have much work to do together”. He promised funding for education and a “respectful” relationship.

He said he is committed to implementing suggestions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including an implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.