Missing, Murdered Inquiry Will Ensure Families are Heard: Manitoba Government

She says while no inquiry can undo what has happened, it will help find a way forward because Canada “can and must do better”.

During the election campaign and against all reason, Trudeau insisted the Liberals would re-settle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of the year.

The relationship should be “one that understands that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience, but a sacred obligation”, he said.

He said Tuesday that the government has made this investigation a priority because those touched by the tragedy of murdered and missing aboriginal women have waited long enough.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the news while speaking to First Nations leaders in Ottawa today.

These include investment in education funding and lifting the two per cent funding cap for First Nations programs, he said.

“The victims deserve justice”, said Mr. Trudeau, “their families, an opportunity to heal and be heard”.

“They want to get it right the first time, as opposed to previous inquiries and commissions that have occurred in years gone by with indigenous peoples”, Robinson said Tuesday.

Trudeau called for the change in a speech to hundreds of chiefs gathered in Gatineau for a special meeting of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the country’s largest indigenous political group.

“I promise I will be your partner in years to come”. Aboriginal dancers and elders walk with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde as they enter the hall at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau…

The Canadian government forced more than 150,000 First Nation children to attend these schools from the 19th Century until the mid-1990s.

“What’s needed is nothing less than a total renewal of the relationship between Canada and First Nations peoples”, he said. “This inquiry is necessary to address and prevent future violence”.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening”, said Williams in the CBC Vancouver newsroom as she watched Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennet make the announcement Tuesday.

The prime minister has vowed to move on implementing recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including the pledge to look into the question of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

Over the next two months, the government will also hear from other families across the country, aboriginal community organizations and frontline workers to seek their input, she said.

“There’s a lot of stories that need to be told and the circumstances are unique because they’re from different territories and from different tribes”, said Simard-Chicago.