IF YOU ARE BORN AN INDIGENOUS FEMALE IN CANADA, YOU ARE AT GREATER RISK TO GO MISSING OR TO BE MURDERED.

Today, June 3, 2020 marks the one-year anniversary since the release of THE FINAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL INQUIRY INTO MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND GIRLS, RECLAIMING OUR POWER AND PLACE.

Today June 3, 2020, is also the date the federal government committed to release a national action framework to address the 231 CALLS TO JUSTICE.

It is with disappointment and sadness there is no national action plan.

MMVI respectfully calls upon the Minister responsible for this portfolio to fulfil the commitment made to MMIWG families and 2SLGBTQQIA people and take action immediately.  The violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people has not stopped.   Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people continue to be murdered and continue to go missing.

We acknowledge that this government supported the National Inquiry and we thank you for recognizing that the voice of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA need to be heard.  The families responded to the Commissioners because they had belief, they had trust, they had faith and they had hope that the National Inquiry would bring healing and would make a difference for them and the future generations.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon the government to fulfil the commitment made to the families.

Indigenous people know that in our lifetime, there will never be another National Inquiry for Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people in Canada.  This is your opportunity to act and move forward with the 231 Calls for Justice. We demand that the government fulfil the commitment made to Indigenous people.

Finally, we provide this quote taken from RECLAIMING POWER AND PLACE, THE FINAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL INQUIRY INTO MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN AND GIRLS, and Volume 1b. Page 168.

“The Calls for Justice arise from international and domestic human and Indigenous rights laws, including the Charter, the Constitution, and the Honour of the Crown. Canada has a legal obligation to fully implement these Calls for Justice and to ensure Indigenous Women and Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people live in dignity.  We demand a world within which First Nations, Inuit, and Metis families can raise their children with the same safety, security, and human rights that non-Indigenous families do, along with full respect for the Indigenous and human rights of First Nations, Inuit and Metis families”