'It's a form of genocide': Hamilton protests aboriginal deaths

About 25 protesters gathered in the bitter cold near Gage Park Friday to protest Canadas missing and murdered aboriginal women as part of a national day of action.

The protest was part of a national campaign dubbed Shut Down Canada, and was held in concert with actions in cities like Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax.

• RELATED: Murdered and missing aboriginal women deserve inquiry, rights group says
• RELATED: Tories table plan to stop violence against aboriginal women and girls

Its overdue that we have an inquiry and just stop having consultations, said Sigrid Kneve, a protester who is living in Toronto but is originally from Six Nations. First Nations people just keep ending up dead or missing.

Last fall, the federal government committed to a five-year plan to address violence against aboriginal women and girls. The plan flows from the 16 recommendations MPs sitting on the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women made last March.

I think its a form of genocide.- Sigrid Kneve, protester

But the Conservative government has so far refused calls for a national public inquiry on the issue. Prime MinisterStephen Harper said in reaction to the recent slaying of TinaFontainethat the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women was not part of a"sociological phenomenon," but rather a crime and should betreated as such.

Last month, when CBC's Peter Mansbridge asked the prime minister about launching a public inquiry, Harper said"Itisn't high on our radar,to be honest."

Thats just not good enough, Kneve says.

I think its a form of genocide. Thats all I can say, she said. They dont care. They really dont care if another First Nations person is found dead. They could care less. Thats how I really feel.

In a statement, NDP aboriginal affairs critic Jean Crowder has said it was "unconscionable" for the government to ignore growing calls for a public inquiry.

"It is time for the prime minister and [Aboriginal Affairs Minister] Bernard Valcourt to stop ignoring the sociological phenomenon of missing and murdered indigenous women and take federal action to address the crisis," Crowder said.

Canada's premiers are expected to hold a national roundtable on murdered and missing aboriginal women on Feb. 27 in Ottawa.