Aboriginal leaders renew calls for missing, murdered women inquiry

Aboriginal leaders are renewing calls for a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women as hundreds of First Nations leaders gather in Halifax.

Cheryl Maloney of the Nova Scotia Native Women's Association says she has lost almost all hope for an inquiry from the federal government and is starting to pursue other avenues.

Maloney says aboriginal leaders will be reaching out to the opposition ahead of next year's election and is gathering a team of experts to look at possible legal action against Ottawa, although she did not elaborate.

Using the annual Assembly of First Nations meeting in Halifax as a backdrop, she urged chiefs to continue pushing the government for answers on the more than 1,100 cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada.

Their calls for an inquiry have been repeatedly rejected by Ottawa.