Protesters accuse Manitoba government of stalling MMIW inquiry

About half a dozen tents were set up outside the Manitoba Legislative Buildingbyprotesters who say the province iskeeping anationalinquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous womenfrom getting underway.

Last week, BrianPallister's Progressive Conservativegovernment saidit ismoving forwardwith an order in councilin support of the inquiry,but officials arestill in negotiations with the federal government over the terms of reference.

"Now that the inquiry has been called, it feels like Manitoba is stalling. We seem to be the ones holding everything up, and that's not OK,"Sandy Banman, one of the protesters, said Tuesday.

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On July 14, Justice Minister HeatherStefanson told CBC's Power & Politics that she was concerned there hadn't been enough consultation and the province, which counts one of the largest Indigenous populations in the country, wanted the federal government to appoint a commissioner from Manitoba.

The protestors said they areconcernedthe draft terms of referencefor the inquiry reveal that a thorough review of police conduct is notpart of the agenda.

"They're trying to say that police and [Child and Family Services] will not be held accountable or will not be part of the inquiry," Banman said. "Those things are off the table. We're here to say we don't want them off the table. That's very, very important."

The inquiry's mandate isn't expected to include the option of recommending that police reopen cold cases,and Banmansaid that's "very disturbing."

"There's families hurting, like really hurting, in this camp," she said. "We have individuals who are directly affected. All of the family members we've spoken to say that this is outrageous; like,families need closure."

A sacred fire was lit to start the protest on Monday night while about 35 people watched.

Banmansaid the group isstaying there forfour days and four nights a reference to the four quadrants on the medicine wheel and the seasons and theyare considering staying longer.

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