MMIWG to hold hearings in Montreal, meeting demand of families

The inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls has confirmed it will hold hearings in Montreal an announcement many families had been waiting for.

Michle Audetteconfirmed the decision prior to the opening ceremony Monday of the public hearings in the Innucommunity ofUashatmakMani-Utenam, nearSept-leson the province's North Shore.

"The next one, I'm not afraidto say, is Montreal, we just don't know when," saidAudette.

Families in Quebec had been pressing for hearings in the province's largest city, which is more easily accessible to many remote communities across the province.

The inquiry is investigatingthe deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls across Canada.

RCMPhaveidentified 1,200 victims between 1980 and 2012, though some experts believe the real number is much higher.

The hearingsin Mani-Utenam are the first since the beginning of the inquiry to take place within an Indigenous community, Audettesaid.Making a stop in Montreal was also necessary, she said.

"Many families don't want to testify in their First Nation territory," she said.

Slowing down pace of inquiry

The inquiry announced last week it waspostponing the hearings in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, that had been planned for December.

The commissioners are hoping to slow down the pace of the hearings, Audette said.

"We need moretime to breathe between hearings, the staff need more time," she said, addingit'simportant to give families the time and attention they require.

"We need to get to a place where everyone is comfortable. Where we are not forgetting things, or missing things, but making sure the staff, you and I, but especially the families can breathe."

More than60 family members and survivors are expected to testify during the five days ofhearings in the Innucommunity.

The inquiry will also have staff available to meet with up to 35 people whohave not registered, but who want to share their stories.

The daily community hearings are expected to begin at 9 a.m. ET and finish around 5p.m. They will wrap up on Friday.

In the inquiry's interim report, released earlier this month, commissioners recommendedthe creation of a national policetask force that could review cold cases and reopen investigations.

The final report is to be completed by Nov. 1, 2018.