Support growing for reset to national MMIWG inquiry, say groups

Support for a reset to the nationalinquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls isgrowing, according to grassroots groups.

More than180 family members and 80 supporters have now signed an open letter asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeauto reset and reorganize the inquiry.

Last week, the inquiry named a new executive director, former Assembly of First Nations adviser Debbie Reid, but losttwo more staff members: Susan Vella, the commission's lead lawyer, andAime Craft, itsdirector of research.

Those calling for a reset say the commission got off on the wrong foot by not including families and communities affected by MMIWG in the planning process. Instead, the letter says the inquiry "built its processes from a top-down colonial model that perpetuates institutionalized racism."

The letter says far too much damage has been done for the commission to rebuild trust with families and communities at this stage. It asks for a "hard reset" that would preserve information collected to date but restructure and rebuild the inquirywith Indigenous families and communities at its centre.

"Frankly, there just isn't the faith in the existing commissioners to do that because they've been asked throughout the entire year to find ways to make this happen and have repeatedly disregarded what families have said to this need for them to be included,"said JulieKaye, a sociology researcher at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the coalition.

In July, the Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution at its annualmeeting in Regina calling on the organization's leadership to demandchanges at the inquiry. A resolution calling for the commissioners to resign did not pass.

At the time, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said that the commission was responding to calls for a reset by improving itshealing support for families and communication with them.

Last month, the commissioners in charge of the inquiry askedthe federal government for a two-year extension to carry out their work, citing the resignations, logistical issues and a lack of resources as challenges.

As it stands, an interim report is scheduled for November, with the final report scheduled for next year.

Calls to reset MMIW inquiry

7 years ago

Duration 1:26

Calls to reset MMIW inquiry