When the details and funding were launched for the national public inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Aug. 3, concerns were voiced by opposing camps.
We heard a lot about the inquiry and whether there is a need to have one.
Some people and groups felt the inquiry would be a waste of time because more than 40 studies have already been done – complete with recommendations.
In an Aug. 11 Free Press story, Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod said, “Most importantly, we have over 40 studies that have been done already with recommendations…. I’m looking for the commission to actually build on those recommendations and put them in a real path to move forward.”
Many are also concerned about the extra financial costs, noting the inquiry budget had already bloated from $40 million to $53 million.
“… Now, certainly, the budget has gone from $40-million to $53-million, plus additional money for the Justice Department, so we need to be very, very watchful … both in terms of timelines and in terms of the escalation of costs,” McLeod told the Free Press.
“Every dollar you spend on the inquiry is, of course, less money for some of the things that communities can do that are very action-orientated.”
Noting her Conservative government was not in favour of the inquiry and felt it was time to take action, McLeod says the federal election results clearly showed they were in the minority on that point.
Meanwhile, other folks are saying this inquiry must deal with the systemic societal issues, such as racism and genuine fear of law-enforcement and other authorities.
Canim Lake Band health administrator Sheila Dick told the Free Press in an Aug. 18 story the commissioners have the compassion and experience to take these issues into account because Indigenous Peoples must feel they are being listened to and believed if this inquiry is going to reach its goal.
Before having much assurance of an inquiry’s success, Dick says she also wants to see more equity for missing and murdered women in British Columbia, particularly in rural and remote areas.
Rural First Nation women, girls and families must have adequate access to the commissioners for the inquiry to work, she adds.
Dick favours having an advisory council for the commissioners and, possibly, an oversight committee.
“I support that because there should be people at the table somewhere holding the commissioners … to task.”
Most importantly, she says the inquiry “must be action-oriented and not just words.”
That is the litmus test for this inquiry that begins on Sept. 1 and ends on Dec. 31, 2018.
