Families meet with inquiry officials ahead of hearings

Families planning to testify in the national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women are privately meeting with officials this week in Edmonton.

The community visit — giving victims’ loved ones a chance to meet with inquiry officials in individual sessions from Tuesday to Thursday — aims to prepare those who will be giving testimony in November and answer questions.

“It makes me feel more involved now,” said Cynthia Cardinal, who met privately with a handful of officials Tuesday morning for more than an hour. Her sister, Georgina Papin, was one of the six women B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton was convicted of killing.

Cardinal said she was apprehensive about the inquiry’s community visit, but her experience was comfortable.

“We thought, ‘Now we have to tell our stories again.’ We felt really stressed out,” she said, adding that she told officials what she hoped to gain, such as holding police accountable for investigation blunders and learning more details about her sister’s death.

Cardinal said she is requesting that her testimony in November will be heard in an Indigenous space, such as at a cultural centre.

The national inquiry has been plagued by setbacks, including the cancellation of meetings in Edmonton in April.

“I’m used to the let-downs and the ups and downs of these things,” Cardinal said, adding she is a member of a national family advisory circle that gives recommendations to the inquiry commission.

“We need to tell our stories so our loved ones’ voices are heard.”

The inquiry hearing is scheduled for the week of Nov. 6.