National inquiry is too important to mishandle

The national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls has fallen dangerously behind in its work and is in serious trouble.

The government gave the inquiry two years and four months, beginning Sept. 1, 2016 and ending Dec.

31, 2018. As of June 1, the inquiry’s commissioners will have eaten up nine months with little to show for it. Time is passing, and it’s definitely not their friend.

The inquiry was announced a year ago, and Judge Marion Buller was named its chair. She came with a blue ribbon resume: originally from Saskatchewan, she is a retired provincial court judge from British Columbia who worked previously in civil and criminal law.

The inquiry’s website states that its mandate is “to review systemic causes of all forms of violence — including sexual violence — against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLBTQ in Canada.”

“The Commissioners will examine root causes of violence which are commonly suffered by Indigenous women, girls and 2SLBTQ with a view to detecting common trends across the country which contribute to the high incidence of violence, suffered disproportionately, by these women, girls and 2SLBTQ.”

The website for the inquiry states that the inquiry will look into the “web of services and programs that are meant to create healthy, protective and livable communities across Canada.”

A very important part of the inquiry will be an opportunity for families to tell their stories to the commissioners. I’m all for this and it is a necessary part of the inquiry, but it can’t stop there.

This is a very different inquiry than the residential school inquiry. The residential schools are dead as can be, and will never come back. The survivors needed a safe forum to tell their stories of loneliness, abuse and lives unfulfilled.

The inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women is examining and making recommendations about an event that is ongoing and very much a part of the present day lives of indigenous people. During the inquiry, the news media will continue to report on missing and murdered indigenous women.

The commissioners have recently come under fire from individuals and groups representing indigenous women. In their open letter to chief commissioner Marion Buller, they expressed their concern that the inquiry had fallen behind and was hampered by poor communication and the lack of a schedule of events. There is supposed to be an interim report this November, but the letter’s signatories expressed their concern that there will be little to report.

This exercise must address this ongoing tragedy with serious research and recommendations. The commissioners have to reach out to front-line workers, police forces, criminologists and First Nations and Metis political leaders. This must be a wide-ranging inquiry if it is to have any effect.

The inquiry must address the rampant racism that exists within Canadian society. Institutional racism exists within government, the police and the courts. It reflects the white privilege that promotes its own and reflects the country’s middleclass values.

We also have the less subtle, open hatred that exists, as we recently saw among rural residents in the North Battleford area after the death of Colten Boushie. Saskatchewan has a serious racism problem, and this lowers the value of indigenous people and places indigenous women at risk.

We have to look at the lateral violence that exists within the First Nations and Metis communities. Many missing and murdered indigenous women are victims of their indigenous partners, and we have to address this fact. We have to avoid the trap of looking in one direction only and do some self-criticism. The issue of violence against women needs to be addressed in Indian Country and this inquiry is a good place to start.

While the inquiry is subject to a tight time frame to address a tragic situation, the commissioners still have time to complete their work. If not, they should obtain an extension to complete the final research and report.

This commission of inquiry was a long time coming and took a change of government to become a reality. The commission is tracking a moving target, unlike the now defunct residential schools. The victims, survivors and future generations need a commission report that is comprehensive and actionoriented.

Our people deserve nothing less.