No plans for MMIW inquiry ‘reset’

Chief commissioner remains confident of fulfilling mandate

The recent resignation of commissioner Marilyn Poitras has not shaken Chief Commissioner Marion Buller’s confidence that the national missing and murdered women inquiry can accomplish its mandate.

Positive letters and messages from people who told their stories in Whitehorse in May urged the commission to continue, Buller said in an interview on Tuesday with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

“If there was a reset or a restart, it would dishonour the Yukon families who were brave enough to come forward and be the first people to speak to this important work in Canada,” Buller said, quoting from a letter referring to hearings held in May.

Buller expressed confidence the legal processes for national and provincial inquiries will accomplish the commission’s mandate, despite concerns raised by former commissioner Poitras, who resigned July 10, saying she could not perform her duties with the process in its current structure.

“We can use the positive side of Canadian law to get our work done,” Buller said.

The commission is prohibiting lawyers from cross examining participants, and, in provinces that allow it, will allow witnesses to say how they will “bind their consciences” rather than being sworn, Buller noted.

On Monday, Poitras said in an interview that the national inquiry is missing a crucial opportunity to take a meaningful new approach to its interactions with First Peoples. Rather than treating Indigenous families and communities as equal partners with valuable insight about the issues, priorities and solutions, the inquiry process treats them as subjects of study by the commission, she said.

Buller said she saw “a very informal but informed” interaction during the Whitehorse witness testimony.

“It sounded very much more like a conversation between, in this case, a lawyer and family members and commissioners listening in on this very pleasant conversation ... It was certainly not examination like you would expect in a courtroom.”

Witnesses provided documents such as coroner’s reports and police reports to support their stories, as well as portraits to remind commissioners “there was a real loved one, a real mother, a real sister, a real daughter,” she said.

Families clearly identified systemic causes of the violence and made “excellent recommendations” for change, she added.

The commission’s researchers will seek out experts to provide information about systemic causes behind the scenes that are not readily available to families.

While Poitras is concerned that the commissioner-driven process will not produce anything new beyond the findings of previous commissions, Buller said their researchers are reviewing existing reports for gaps in understanding that need to be filled.

She’s certain the commission will accomplish its mandate because “we are just a funnel for the voices of families and survivors across Canada to put their views, their recommendations forward, their histories forward,” she said.

She believes expensive public policy, such as non-discriminatory funding for on-reserve child welfare, will change after this commission, “because those families and grassroots organizations and other people who are involved in helping us do our work are going to carry forward.

“They’re already telling us they’re going to hold governments — all governments across Canada — accountable. That’s what we’re already hearing.

“People have fought for this national inquiry for 40 years and they tell us that they’re going to continue fighting when their recommendations or our recommendations come out in our final report.”

Commissioners want witnesses in each province or territory to identify the issues in their regions.

This would include, for example, discussion about the effects of Saskatchewan’s closure of its provincewide bus system, or a new public system in British Columbia, she said.

The commission’s health team is asking witnesses in advance what emotional supports they need to deal with trauma from recounting painful experiences and will refer them to existing supports in the community, including traditional Western therapists or Indigenous elders.

“"We are very, very aware of the need for supports for families ... It’s their choice and that’s being trauma informed,” she said.

Free counselling is available in varying supply throughout the country and she is satisfied there is enough to meet the need “so far,” Buller said.

“There’s always room for improvement.”

The commission intends to send statement takers to hear from people incarcerated in jails and prisons, as well as from people who prefer not to speak out publicly.

Some people may mistakenly expect a process similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, because that’s what they became familiar with through the media, but expectations will come more into line as the national inquiry’s more formal hearings are covered by the media, she said.

They’re already telling us they’re going to hold governments — all governments across Canada — accountable. That’s what we’re already hearing.