MMIWG panel doesn’t require speakers to pre-register

More than 80 people have registered to share their stories during public hearings for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Saskatoon this week.

That number could swell over the next two days as people who have not previously registered show up and ask to speak. Chief commissioner Marion Buller told reporters that commissioners have realized how important it is to make time for people who weren’t able or willing to sign up in advance.

“Being able to accommodate walk-ins, I think, is probably one of the biggest lessons that we’ve learned over time — that people will just simply decide it’s time to tell their truths and they’re ready to do that,” Buller said Tuesday morning.

“So we can accommodate people who just simply walk in the door and want to talk to us.”

Some of the 80-plus people who have signed up are presenting in groups about a common lost or murdered loved one. As of Tuesday morning, 32 hearings were scheduled to take place over three days.

Buller said the focus of the hearings this week will be on families and survivors. The commissioners want to hear their stories, learn how systems have failed them and find out what has served families and survivors well, she said.

“We know in communities here there are programs and policies that work to reduce violence about Indigenous women and girls so we want to hear that as well.”

Saskatoon’s Indian and Metis Friendship Centre is offering a safe space for families testifying before the inquiry this week — which Buller said she was pleased to see.

“I think it’s a fabulous idea because, of course, we know this is a very stressful time for families and survivors, so the more supports they have the better,” she said. She did not know how much money the inquiry gave the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre to support the initiative, but said $17,000 “sounds about right.”

The national inquiry ’s public hearings in Saskatoon began Tuesday morning at the Sheraton Cavalier hotel and continue Wednesday and Thursday.

LIAM RICHARDS/FILES Amber Redman is the subject of a sculpture that was unveiled at the entrance to Saskatoon Police headquarters on May 5. Her mother testified about Redman’s 2005 murder Tuesday at a Saskatoon hearing by the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous...