It’s time for ‘serious laws’ on racism, MMIWG inquiry hears
Homicide victim’s cousin describes Saskatchewan as a province full of hate
Marilyn Wapass says she doesn’t believe the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls will fix the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women, but she still drove more than 200 kilometres to testify before the inquiry’s commissioners.
“I have no faith in this inquiry because it represents a system that has oppressed me, that is killing our people,” Wapass told a commissioner on Thursday, the last day of the national inquiry’s community hearings in Saskatoon.
“But I’m here because of (my sons), because of the children. I’m here because of my friends who have lost loved ones and are still looking, because they need that voice and we need to keep going, we need to try.”
Her cousin, Maxine Wapass, went missing from Saskatoon more than 15 years ago during the May 2002 long weekend. Her remains were found later that year in a shallow grave near Asquith, about 16 kilometres west of Saskatoon.
Maxine’s ex-boyfriend confessed to police that he killed her, and was charged with manslaughter in connection with her death. However, a Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench judge ruled in 2004 that the ex-boyfriend’s videotaped confession was inadmissible in court because the RCMP sergeant and Saskatoon police constable who interviewed him “went too far” when they continued to question him even though he’d said more than 60 times that he wished to remain silent. Without the confession, the judge found insufficient evidence to convict him.
“How does that happen? How does somebody who confessed to taking a human life, how do they get away with that?” a tearful Marilyn Wapass asked the commissioner. “That day that that judge made that decision he sent a very strong and powerful message. He sent a message to the rest of society that it’s OK to kill Indigenous women.”
Wapass, who lives on the Thunderchild First Nation, described Saskatchewan as a province full of hate. She said the Saskatoon police officer who handled her cousin’s missing person case didn’t seem to care whether Maxine was found or not.
She said the justice system appeared to protect the man who was charged with killing her sister. She criticized the school system for not offering enough education about Indigenous issues and lambasted the media for their portrayal of Indigenous people.
“My reality is that I have to wake up every morning and I have to go out and walk in society and I’m going to get mistreated, I’m going to face racism and so will (my sons); that’s their reality,” she said.
She told the commissioner changes need to be made in every aspect of society and every level of government in order to improve conditions for Indigenous people. She said something needs to done about racism.
“People need to start being charged for hating, for bringing hate into this world. There need to be serious laws made against racism.”
Her testimony was among the last to be heard during the Saskatoon community hearings for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The three days of hearings were scheduled to wrap up on Thursday evening.
The federal government has asked the inquiry to complete its final report by November 2018, but the inquiry has indicated it may need more time.