Emotions high before hearings on indigenous women

Frayed nerves, early blips before Yukon event

With only days to spare before the first hearing of the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls gets underway in Whitehorse, the Yukon government and other groups have just received a schedule.

The inquiry has come under fire for slow progress and poor communication. Last weekend, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s father, hereditary chief Bill Wilson, took to Facebook in outrage, calling the inquiry a “bloody farce.”

“YOU HAVE FAILED MISERABLY!” he wrote, addressing the five commissioners. “IT IS TIME FOR ALL OF YOU TO RESIGN !!!! ”

On Thursday morning, the women’s directorate of the Yukon government, the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse and the Yukon Aboriginal Women’s Council told the National Post they hadn’t received an itinerary for next week’s hearing. They weren’t able to say how many people are expected to participate.

Some sources in the Yukon say it’s been challenging to get information from the national inquiry. Later in the day Thursday, however, the commission did send an itinerary to Yukon groups.

The week-long event is to begin with the lighting of a sacred fire and a community feast on Monday, and hearings will run from Tuesday through Thursday.

Bernée Bolton, communications director for the inquiry, said about 30 family members and survivors are expected to speak. Most of the hearings will be open to the public, unless speakers ask to tell their stories privately.

The schedule was posted to the inquiry’s website Thursday evening.

Last week, a group of more than 30 advocates and indigenous leaders published an open letter with their concerns, prompting a news conference with chief commissioner Marion Buller and a pledge for improved communication.

Buller acknowledged during a press conference last week that the inquiry has had a communication problem. She said the commission is focused on the event in Whitehorse, which will take place in tents outside to avoid a courtroom atmosphere.

Buller said she hopes the public hearings will send a strong signal to the public the inquiry is very much in business. “Whitehorse is going to be a start for us in this new relationship,” she said.

After the Yukon event, there are no more public hearings scheduled for the rest of the summer.

The Liberal government budgeted $53.8 million for a two-year process but more time and resources will be required, Buller said.

Sue Martin, who says she lost her 24-year-old daughter to murder in 2002, supports the inquiry’s work and has provided feedback to commissioners on a voluntary basis with other family members.

Martin agrees the twoyear timeline is unrealistic, adding the government needs to grant the request when it is formalized.

“I don’t want the negativity because this is hard. … I’ve heard from a lot of family members and I tell them to lay their medicines down and keep the faith,” Martin said. “Let these commissioners do their job ... and stop the negativity.”

Still, despite the hiccups, people want to tell their stories next week, said Marie-Louise Boylan, spokesperson for the Kwanlin Dün First Nation.

“(People) want to tell their story. They want to be heard nationally,” she said.

“I think we’re all still optimistic here that it will work.”

LET THESE COMMISSIONERS DO THEIR JOB ... AND STOP THE NEGATIVITY.