City urged to join push for missing women inquiry
Councillor says federal government ‘ sitting on its hands’ despite report
Calgary needs to join the growing list of municipalities and provinces calling on Ottawa to launch a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, said Coun. Brian Pincott.
“We have a real problem in our country and we need to begin to address it,” Pincott said. “It’s as simple as that.”
To that end, the Ward 11 councillor will table a notice of motion that calls on council to add its voice in pressuring the federal government to launch an inquiry, one of 94 recommendations in the recently released Truth and Reconciliation Commission report.
A 2014 RCMP report found 1,181 cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women between 1980 and 2012, exceeding previous estimates.
The Harper government continues to resist pressure to hold an inquiry.
“The federal government is literally sitting on its hands when it comes to this,” said Pincott, who attended a roundtable discussion on missing and murdered aboriginal women at Mount Royal University earlier this year.
There, he listened to four aboriginal women who shared their stories of abuse and survival. That experience continues to haunt Pincott. “When I heard them talking about the abuse they have suffered, how deeply entrenched it is, I realized that if we’re going to do something about it, if this is truly unacceptable, then we all need to do something,” he said.
If Pincott’s motion passes council, Calgary would join cities like Toronto, Winnipeg and Saskatoon, several provinces including Alberta, the Assembly of First Nations and the United Nations, all pushing for a national inquiry.
Last month, Premier Rachel Notley said there was a “devastating link” between the high number of missing and murdered aboriginal women and poverty and domestic violence.
“Too many indigenous women are missing,” Notley said. “Too many communities don’t have the answers they need.”
Pincott’s motion also calls for city administration to examine how Calgary could implement some of the 94 recommendations contained in the TRC report that fall within the city’s jurisdiction.