MMIW chair critical of federal progress

• The chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls says she hasn’t seen much progress from the federal government since the inquiry’s critical interim report was published last year.

“It’s the action that counts, not the thought. The action so far is not speaking too loudly,” chief commissioner Marion Buller said Thursday.

The final witnesses testified in St. John’s, N.L., on Thursday, with calls for authorities to include sexual exploitation survivors in policing and protection of the victims of human trafficking.

The inquiry had requested a two-year extension, but the federal government allotted just six months. Buller said Thursday the short extension is not enough time.

Extra time would have allowed for more in-depth investigation into the child welfare system, and for visits to institutions, penitentiaries and prisons to speak with incarcerated Indigenous women, she said.

“Do we have enough time? No. But we’ll make do,” said Buller. “I know families and survivors all across Canada are relying on us to do our very best and then some.”

She said the government probably considered what was recommended in the first report, but she hasn’t seen “any specific action” since then.

Buller praised the strength and honesty of families and survivors who testified during the lengthy hearing process.

Parties with standing will give their final submissions at public events in Calgary and Ottawa later this year, before commissioners write their final report.

The report and its recommendations are set to be submitted to the federal government next April.

The inquiry got off to a rough start in 2016 and was disrupted by a number of resignations and terminations, as well as calls to re-start the process altogether and for Buller to resign.

Families and witnesses grew frustrated in early 2017 without a clear timeline as to when they could testify.

Last November’s interim report blamed the federal government for the initial delays, saying bureaucratic red tape hampered inquiry staff.

A rapidly dwindling timeline aside, Buller pointed to “individual success stories” that have come out of the process, saying she’s heard from people who have been motivated to go back to school, report abusers and get their children back from care.

The week’s expert hearings were to focus on sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and human trafficking.

In St. John’s on Thursday, the inquiry heard from Diane Redsky, a Manitoba community outreach leader.

Redsky, who has worked with sexual exploitation and trafficking victims for more than two decades, said 13-year-old girls are the most common targets.

“It is a growing problem that is almost out of control,” Redsky said.