Natives’ lawyer pulls out of inquiry
Missing Women probe has lost credibility, chief says
The lawyer appointed by Missing Women inquiry commissioner Wally Oppal to represent aboriginal interests withdrew from the inquiry Tuesday.
She was promptly followed by the First Nations Summit, leaving the inquiry with no one specifically representing the interests of first nations.
The inquiry is probing why it took police so long to catch serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women from the Downtown Eastside, many of whom were aboriginal.
The majority of first nations organizations decided to boycott the inquiry last year after the provincial government refused to provide individual groups with legal funding, except for the families of Pickton’s victims.
As a result, the inquiry appointed Robyn Gervais, a Metis, to represent aboriginal interests.
The departure of all first nations representatives undermines any findings arrived at by the inquiry, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B. C. Indian Chiefs, told reporters Tuesday.
“It has no credibility,” he said minutes after Gervais announced her departure.
“The aboriginal voice in this inquiry has been relegated to a sideshow.”
Gervais told Oppal Tuesday she was withdrawing because the inquiry focused too much on police and had not heard from enough aboriginal witnesses.
The tipping point, Gervais said, came when she tried to organize two aboriginal panels at the inquiry. She was told by commission counsel Karey Brooks that one day would be set aside on April 2 for four witnesses to testify and the other aboriginal witnesses would be heard in May during a policy forum.
“Given that these hearings are largely about missing and murdered aboriginal women, I feel I shouldn’t have to fight to have the voices of the aboriginal community heard,” said Gervais, adding she felt she should have been given four days of hearings, without question.
“The delay in calling aboriginal witnesses, the failure to provide adequate hearing time, the ongoing lack of support from the aboriginal community and the disproportionate focus on police evidence have led me to conclude that aboriginal interests have not and will not be adequately represented in these proceedings,” Gervais told Oppal.
She said she had wanted to present evidence to reflect the underlying issues of systemic racism within police forces, the effects of past discriminatory policies and the current systems that place aboriginal women in a vulnerable position.
She said the inquiry has sat for 53 days and has heard 39 days of police evidence and minimal evidence from aboriginal witnesses.
Gervais’ withdrawal was followed by Grand Chief Ed John of the First Nations Summit appearing before the inquiry to announce the summit is also withdrawing from the inquiry.
“We will seek alternative ways for the voices of the families of the missing and murdered women and our communities to be heard and respected,” John said.
The summit includes a majority of B. C.’ s first nations and tribal councils and focuses on treaty and other concerns.
Oppal told Gervais he was disappointed by her decision.
“I wanted you to stay to represent aboriginal interests,” he said, noting there has been much criticism of police and that the commission wants to correct the mistakes of the past.
He said he was disappointed Gervais didn’t raise her concerns with him before making her decision because the inquiry would have accommodated her requests.
“It’s unfortunate because you had an opportunity to really do something here,” Oppal told Gervais.
Commission counsel Brooks suggested Gervais may have misunderstood an email response with respect to Gervais’ request for two panel hearings for aboriginal witnesses.
“If she wanted two to three days for her factual panel, that could have been accommodated,” Brooks told Oppal.
She noted the inquiry has so far heard from 13 police witnesses and 18 non- police witnesses.
Phillip was visibly angry when he said the inquiry has focused too much on police witnesses.
“I suggest this has been nothing more than a soapbox for police agencies to attempt to convince the commission that they’ve done everything properly,” Phillip said.
“There’s millions and millions of dollars being spent on police involvement, police testimony and it all comes out of the public purse,” he added.
On Tuesday, the inquiry continued hearing a panel of retired Vancouver police officers connected to the Downtown Eastside: former deputy chief Gary Greer; former staff- sergeants Chris Beach and Doug Mackay- Dunn, and former constable Dave Dickson.
Beach said he didn’t see a systemic bias against the missing women because they were sex trade workers, but Mackay- Dunn conceded there was an attitude among some police managers that “they’re just prostitutes.”