‘I’m sorry’: Inquiry hears RCMP apology
REGINA• The head of Canada’ s national police force apologized to the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women Monday while pledging improved relations with aboriginal communities.
“On behalf of myself and my organization, I’m truly sorry for the loss of your loved ones and the pain that this has caused you and your families and your communities,” RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki testified in Regina at the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. “I’m sorry that for too many of you, the RCMP was not the police service that it needed to be during this terrible time in your life. It is very clear to me that the RCMP could have done better, and I promise to you we will do better.”
The inquiry has been holding hearings for more than a year, and time and again stories have surfaced of police not taking the cases of missing Indigenous women seriously. Victims were frequently seen to be written off by investigators as sex trade workers or addicts. Lucki said the RCMP has made changes to its cadet training curriculum to include more Indigenous material.
One of the added modules includes a scenario involving an 18-year-old Indigenous girl whose back story is constructed from testimony heard at the inquiry. Another addition to RCMP training includes a blanket exercise in which cadets are taught to better understand the different issues facing Indigenous people. That program has been introduced over the last four to six months and Lucki participated in the first one. Heather Bear, vice-chief with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, said there must be oversight to see if this new training changes attitudes.
She said that it’s going to take time to notice a difference, noting she still gets calls from Indigenous women who have experienced police violence. “For our people, the measuring
IT’S CERTAINLY A GOOD BEGINNING. THE PROOF WILL BE IN WHAT HAPPENS ON THE GROUND.
is going to be when the harassment stops. Then we’ll know it has succeeded,” Bear said. “Today, these are words and these are attempts, so I guess the test of time is what I’ll be watching.” Marion Buller, the inquiry’s chief commissioner, said she thought Lucki’s apology was heartfelt and sincere.
“I think it’s certainly a good beginning,” Buller said. “The proof will be in what happens on the ground.”