Inquiry into missing First Nations women right thing for Tories both politically and morally | Full Comment | National Post
Hold an Inquiry is the question.
Laurie Odjick managed to hold it together during a press conference on the subject of murdered and missing aboriginal women, but only just.
She was talking about her own experience as the mother of Maisy, who was last seen on Sept. 6, 2008, aged 16.
“Stephen Harper said these cases are being dealt with but he hasn’t met us or sat down with the families. Shame on him … he has no idea what we are going through. I invite him to invite us to sit down and we will talk,” she said.
If I were Mr. Harper, I’d take Ms. Odjick up on her offer. This issue, if handled adroitly, has the potential to repair some of the damage between the Conservative government and Canada’s First Nations, who can’t agree on much, but are united behind demands for a public inquiry into the number of aboriginal women who have been murdered or simply gone missing in recent years.
Conversely, if handled clumsily, it will further alienate the fastest growing segment of the population — a demographic whose buy-in the government needs, if it is going to address skills shortages and resource development.
The driving imperative for action though, is that something is rotten in the state — we have a situation that simply would not be tolerated were it white suburban teenagers who were disappearing, rather than Maisy Odjick and her friend Shannon Alexander from an Algonquin community in Maniwaki, Que.
NDP MP Niki Ashton, who called for an inquiry at the press conference, said aboriginal women are five to seven times more likely to die from violence than the national average.
Bridget Tolley of the Sisters in Spirit group put the number of murdered or missing women at over 1,000, a far higher rate than the estimate of 600 that has been used in the media.
In Question Period, Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said 84% of murders in Canada are solved, but the clearance rate drops to 50% for native women.
The Liberals put forward a motion for a House of Commons committee to take a closer look at the issue — something all parties in the House, including the Conservatives, support.
The government says it has taken the apparent rash of tragic cases seriously, pointing out it has strengthened sentencing for all violent offenders and earmarked $18-million to address gender-based violence.
Hold an Inquiry is the question.
Laurie Odjick managed to hold it together during a press conference on the subject of murdered and missing aboriginal women, but only just.
She was talking about her own experience as the mother of Maisy, who was last seen on Sept. 6, 2008, aged 16.
“Stephen Harper said these cases are being dealt with but he hasn’t met us or sat down with the families. Shame on him … he has no idea what we are going through. I invite him to invite us to sit down and we will talk,” she said.
If I were Mr. Harper, I’d take Ms. Odjick up on her offer. This issue, if handled adroitly, has the potential to repair some of the damage between the Conservative government and Canada’s First Nations, who can’t agree on much, but are united behind demands for a public inquiry into the number of aboriginal women who have been murdered or simply gone missing in recent years.
Conversely, if handled clumsily, it will further alienate the fastest growing segment of the population — a demographic whose buy-in the government needs, if it is going to address skills shortages and resource development.
The driving imperative for action though, is that something is rotten in the state — we have a situation that simply would not be tolerated were it white suburban teenagers who were disappearing, rather than Maisy Odjick and her friend Shannon Alexander from an Algonquin community in Maniwaki, Que.
NDP MP Niki Ashton, who called for an inquiry at the press conference, said aboriginal women are five to seven times more likely to die from violence than the national average.
Bridget Tolley of the Sisters in Spirit group put the number of murdered or missing women at over 1,000, a far higher rate than the estimate of 600 that has been used in the media.
In Question Period, Liberal MP Ralph Goodale said 84% of murders in Canada are solved, but the clearance rate drops to 50% for native women.
The Liberals put forward a motion for a House of Commons committee to take a closer look at the issue — something all parties in the House, including the Conservatives, support.
The government says it has taken the apparent rash of tragic cases seriously, pointing out it has strengthened sentencing for all violent offenders and earmarked $18-million to address gender-based violence.
