OTTAWA — Survivors and families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls are preparing for what’s anticipated to be a highly emotional ceremony on Monday to mark the release of an inquiry report.
In her findings, chief commissioner Marion Buller says that the national inquiry had a short time to do its work, but within that period, survivors provided “important truths.”
She says Canadians live in a country whose laws and institutions perpetuate violations of rights that amount to nothing less than a deliberate, often covert “campaign of genocide.”
The report is the result of study by four commissioners who were asked to probe systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls and make recommendations on resolving them.
Families, survivors and advocacy organizations, like the Native Women’s Association of Canada, have been calling for an inquiry to examine the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women for years.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett says she cannot speak to specifics in the forthcoming report before its public release but says the government has always wanted to ensure the families and survivors are not let down.