Inquiry design meeting #12: February 4-5, 2016, Toronto, Ontario

Choose a topic

• Overview
• Who attended
• Leadership and participation
• Priorities and key issues
• Support and cultural practices
• Additional comments

Overview

The meeting was held over two days. The first day included registration and orientation sessions. On the second day, participants took part in a sharing circle with the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General. The families, survivors and loved ones provided recommendations for the design of the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Elders prepared the meeting space on the first day through prayers, smudging, a symbolic lighting of the Qulliq, and a water ceremony. The Sacred Drum was played to provide strength and comfort to the survivors, families and loved ones who shared their personal experiences of violence against Indigenous women and girls.

The second day was dedicated to how the inquiry should be designed. The day opened and closed with traditional ceremony, which included the Sacred Drum. A women's hand drum group called SpiritWind also performed. Those in attendance acknowledged and honoured the women and girls who were murdered and who are still missing. Prayers were also offered for those most affected by these tragedies.

Who attended

Approximately 60 family members, survivors and loved ones participated from various Indigenous communities. To ensure the well-being of participants, health support workers(including Indigenous elders) from Health Canada were available at the meetings and over-night to provide additional cultural and emotional support.

Listening to the recommendations and experiences were the following two ministers:

• the Hon. Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
• the Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Representatives of front-line organizations and senior government officials also attended.

Leadership and participation

Two questions were asked about who should lead and who should take part in the inquiry. The views on leadership included the need to have:

• commissioners who have a First Nations background and international human rights experience and who are also external and independent
• someone with direct experience of losing a female relative who also has the emotional and spiritual strength to carry out such a role
• a family advisory board to provide ongoing advice to the leaders of the inquiry
• youth involvement
• the confidence of First Nations
• regional representation (8-10 members to sufficiently cover the country and travel to remote areas)
• Inuit representation
• representatives of minority groups, including the visually impaired
• retired officials who can speak honestly about the gaps and shortcomings of the system
• extensive financial and criminal background checks to ensure integrity of the leadership
• strict protocols for determining which Elders travel with the inquiry
• some participants suggested that a respected Indigenous woman, possibly a recognized elder, should lead the inquiry

Participants stressed the importance of involving survivors, families and loved ones in the inquiry, and to do so by visiting their communities. To make their involvement possible, participants said the inquiry must:

• ensure that all family members from across the country are offered the chance to participate
• provide full financial support to extended families so that they can take part in the Inquiry
• ensure arrangements (travel, meals, agendas, and physical set-up) respect the dignity of participants
• provide child care support for families
• make available trained health support workers from Indigenous communities
• provide opportunities to hear from and involve young people
• hold sessions for young people, including for affected children
• communicate in a variety of formats (including video logs), so family members with hearing, sight and other impairments can follow the Inquiry and participate fully (ideally, use interpreters from Indigenous communities who are familiar with the culture)
• translate the proceedings and reports into Indigenous languages
• give people who live in small communities as well as larger centres the chance to address the inquiry (some issues differ according to size of community)
• compensate family members who appear as subject-matter experts for the time away from work
• travel to remote areas or use video conferencing to ensure participation.
• engage individuals from women's and homeless shelters and front-line workers who deal with people in the sex trade

Priorities and key issues

Participants identified the issues the Inquiry must address if it is to produce recommendations for specific actions. These issues include:

• police investigation practices and protocols for dealing with families and loved ones, including children
• dedicated policing units to deal with missing Indigenous women, girls and boys
• police accountability
• protection of witnesses
• police cooperation across jurisdictions within Canada and, when necessary, with police outside of Canada
• the practices of coroners and protocols for dealing with families and loved ones
• review the "48-hour" rule with respect to how soon cases of missing persons may be investigated
• reviewing murdered and missing unresolved cases
• investigating cases reported as suicide
• judicial accountability
• education, training and evaluation of police, coroners and the judiciary with respect to dealing with these issues—including with respect to cultural sensitivity
• immediate and long-term supports for the children of missing and murdered women, including grief and trauma counselling, trust funds for education, and financial support for care givers
• aftercare for families
• dealing with those who may prey on families in these circumstances (e.g., purporting to offer assistance as media spokespersons for family)
• training for primary care givers
• intervention strategies to support the needs of grieving families
• supports for affected communities
• mental health support and counselling for perpetrators
• prevention strategies
• funding for prevention services and for women's support agencies
• implementing relevant recommendations from previous inquiries and commissions
• poverty, racism, and access to education
• funding for services to address alcohol abuse and other addictions
• access to effective legal services for families
• sentencing laws that fit the crime
• redress mechanisms for complaints about process (e.g., if families believe they are not being provided with appropriate information and being properly engaged in police or judicial processes)
• protocols for dealing with families whose members reside in both Canada and the United States to address jurisdictional barriers to investigations and justice
• prostitution laws, including upholding bill C-36 ("our women and girls are not for sale"), laying charges against purchasers of sex; safety of sex trade workers
• child welfare reform
• education for youth and children about the issue
• media portrayal of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls cases
• funding for quality programs and services for Indigenous people and communities (policing, community housing, mental and other health services, drug and addictions counselling, high quality education, access to post-secondary)

Participants want the inquiry's final report to include recommendations for specific actions including:

• support for burials and transportation back to communities of human remains with dignity
• trauma therapy, including counselling for children of missing and murdered women
• education funding for children and grandchildren of missing and murdered women
• role of chiefs in supporting families
• accessible safe houses and shelters and ensuring they are funded to remain open 24/7
• a national police unit specifically focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls
• police liaison officers for affected families
• trained response teams to work with affected families
• provincial healing centres
• establishing a national day of mourning
• transitional housing and support for women who return to the community from incarceration
• a national database on missing and murdered women that consolidates information from families
• a voluntary national DNA database for missing indigenous peoples
• sentencing that takes into account the life of the woman lost, as well as the lost lives of unborn children
• central role of culture and indigenous laws in promoting healing
• public education (share the truth about what has happened)

In general, the participants agreed that solving the problem of violence will be a long-term process and will require building trust among Indigenous communities and the police and justice systems. As time passes, attention should continue to focus on the needs and concerns of survivors, families and loved ones.

Support and cultural practices

Participants agreed on the need to follow local cultural protocols and include ceremonies in the inquiry process. They stressed that this is critical to healing. Participants further agreed on the need for ceremonies to be incorporated into the process to honour the spirits of those who have passed away.

Recommendations about how to include cultural practices and ceremony include:

• ensuring the inquiry is held in a culturally appropriate manner with proper supports
• continuing with the practice of sharing circles to ensure a safe environment
• acknowledging and honouring the spirit of our loved ones
• smudging, sacred fire, talking stick, throat singing, drumming and Inuit games
• healing ceremonies at the end of each day
• provide traditional foods such as bannock and corn soup and ensuring it is cooked by local Indigenous communities
• taking spirit plates to a nearby lake or fire and leaving empty spaces in the west of a circle in accordance with local custom
• holding a feast to honour women and the roles they play in communities
• acknowledging what is lost with each missing and murdered woman (e.g., loss of knowledge carriers, loss of skills, loss of their particular gifts)

Additional comments

As well as discussing the questions listed in the discussion guide, participants were invited to share and other comments and views on the design of the Inquiry. Their suggestions included:

• ensure there is enough time for the Inquiry process
• put relevant recommendations from previous inquiries and commissions into effect as soon as possible, making funding to do so a priority
• set aside at least 50% ($20 million) of the inquiry budget to implement the recommendations that come out of the Inquiry
• prepare a long-range plan with 5, 10, 20 and 30 year milestones to ensure the inquiry recommendations are being implemented and track progress
• examine historical legacy issues that might result in Indigenous women and girls being vulnerable to violence and some of the systemic institutional needs for prevention
• involve families in determining a logo for the Inquiry that speaks to families (at the same time, participants did note with favour the use of the red dress as a symbol)
• improve public education and awareness of issues tied to violence against women and girls
• document the stories on film
• live stream the Inquiry
• identify a national day of mourning to honor the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls