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Press Release

Native Women's Association of Canada supports new funding for missing and murdered Aboriginal women

Ottawa, ON (October 29, 2010) – Today has marked the much anticipated announcement of $10 million in federal funding dedicated to addressing missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. Minister of State (Status of Women), Rona Ambrose, was joined by Elizabeth Bastien of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, Police Chief Jim Chu of the Vancouver Police Department, and others to make the announcement in Vancouver, BC.

Focusing on the needs of families and communities, the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s (NWAC) President, Jeannette Corbiere Lavell had this to say: “I am pleased with today’s announcement of funding for Aboriginal women and families who have suffered the tragic loss of a loved one. We are hopeful this funding will make a meaningful difference by improving policing and community responses to violence, creating better services for families of missing and murdered women, and increasing access to justice for Aboriginal women and girls.”

Since 2005, the Native Women’s Association of Canada has been working to raise awareness and capture the evidence relating to violence against Aboriginal women, and violence that has led to disappearance or death. To date, NWAC, through the Sisters In Spirit initiative has identified more than 580 known cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls across the country.

To stress the importance of this funding, President Corbiere Lavell made this important comparison: “To understand the crisis of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, we must place the number in context. If we were talking about the number (582) as a proportion of all women in Canada we would be talking about approximately 19,400 missing and murdered women. This funding is critical to responding to the gaps in the police and justice systems, as well as the needs of Aboriginal women, families, and communities.”

Founded in 1974, the Native Women’s Association of Canada is the national voice of Aboriginal women and committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of Aboriginal women and girls across Canada.

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Kate Rexe
Director of Sisters In Spirit
Phone: 613-797-3990

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Katharine Irngaut, Strategic Policy Advisor
Phone: 613-656-3022
Email: kirngaut[at]nwac.ca

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Press Release

Government of Canada Takes Concrete Action Regarding Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women

Vancouver, B.C., October 29, 2010 — The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, today announced concrete steps the Government of Canada is taking to address the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and to make our communities safer.

“The disturbing issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is one of serious concern and, as Canadians, we know Aboriginal women deserve respect, dignity and the right to feel safe,” said Minister Ambrose. “Our plan will provide new tools for law enforcement, and improve the justice system and victims' services.”

The Government of Canada will invest $10 million over two years to improve community safety and to ensure that the justice system and law enforcement agencies can better respond to cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

The measures will improve law enforcement and the justice system through:

• A new National Police Support Centre for Missing Persons to help police forces across Canada by providing coordination and specialized support in missing persons investigations;
• A national “tip” Web site for missing persons;
• Enhancing the Canadian Police Information Centre database to capture additional missing persons data;
• Amendments to the Criminal Code to streamline the warrants application process where wiretaps are required in missing person cases; and
• A comprehensive list of best practices to help communities, law enforcement and justice partners in future work.

The measures will also improve:

• Federal funding for culturally appropriate victims services through provinces and territories; as well as funding for Aboriginal groups to help the families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women;
• New awareness materials, pilot projects and new school- and community-based pilot projects targeted to young Aboriginal women; and
• New community safety plans to be developed to enhance the safety of women living in Aboriginal communities.

“By introducing these new measures, our Government is improving law enforcement resources and supporting Aboriginal communities through better victims' services, awareness programs, and community safety plans. Our government is taking action to help effectively address the issues of crime and safety,” said Shelly Glover, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

The Government of Canada is proud to be introducing measures that complement other important programs, such as a $500,000 investment this year to the Native Women's Association of Canada from the “From Evidence to Action” program; the Government's Aboriginal Justice Strategy, which serves approximately 400 communities; the Government's Family Violence Initiative and other important collaborative programs.

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Pamela Stephens
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621

Media Relations
Department of Justice
613-957-4207

Rebecca Thompson
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women
819-997-5421

Backgrounder:

The Government of Canada's Ongoing Support for Aboriginal Peoples

Backgrounder:

Concrete Steps to Address the Issue of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women