Premiers call for inquiry into missing aboriginal women

Maria Babbage, The Canadian Press, July 24, 2013

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. -- Provincial and territorial leaders threw their support Wednesday behind a national public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, ratcheting up the pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to follow suit.

There was support for an inquiry among the premiers who met with aboriginal leaders Wednesday ahead of the Council of the Federation meeting, said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, who will chair the premiers' summit Thursday.

She said violence against aboriginal women is a very important issue that has touched every Canadian jurisdiction and is extremely important to all the leaders who attended the meeting.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, centre, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, right, and Nova Scotia Premier Darryl Dexter, listen to Elder Walter Cooke conduct the opening prayer during the premiers' meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on July 24, 2013. (Aaron Lynett/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Newfoundland Premier Kathy Dunderdale were absent, but Wynne said that doesn't mean they don't support an inquiry.

"There were reasons why they couldn't be at the table, but certainly I will be speaking to them and asking them if they would be able to support the NAO's call for an inquiry."

Michele Audette, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, said she viewed their absence as a message.

"It's probably for me, my perception or interpretation, that they're sending a message saying they're not in support for this national public inquiry," she said.

But a spokesman for Redford who was contacted later Wednesday said the Alberta premier in fact supports the call for an inquiry.

Redford was in Toronto on Wednesday for a meeting with the Insurance Bureau of Canada and various CEOs of insurance companies in Toronto, trying to garner support for the southern Alberta communities devastated by flooding.

First Nations' calls for a public inquiry on violence against aboriginal women have garnered support across the country in recent years.

Aboriginal leaders praised the attending premiers for supporting the cause, hailed as a major step in their crusade for an inquiry, which has been endorsed by Amnesty International Canada.

"This is an important expression of support," said Shawn Atleo, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

The Native Women's Association of Canada has been saying for 13 years that there's a rise in missing aboriginal women, Audette said. The organization has documented about 582 cases of missing or murdered women and girls.

Audette said she'll phone the federal government Thursday and push for a letter from the premiers to be sent to Harper and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt. She'll also be reaching out to the two missing premiers to see if they'll support an inquiry.

"We did a major, major step today -- or a major moccasin step, I always say," she said.

Violence against aboriginal women is a "huge" issue in Manitoba, which has a lot of missing people, said Premier Greg Selinger.

"It speaks to the most vulnerable people in our community and when they go missing, we are all worse off," he said.

"And we want to make sure they're safe and our streets are safe and our neighbourhoods are safe and young women are safe regardless of who they are."

It's a big problem in the North too, particularly in small, isolated communities where women can't get help, said Northwest Territories Premier Bob MacLeod.

"I think this gives a statement that this is a serious problem and that all of the premiers want to see something done," he said.

Others issues discussed at the premiers' meeting with aboriginal groups included improvements in education for aboriginal students on and off reserve.

Funding for students on reserve is up to $3,500 less per pupil than students off reserve, Wynne said.

But Wynne and Atleo say they're not looking for Ottawa to hand over the responsibility to the provinces. They'd rather see the federal government work with the provinces and aboriginal communities to help aboriginal students succeed, said Wynne.

"The kinds of solutions that are working in P.E.I., that are working in British Columbia, that are going to work in Quebec and Ontario may be slightly different," she said.

"But what we need is the federal government at the table as a full partner in terms of funding their responsibilities and at the same time, recognizing that provincial governments bring huge expertise in education."

Premiers meet with leaders National Chief Shawn Atleo talks about what was discussed at the meeting with premiers and whether or not it was successful.CTV News Channel: Focus of premiers meeting Don Martin weighs in on what will be the focus of the premiers' meeting and if healthcare will be discussed.Extended: Premier Kathleen Wynne speaks The Ontario premier discusses the types of issues covered at the meeting, including infrastructure, missing Aboriginal women and more.1 2

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From CBC.ca

Aboriginal leaders to press premiers on poverty, education

Groups also want to discuss violence against aboriginal women, housing issues

By Susana Mas, Jul 24, 2013

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will host provincial leaders from across the country for the Council of the Federation meeting at Niagara-on-the-Lake. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Canada's provincial and territorial premiers will meet with aboriginal leaders on Wednesday afternoon as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne kicks off the annual summer gathering in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

A number of issues facing Canada's Aboriginal Peoples - including poverty, a lack of affordable housing, education and ending violence against aboriginal women - are expected to be on the agenda during Wednesday's meeting of the premiers with First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders.

Wynne replaces Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter as Chair of the Council of the Federation, the group that makes up Canada's 13 provincial and territorial premiers.

A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.

While the challenges facing Canada's aboriginals are numerous, this semi-annual meeting of the premiers comes on the heels of revelations that the Canadian government used at least 1,300 aboriginal children attending residential schools in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia as test subjects.

On the agenda at the Premiers meeting

Wednesday: Premiers meet with five groups of aboriginal leaders which includes the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, the Native Women's Association of Canada, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.

Thursday: Premiers will focus on the economy and will discuss jobs, skills and training, strategic infrastructure and fiscal arrangements. Premiers will also discuss progress on the Canadian Energy Strategy.

Friday: Premiers will discuss affordable and social housing, bullying and cyberbullying. Premiers will also discuss progress on health-care innovation.

A closing news conference is planned for Friday afternoon.

For continuing coverage of the meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, stay with CBCNews.ca.

The research recently published by historian Ian Mosby revealed that the Canadian government conducted nutritional experiments on malnourished aboriginal children and adults during and after the Second World War.

Shawn Atleo, the national chief for the Assembly of First Nations, has demanded an apology from the federal government and is pointing to this and other examples of past abuses as evidence that the federal government should let their communities exercise control over education.

Last week, the AFN unanimously passed a motion opposing the federal government's draft legislation or "blueprint" for First Nations education, citing several key problems with it.

The AFN will make a presentation to the premiers highlighting a number of priorities where action is needed such as education, economic development, ending violence against indigenous women and girls, housing, a national disaster mitigation strategy, and health.

Affordable housing

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples will be pressing for better living conditions for aboriginals living off-reserve.

"How can you go and get an education if you don't have a safe, warm place to lay your head at night? How can you get training if you don't have an address? You can't," said Betty Ann Lavallée, the national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples in an interview with CBC News.

A great deal of Canada's aboriginal youth find themselves "couchsurfing."

"They can't get into training institutions because they don't have permanent addresses ... some of them don't feel safe in shelters, some of them are on the street. They want to get off the street, they want to get out of gangs. They just need that safe, affordable place to lay their head at night," Lavallée said.

Housing will also be the top priority for the group representing Canada's Inuit.

Overcrowded, substandard housing contributes to many serious health problems in the North such as outbreaks of tuberculosis, a spokesperson for Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami told CBC News.

Group pushes for inquiry into murdered or missing women

The priority for the Native Women's Association of Canada is to fight poverty.

Michèle Audette, the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, told CBC News she will call on the premiers and territorial leaders to support the group's push for a national public inquiry into why so many aboriginal women are murdered or go missing.

"It is not a native women's issue, or an aboriginal issue. For us, it's a Canadian issue and everybody is affected by that," Audette said.

The Native Women's Association of Canada has said they have documented over 600 cases where aboriginal women have been murdered or gone missing betwen 2005 and 2010 - a number the RCMP has told CBC News it can't confirm.

A report made public by the Office of the Correctional Investigator in March found evidence of "systemic discrimination" against Canada's Aboriginal Peoples.

Aboriginals are so vastly overrepresented in Canada's federal prison system that current policies are clearly failing them, said Howard Sapers, the correctional investigator for Canada.

Aboriginal women are not only over-represented in the federal prison system, they are also serving more time.

Another federal report published last September revealed that the number of aboriginal women in the federal prison system amount to "nothing short of a crisis."

The Métis National Council will also be present during Wednesday's meeting of the premiers.

The premiers will meet on Thursday to discuss skills and training, infrastructure and a Canadian energy strategy.

On Friday, the premiers will talk about bullying and cyberbullying, as well as progress on health-care innovation.