Statement from the NDP on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report on missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia

The Official opposition critic for aboriginal affairs, Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan) made the following statement:

Today’s report from Inter-American Commission on Human Rights says that the “disappearances and murders of indigenous women in Canada are part of a broader pattern of violence and discrimination against indigenous women in Canada.”

The Commission reiterates calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and for the government to comprehensively address the underlying factors that exacerbate the violence against Indigenous women.

It is time for the Prime Minister and Minister Bernard Valcourt to stop ignoring the sociological phenomenon of missing and murdered Indigenous women and take federal action to address the crisis.

In Canada, Aboriginal women are seven times more likely to be murdered than non-Aboriginal women. This is unacceptable. The Conservatives need to accept that this violence is systemic and we need to deal with the underlying causes.

It is unconscionable for the Conservatives to continue to ignore the growing demands for action and an inquiry.”