On the fifth anniversary of the report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) castigates all levels of government for what she calls the slow progress towards ending the crisis.
Only two of the more than 150 calls to action aimed at First Nations people have been implemented since 2019, says Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.
This is despite continued calls from advocates at all levels of government for increased funding for Indigenous housing, justice and LGBTQ+ programs that they say would keep women and girls safe.
The 2019 survey concluded that Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be missing or murdered than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and issued a total of 231 calls for action to help curb the epidemic.
Mme Woodhouse says government inaction is a failure that is “not acceptable to our people,” and she hopes it won’t be acceptable to Canadians either.
The head of the AFN calls on governments and their agencies to make meaningful changes based on justice and respect for human rights, with survivors and their families in mind.
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