Activists across the country delivered a similar message in Ottawa a year after the release of a national plan to end violence against Indigenous women and girls: the federal government has failed to deliver on its commitments.
Posted at 9:10 p.m.
“It is with deep disappointment and frustration that I say the lack of accountability over the past year is staggering and unacceptable,” Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, chair of the National Circle of Families and Survivors, said Friday.
“It’s a national disgrace and it’s also dangerous. Every day of inaction in this area leads directly to tragic loss of life and further violence,” she argued.
Mme Anderson-Pyrz spoke at an event in Gatineau, marking the first year of the plan and the third anniversary of a final report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that described 231 calls for Justice. Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Justice Minister David Lametti also attended.
The National Circle of Families and Survivors had hoped that the plan and a “federal path” document last year would be a new avenue to put families at the center of efforts to end systemic barriers and discrimination.
Mme Anderson-Pyrz says that was not the case.
“Affected family members and survivors are not mere symbols of this crisis. We have a wealth of lived experience, expertise and knowledge that should be at the center of all actions to end gender and race-based violence,” she said.
“Without the political will to create transformative change, this genocide will continue,” she said.
Mme Anderson-Pyrz referenced five Indigenous women who were found dead this year.
Tytiana Janvier, of northern Alberta, died in March of what police said was a drug overdose.
The remains of Chelsea Poorman were found in a Vancouver home in April. She had been missing from her Saskatchewan First Nation since 2020.
Rebecca Contois, Doris Trout and M’s own nieceme Anderson-Pyrz, Tessa Perry, were found dead in Winnipeg last month. Police declared the female victims of homicide.
At least 89 Indigenous women and girls have been killed since the inquiry’s final report was released, according to data from the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. The agency said the number is an underestimate, as it does not include suspicious deaths, missing women and some probable cases in which Indigenous victims have not been identified.
Ottawa released its own progress report Friday on work completed between 1er April 2021 and March 31, 2022, in several priority areas defined by the survey.
“Things are not moving fast enough, but they are moving,” Miller said.
The anniversary was not a time to congratulate each other, he added, because indigenous women and girls still do not have the fundamental right to safety and security in their communities.
The progress report indicates that more than 25 departments and agencies are implementing the plan through new or renewed programs, funding and policies.
New programs include support for families and survivors, cultural spaces, health and wellness, and languages, the report said.
There has not yet been the creation of an oversight body to represent the interests of families, survivors and Indigenous communities. Mr Miller said there was no excuse for this and the government was working on it.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada released its own analysis that found there have been funding commitments, but little has been done to directly support survivors and families.
“We’re hearing that this just isn’t translating into the help needed on the ground,” said Executive Director Lynne Groulx.
“Three years have passed. It is very disheartening for family members who need to see some action,” she added.
A group representing Métis women has announced that it is disassociating itself from the federal progress report.
The organization said in a statement Friday that the report was rushed and did not fully describe the lack of tangible action.
“We support the voices of national and provincial Indigenous women’s organizations,” said Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak President Melanie Omeniho. Our voices have been silenced in what can only be described as political pretense. »
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed his government’s commitment to working with survivors, families, communities and other partners.
“We will never forget those who never came home and we will honor their memory by working tirelessly to build a better future, where everyone is safe from violence. To women, girls and people 2eIndigenous LGBTQQIA, today and every day, we support you in reclaiming your power and your place,” he said in a statement.