(Ottawa) The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is urging Manitoba’s Lieutenant Governor to launch an independent inquiry into the murders of four Indigenous women in the province.
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak had a productive meeting with Lt. Gov. Anita Neville on Wednesday.
The meeting came days after the APN passed a resolution calling for an inquiry to assess the police investigation and the provincial response to the killings.
Jeremy Skibicki was found guilty of first-degree murder last week in the deaths of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman the local Indigenous community calls Buffalo Woman.
Mme Woodhouse Nepinak said Wednesday’s meeting was just the beginning of a process that will also include a conversation with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
She expects Mme Neville responds to his appeal in a letter.
“I think it’s important that we open up those lines of communication and work to resolve this issue,” Mr.me Woodhouse Nepinak in an interview.
“What if this happens again? What will we do?” she asked.
She added that she hopes a provincial inquiry will reignite the national conversation about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and put pressure on governments to act on unimplemented recommendations from a previous national inquiry in 2019.
The assembly noted that only two of the 231 calls to action contained in the 2019 report have been implemented to date – a figure which Mme Woodhouse Nepinak has spoken publicly on several occasions as a way to urge all levels of government to work harder to address the problem.
“It’s almost as if they want to forget and put these issues aside,” the chief lamented. “I think that if we move forward (with the investigation), it will lead to change, even if it’s not immediate.”
The proposed scope would ensure that protocols are followed to preserve evidence. It would also look at how systemic bias may have influenced the outcomes of cases. It would also allow First Nations commissioners to conduct the investigation and evaluate research efforts.
Protests have taken place across the country over the case, which dates back to 2022, demanding that a landfill be searched for the remains of two of the victims.
Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative government refused to fund the research, saying it was too expensive. It became a major issue in last fall’s provincial election.
During the campaign, the NDP’s Wab Kinew promised he would fund the search if he became premier. His party won the election and the search is expected to begin this fall.
Morgan Harris’ daughter, Cambria Harris, told APN last week that a “sad, sad precedent” was set when governments refused to excavate the landfill where her mother is believed to be buried.
“And now I can finally say that we will do it,” she announced when the resolution was adopted.