The final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was released approximately 1 year ago. UBCM would like to encourage members to bring the Calls for Justice to their respective councils or boards for review, prioritization and consideration of endorsement in collaboration with local Indigenous communities.
This request was put forward in resolution 2019-LR4, endorsed at the February 21, 2020 Executive meeting as amended:
Whereas there is a responsibility by all to redress the systemic racism and to eliminate the gendered colonial violence perpetrated against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQQIA) people within Canada;
And whereas the June 3, 2019 final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (the National Inquiry) found that Indigenous women are twelve times more likely to be murdered or to go missing than members of any other demographic group in Canada, and included 231 Calls for Justice, which “represent important ways to end the genocide and to transform systemic and societal values that have worked to maintain colonial violence":
Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on all local governments to bring the recommendations (Calls for Justice) from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls back to their respective councils or boards for review, prioritization and consideration of endorsement in collaboration with local Indigenous communities;
And be it further resolved that UBCM support the call upon federal, provincial, regional, municipal, and Indigenous governments in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to develop and implement a National Action Plan to address violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
UBCM has also written a letter to the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, to convey this resolution and related policy regarding violence against Indigenous peoples.
Examples of how local governments in other jurisdictions have approached the Calls for Justice include:
- Saskatoon: Saskatoon Council voted to explore how to implement the Calls for Justice, by requiring members to read the final report and requesting staff to report on which of the 231 calls are applicable and how they could be implemented.
- Winnipeg: passed a motion asking the public service to review the Calls for Justice and make recommendations that “can be achieved within existing City of Winnipeg budgets”, while leaving the door open for potential additional costs in the future.
More broadly, Call for Justice 1.3 calls on all governments to “pursue prioritization and resourcing of the measures required to eliminate the social, economic, cultural, and political marginalization of Indigenous women, girls, and2SLGBTQQIA people when developing budgets and determining government activities and priorities”.
Local governments can review the full report of the Inquiry for more information.