On MMIWG anniversary, national Inuit organization says response is underway

Canada’s national Inuit organization says it’s working to implement the dozens of calls to justice issued by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

On the one-year anniversary of the release of the inquiry’s final report, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami re-iterated its commitment to the inquiry’s 231 calls to justice—46 of them Inuit-specific—and to the national action plan being drafted in response.

But that plan, originally set to be released today, June 3, has now been delayed, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said last week.

“On this day and every day I affirm my commitment to fulfilling my obligations to uphold and advance the work of implementing the calls for justice,” said ITK president Natan Obed in a June 3 news release.

“This is an unprecedented national opportunity for transformative change, and I urge the Government of Canada to respond to the calls for justice with humility and respect through all steps necessary, in partnership with Inuit, to bring about the change we all need.”

ITK said those calls are now considered a priority within its Inuit-Crown partnership committee, a body where Inuit leaders, the prime minister and federal ministers work on common files.

ITK said its latest 2020-23 strategy and action plan was developed with MMIWG recommendations in mind: it sets objectives to reduce poverty among Inuit and promote health and social welfare and Inuktut revitalization.

Many other Indigenous organizations have expressed disappointment and frustration at the delayed response to the national inquiry’s recommendations.

Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada said it’s critical that the plan is delivered this year, given the increased risk many Indigenous women face during the COVID-19 pandemic, as access to services is restricted and many families remain in isolation.

In the meantime, Pauktuutit has asked the federal government for $20 million to help construct five new emergency shelters and transitional housing units across Inuit Nunangat, though the government has not yet responded to that request.

Last week, Indigenous Services Canada announced over $80 million in funding for new women’s shelters in Indigenous communities, noting two are destined for the territories, but the government has yet to name the communities where these shelters will be built.

For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted the one-year anniversary of the inquiry’s final report, a document he was handed during the June 3, 2019, ceremony in Gatineau.

“It is clear we have failed Indigenous women and girls for far too long,” Trudeau said on social media on June 3. “But the inquiry has shown us there is path forward.”

In honour of victims and their families who testified at the inquiry, Pauktuutit is posting the names of missing or murdered Inuit women in its Twitter and Facebook feeds.