‘The violence pandemic continues’: MPs declare MMIWG national emergency
MP Leah Gazan also calls for red dress alert system for missing Indigenous women and girls
Leah Gazan, NDP critic for women and gender equality, demands action on murdered and missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people. (Photo by Matteo Cimellaro/Canada’s National Observer Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter)
The House of Commons unanimously passed a motion Thursday declaring the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people a national emergency.
The motion was tabled by Leah Gazan, NDP critic for women and gender equity, and arrived just before Red Dress Day on May 5.
It includes a call to provide immediate and substantial investment in a red dress alert system to help notify the public when an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing.
At a press conference on the morning of the motion, Gazan was flanked by several grassroots First Nation, Métis and Inuit advocates and activists. She emphasized during the press conference that structures are in place to create the alert system immediately.
Gazan says she has met with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to discuss a path forward. But her patience is running out.
“They just need to come to the table and then act,” Gazan said. “I’m done with meeting for the sake of meeting.”
It’s beyond “feel-good stuff” — action needs to happen, she added.
Currently, the government has earmarked $2.5 million over five years to implement the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited National Action Plan, but Gazan says action needs to happen now, pointing to the recent discovery of the remains of an eight-year-old girl from Samson Cree Nation and the death of a woman from Sandy Bay First Nation over the weekend.
But this year’s federal budget notably clawed back $150 million of funding for women’s shelters, a move that “really, really worries” Carol McBride, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada.
“I hope this resolution means that [the federal government] will be looking at that funding that they’re planning on clawing back.”
In question period, the Liberals pointed to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to cut the shelter funds, Gazan said.
“The pandemic is over, but not the violence pandemic… The violence pandemic continues,” Gazan said.
At the press conference, Ellen Gabriel, an activist and filmmaker from Kanehsatà:ke, directly blamed politicians and bureaucrats for inaction.
“It becomes a matter of economics. It goes to the Treasury Board, rather than looking at educating you leaders, your politicians, about what human rights actually means,” Gabriel said.
“Every single one of us knows what it is to breathe, everyone knows what it means to lose a loved one. Why can’t politicians and bureaucrats understand that Indigenous Peoples are human beings as well?”
Between this and the last one about genocide I wonder if this MLA considers that the public can get fatigued by the rhetoric. It is at a point where there can apparently be no questions asked of these MLAs or otherwise be deemed some label like “racist”. I will ask a couple questions though that came to mind after reading the article: Is an indigenous only alert system going to make any difference compared to amber alerts? Next, what is data saying with respect to whom is most likely to commit crimes against indigenous women?
So tired of the hyperbole and empty signaling around this issue. To pretend the Federal Government is directly responsible for this issue, or that they don’t see indigenous women as “real people” is an absurd admission that these activists are completely blinkered to reality and complexity.
Are we putting this into perspective? Are we addressing the violence within the the communities of indigenous, or are we just narrowly looking for blame outside the communities as is usually done without acknowledging the reality. Look within and deal with the dysfunctional lives. Put the blame where it belongs.
So what solution do you have…since you only complain…
Fix the violence in the community, stop blaming others for problems you have. Start teaching children to love the people at least start with your own community. Take ownership of your life. All this blaming, creates negativity for indigenous. People are sick and tired and are just seeing right through this nonsense of blame others , and do nothing. Frankly, too many are starting to not care about your issues, not that they want to be like this, but it’s same old story, over and over, nothing gets any better for you. You’ll be like this until forever and ever. I’m not religious, but if I was I would say God helps those that help themselves. And if you’re religious, follow that rule at least.
All i see in court briefs is Indigenous names when it comes to the crimes of murder or violent acts upon other Indigenous people. This blame game needs to stop. This is a problem that needs to be dealt with from within the Indigenous circle. In general Canadians are getting very weary of hearing that this is an emergency when in fact its not. If you want change it needs to begin within.
These organizations – including the HoC – are shameful: for their classism, for pandering to social policy based on identity, and for promoting their individual’s self-interest
No way this has anything to do with the disproportionate number of indiginous men incarcerated. No way there’s any correlation here at all. Nothing to see here folks.
Do the MPs really want to solve this issue? If they do, it involves admitting that the root cause of this problem is indigenous dysfunction. Indigenous women are not being randomly kidnapped by strangers. Indigenous women are not being murdered by non-indigenous (at least not at any higher rate than indigenous themselves murder non-indigenous). The last big case in Ottawa, the woman was murdered by her own daughter.
Reality exists, no matter how hard the activists work to shape a narrative that it doesn’t.
That’s exactly how it is. It’s blaming that contributors to indigenous people in such a helpless mode, and it’s getting worse. People don want to hear about this anymore, it’s pathetic.
I see that she indicated that she met with “Public Safety Minister Bill Blair” to discuss the issue BUT Bill Blair is the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and he hasn’t been the Minister of Public Safety since October 2022, Marco Mendicino is the Minister of Public Safety now. Perhaps she should have a meeting with him also.
I’ve seen more violence in indigenous communities, then anywhere else in this country. Men beating women. Men sexually abusing little girls are all over the media, social media even has women story after story about being brought up in a deplorable state of abuse. Someone must be trying very hard to hide that reality with all this blame towards non indigenous.