CHRC stresses need for short-term actions in the wake of newly launched Inquiry

“Indigenous women and girls should not have to wait for the results of the inquiry to see measurable improvements in their lives. The situation is urgent,” said the Chief Commissioner Marie-Claude Landry. “This is why the Commission encourages the Government of Canada and all stakeholders to identify steps that can be taken immediately while we wait for the conclusion of the Inquiry.” 

Over the next few months, the Commission will bring together key stakeholders to see what mechanisms can be put in place to provide support to Indigenous women and girls at risk. It is critical that this support be provided by a range of Indigenous experts—elders, social workers, health care providers, policing authorities, education specialists, and others—that can provide immediate and continuous support to women and girls in their own communities.

The Commission will continue to assist the Government of Canada in integrating a human rights perspective into the Inquiry proceedings, with Mme Landry noting: “Violence against women and girls, especially Indigenous women and girls, is a systemic human rights issue.  And systemic human rights issues need systemic solutions.”

Mme Landry added: “What is happening to these women and girls is not just an Indigenous issue—it’s a human rights issue that touches us all. It is going to take everyone—from coast to coast to coast, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, on reserve and off, men and women, young and old—working together to find lasting solutions so that the next generation of women and girls are free from violence.” 

Quotes

“Indigenous women and girls should not have to wait for the results of the inquiry to see measurable improvements in their lives. The situation is urgent. This is why the Commission encourages the Government of Canada and all stakeholders to identify steps that can be taken immediately while we wait for the conclusion of the Inquiry.”

—Marie-Claude Landry, Ad. E., Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission

“Violence against women and girls, especially Indigenous women and girls, is a systemic human rights issue. And systemic human rights issues need systemic solutions.”

—Marie-Claude Landry, Ad. E., Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission

“What is happening to these women and girls is not just an Indigenous issue – it’s a human rights issue that touches us all. It is going to take everyone—from coast to coast to coast, on-reserve and off, men, women, young and old—working together to find lasting solutions so that the next generation of women and girls are free from violence.” 

—Marie-Claude Landry, Ad. E., Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission

Associated Links

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

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