Eight unsolved murders involve indigenous women: OPP
Posted Dec 16, 2015 03:03:31 PM.
Last Updated Dec 16, 2015 03:06:17 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ontario provincial police say eight unsolved murders in their jurisdiction involve indigenous women, and another eight indigenous women are still missing.
Those cases go back to 1956, the OPP said Wednesday, and run until the end of 2014. The police force released a report on missing and murdered indigenous women and men, a project that began in 2011.
The release comes days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to open an inquiry into Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women, which former PM Stephen Harper refused to do.
“The release of this report is timely to the start of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) National Inquiry and the release of the full report from the Truth and Reconciliation process,” Chief Isadore Day, Ontario Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations, said Wednesday.
“Now it’s time to get work done based on a new social lens in Canada. Reconciliation means that all Canadians, all organizations, all political stripes and authorities, roll up their sleeves and begin to change a Nation. The Ontario Provincial Police report on missing and murdered First Nation citizens gives us a good starting point.”
Click here to see a list of the women, including photos.
In the 50-year-span from 1964 to 2014, there were 54 homicides involving indigenous females on OPP jurisdiction, eight of which are unsolved. From 1978 to 2014, 126 indigenous men were murdered. Only one case in that 38-year period remains unsolved, OPP say.
Click here to see a list of the men, including photos.
Of the eight missing women, foul play is only suspected in one of the cases. There are 39 missing indigenous men, and foul play is suspected in 22 cases.
“We recognize that there are many unanswered questions and that we cannot reverse the outcomes for the families and loved ones of those have gone missing or were murdered,” OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes said.
“We hope information in the OPP report generates further discussion, potential leads, and/or resolution for the families and communities who have suffered loss.”
Hawkes noted that the number may be higher than reported due to two factors. For one, the people may not have been reported missing. For another, they may not have been identified, or self-identified, as indigenous.
The report is currently available in English and will be translated into Cree, Oji-Cree, Ojibway, Oneida, Mohawk, Algonquin, and French.
Earlier this month, the federal Liberal government kicked off what it calls the first phase of its inquiry into the tragic phenomenon of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says the government will consult the families of victims over the next two months to get their input into how the inquiry should be designed and what it needs to accomplish.
There are an estimated 1,182 missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. RCMP statistics on the file begin in 1980.
