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AFN Chief: MMIWG Report Critical to Advancing Reconciliation

Tuesday, 4 June 2019 16:28

Assembly of First Nation Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek says the 1200-page Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Report released yesterday is critical to advancing reconciliation for Indigenous people in the country.

Assembly of First Nation Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek says the 1200-page Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Report released yesterday is critical to advancing reconciliation for Indigenous people in the country.

While Chief Adamek notes while there are already some initiatives in the north to advance reconciliation towards  Indigenous women and girls, including an advisory council and family gatherings for those impacted in the territory, she says this report provides insights on just how much more needs to be done. 

"There's so much being done and this national inquiry with the over 200 recommendations is so clear in next steps. In this moment, I think it's important for non- Indigenous Canadians to read through and reflect on what everyone needs to start doing in this moment of change that we need to see.We can't continue on in the way things are moving with respect to the safety of Indigenous women and girls."

Despite the language used in the final report, Chief Adamek says it was necessary to help many Indigenous people and others come to terms  on the issue.

"There's been a lot of conversation on social media about the term ""genocide"". Quite frankly, as the commissioner mentioned-  (genocide) ""is an inescapable conclusion"" is the reflection that she shared. I think this is incredibly important because it's extremely uncomfortable for Canada. These are hard conversations, but we have to have them."

While Adamek highlights while there's a broad call in the report to advance Indigenous issues in country, there are also specific calls in the report.

"This is really implementing a lot of what we already know, including starting to call on government to recruit more Indigenous justices and judges...including in the Supreme Court of Canada. The report also calls for the creation of a Deputy Commissioner of Indigenous Corrections position."

Over 200 recommendations to advance Indigenous reconciliation for women and girls was provided in the report yesterday.

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