On June 20, 2020 WILPF Canada submitted the following letter to the office of the Prime Minister regarding the Report of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
Dear Prime Minister:
We, the members of the Canada Section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom urge you to implement the National Action plan immediately, a plan which was promised one year ago after the Report of the Missing and Murdered Women and Girls was released.
Asking the families and the indigenous community to wait even longer is a cruel gesture when they continue to experience violence. During this period of Covid19, there is evidence that indigenous urban women are under heightened vulnerabilities and risk factors which calls for your special attention. The 231 calls for justice and your promise to bring out an action plan gave us all some hope. So we urge you to act now.
We acknowledge and thank your government for the various initiatives undertaken so far, such as the legislation to preserve the indigenous languages and elimination of gender discrimination in the Indian Act.
During this month of June, which is the National Heritage Month of Indigenous Peoples, we urge you to take immediate steps to appoint an Ombudsperson to oversee the process of developing the Action Plan and ensuring ongoing involvement of the families of missing and murdered women and girls. Canada is obligated to act on this based on our commitment to International and domestic Human Rights Laws.
Immediate attention to this request, which we ask you to consider along with voices of many Canadians already expressed, will be appreciated.
Thank you very much.
WILPF Canada
