Open letter to Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice on Violence Against Indigenous Women
Posted: 4 October 2006
“We need a government that will address seriously the issues raised in the Amnesty International report.”
The Honourable Jim Prentice, Question Period, October 26, 2004
The Honourable Jim Prentice
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Dear Minister:
Two years ago Amnesty International issued a major report documenting the widespread violence faced by Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The Stolen Sisters report cited a Canadian government statistic, now a decade old, that young Indigenous women in Canada are at least five times more likely than all other women to die as a result of violence.
At the time, you called the report “a shocking and sobering picture of the plight of many aboriginal women in Canada today” [1] and urged immediate action.
In the two years since the release of the report, there have been important initiatives undertaken by all levels of government. For example, we know of some police forces that are working with Indigenous women to improve their missing persons policies. Much-needed funds have also been granted to some Indigenous organizations such as the Native Women’s Association of Canada to undertake research and education in this area.
As you stated in the House of Commons on October 26, 2004, "we need a government that will address seriously" the issues of violence against Indigenous women and girls. While some notable steps have been taken to address these issues, they fall short what is needed to address the severe and persistent threats to the well-being, safety and fundamental human rights of Indigenous women in Canada that the Native Women's Association of Canada has long raised and that the Stolen Sisters report documents.
When the federal government announced its funding support for the Native Women’s Association you said the government wasn’t doing enough and expressed disappointment at “continued piecemeal response directed towards Aboriginal Canadian women.” [2]
We echo your concern. It’s time to take the lives of Indigenous women and girls seriously. It’s time to build on and coordinate those few positive initiatves that have been undertaken to date and establish a comprehensive plan of action to ensure that Indigenous women and girls in Canada can at long last live in safety and security.
Such a plan of action must:
- Uphold the rights of all Indigenous women and girls whether they live on reserve or in other communities
- Ensure effective coordination of federal, provincial, and territorial policies, programs and services impacting upon the lives and well-being of Indigenous women and girls.
- Address long-standing and deep-rooted patterns of discrimination and impoverishment that put so many Indigenous women in harm’s way.
- Ensure that police in every jurisdiction have clear guidance on effective and appropriate response to threats to Indigenous women's lives and safety, including reports of women and girls who have gone missing.
- Help Indigenous women escape from abusive relationships and dangerous situations by ensuring adequate, sustained funding to shelters and frontline organizations providing culturally appropriate services.
We call you as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to do everything in your power to ensure the establishment of such a plan of action on an urgent and immediate basis.
Yours sincerely,
Bev Jacobs
President
Native Women’s Association of Canada
Alex Neve
Secretary General
Amnesty International Canada
[1] Question Period, November 16, 2004. Edited Hansard Number 15, 38th Parliament, 1st Session
[2] Press Release. Yelich and Prentice Demand Action for Aboriginal Women, Monday, 23 May 2005