Alberta report shares 113 recommendations to stop violence, improve safety for Indigenous women and girls

Rick Wilson, Indigenous relations minister, introduces the Alberta Joint Working Group on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls 113 recommendations on Friday, June 3, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton/Evan Klippenstein).

At an emotional ceremony on Friday, the provincial government released a roadmap for action in helping address violence and safety for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

The first recommendation is to establish a 12-member committee, with experts and 75 per cent Indigenous women and MMIWG survivors and families membership, to advise and oversee the province's implementation efforts. It will have a five-year mandate.

Rick Wilson, Indigenous relations minister, said the committee will report directly to the premier and that his ministry is already working on developing parameters to find members.

"We're gonna get some good, hard-working people with big hearts working on this panel, and we'll get it up and running as quickly as we can," Wilson said.

"That's going to guide us in how we're going to move forward with (future) policies and legislation," he added.

The report was developed by a working group of Indigenous women, elders, and several MLAs to develop a roadmap forward, including 113 recommendations.

All of the recommendations focus on four overarching pathways for action to enable: community connections and healing, education and economic independence, community wellness and justice system improvements, and better inclusion of Indigenous women and girls.

Despite Alberta having the second-highest number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, the 113 Pathways to Justice represents the first major effort the province has made toward addressing the federal MMIWG inquiry three years ago.

After the national report was released in June 2019, Alberta created a working group to provide advice to the government on how to move forward. The group worked for more than a year, from March 2020 to December 2021, with the final report submitted on Jan. 5.

'ALBERTA IS STEPPING UP'

Some of the other recommendations in the 167-page report include creating and funding an MMIWG research centre, a provincial Indigenous human rights ombudsperson and tribunal, and building Indigenous communities' capacity to design and deliver children's services.

Additionally, the report calls for a 24-hour Indigenous crisis line and support referral service and expanding the women fleeing violence benefit to include families of MMWG.

"Indigenous women have told us what they need," Wilson said at Friday's news conference west of Edmonton at Enoch Cree Nation.

"And the Government of Alberta is stepping up."

Rachelle Venne, former co-chair of the working group that developed the report, thanked the families, survivors, and Indigenous groups that were consulted to help develop the recommendations.

"Those discussions were hard, but we think, as a group, we came together at the end to make sure we put forward the best recommendations we could," Venne said.

"It is a starting point for government," Venne added. "It recognizes the complexity of how and why this violence occurs, and it commits to addressing four pathways that lead to and perpetuate violence.

"It is my hope that the work we did as the Alberta joining working group becomes part of the work moving forward, and that government takes that to work, the words and recommendations from us."

Hundreds gathered at Churchill Square on May 5 for Red Dress Day. (Jessica Robb/CTV News Edmonton)

April Eve Wiberg, a founding member of the Stolen Sisters and Brothers Awareness Movement, said the actions suggested by the working group represented a strong first step but wished there was more recognition of the grassroots work being done in Alberta.

"The community here was already taking action," Wiberg said. "We've been doing this (work) without funding. Why?

"Because it matters to us. We are passionate about it because we are family members. We are not going to sit around and wait for others to take action and we need to have the support to continue those grassroots efforts."

Wilson noted that while the pathways to justice and the MMIWG council are new, the government has focused on violence prevention by working to end human trafficking in Alberta, setting up Indigenous courts focused on restorative justice, and providing grants supporting crisis prevention.

'WE HAVE A LOT OF WORDS'

Michelle Robinson, a member of the Yellowknife Dene First Nation and Indigenous advocate, told CTV News Edmonton she was disappointed by the government's response to the report.

"We have lots of words," Robinson said. "You can have as many announcements of what you're going to do but if you never fulfill it, then it's pointless."

Robinson gave the example of a city councillor hearing from community members that a new bike lane needed to be created. City council would assign funds and work toward breaking ground, she said.

"It's great to have ceremony and pomp," Robinson said. "What we need is action and obviously a budgeted line item for that work in order for it to be successful."

She also was worried about how effective the premier's council would be in keeping the government accountable.

"I don't understand how Indigenous people who are already in an oppression dynamic are going to be able to hold this government to account in any capacity," she added. "The people that will be appointed to this will be 'yes' people to the premier."

Wilson said the government was serious about taking action to help address violence against Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people.

"This is not something that's going to be shelved," he said. "We're going to make things happen."

The Official Opposition said it hopes the province works toward meaningfully addressing each of the 113 Pathways to Justice.

"The steps announced today are important, but immediate and transparent action must be taken to implement these vital recommendations to advance the cause of reconciliation," said Richard Feehan, NDP critic for Indigenous relations, in a statement.

Cheryl Uchytil — whose daughter, 25-year-old Nature Duperron went missing in 2019 and was found dead weeks later — spoke at the announcement of the government's report, sharing how she is still waiting for the trial to begin in September.

"I would like to see a better result for people suffering with trauma," she said, adding she gets $105 monthly to support her and her two children.

"I have to be able to help my children so they can prosper because they suffered such great loss by losing their eldest sister," Uchytil said.

"And that's what we need in this world: more support, more understanding, more help for the children, and for the families that are raising these children, $105 doesn't cut it."