OPINION
18 Obiter Dicta
Missing women
» continued from page 8
An inquiry on murdered and missing indigenous women would face an uphill battle because it
wouldn’t enjoy the simplicity of investigating one
singular event. An inquiry of this nature would mean
combing through and analyzing police cases (or lack
thereof) over a timespan of at least thrity years. This
creates enormous problems regarding resource needs
and the ability to collect materials; in numerous
cases, the necessary evidence may simply no longer
exist because it has gone missing or has been disposed
of. Beyond this, at least some cases under review
would concurrently be before the courts, meaning evidence would be inaccessible to the public.
Finally, I have deep concerns about what an inquiry
would mean for the families who have lost their loved
ones. I’m not convinced that painfully opening their
wounds is the right course of action.
There is no question that there needs to be a shift
in the lens through which Canada views the troubles facing First Nations. An inquiry into missing
and murdered indigenous women would undeniably bring further attention to the continued tragedy
and put pressure on the government to act, but this
is inadequate. Action needs to start now; it needed to
start decades ago. I can’t help but think that the tens
of millions of dollars an inquiry would cost could
be better spent on services that address the needs
of First Nations communities. Training programs to
lower unemployment rates, addiction counseling services, support for sentencing circles and indigenous
justice systems, rebuilding trust in police services,
helping indigenous teens graduate high school—this
list barely scratches the surface of what is required.
Rather than a national report, I believe that more
work needs to be done to determine what is needed
on a local level. If roundtable discussions are called,
I sincerely hope there is a substantial effort made to
include indigenous community leaders from across
the country. Rather than putting forward overly
broad and impractical umbrella statements, our focus
should be aimed at meeting the unique needs of individual communities. u
Student caucus
» continued from page 3
University Community,” said Allison Williams, a 3L
Rep. Additional responses cited financial accessibility, mental health, equity development, and creating
more opportunity for student research as priority
issues for members of Student Caucus.
“The perks of the job aren’t great,” said Henry
Limheng, referring to the free lunch provided at
monthly Faculty Council meetings. “We wouldn’t
be doing what we’re doing unless we truly cared
about how Osgoode is run and improving the student experience.” u
ê Toronto Strawberry Ceremony for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women in February 2014. Photo credit: CPT
Aboriginal Justice Team.
t humbs UP
California’s new “Yes Means Yes” legislation.