Obiter Dicta Issue 4 - October 14, 2014 | Page 18

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.