Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women Committee on Dec. 5th, 2013

[Supt Susanne Decock]

I believe so. While I would hate to speak for the RCMP, I would say yes.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Okay. I understand they also have a national registry of missing persons, which is available to all police officers through CPIC.

[Supt Susanne Decock]

Yes.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Okay.

Last week we met with two gentlemen who were representing first nations police organizations. Each of them was chief of his first nation. One of the them was the chief of police from the Rama First Nation near Orillia, Ontario.

I asked him if he knew the percentage of the resolution of missing aboriginal persons cases and whether or not it differed from that of the mainstream population. Do you know those numbers?

[Supt Susanne Decock]

I have some numbers from our organization, which I would be happy to share, in regard to missing and murdered aboriginal women. They are based on work we've done internally as an organization.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Was that through the OPP?

[Supt Susanne Decock]

Yes.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Would you say there's a difference in the resolution of these cases for people from reserves versus those off reserve?

[Supt Susanne Decock]

Unfortunately, I don't have, nor have we done a comparison or looked at the numbers of all missing women. I believe that's what you're suggesting.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Yes. But do you have any sense of whether the resolution of missing persons cases has been getting better or worse over the last few years?

[Supt Susanne Decock]

Again, just to speak for the OPP, I can tell you that we certainly have made this a priority for us, as I mentioned in my comments, especially since the Native Women's Association of Canada certainly brought it to the forefront a couple of years ago as a big issue for all of our policing agencies to look at.

We have formed an internal working group in our organization with all the partners at the table: the aboriginal policing bureau, our criminal investigations branch, our intelligence branch, the pertinent areas that need to be there. We've started looking at our numbers, and we really looked internally at some of our next steps. We've had those discussions around data collection, collecting by ethnicity, which is something we don't do, so we're certainly having that conversation.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Do you share with first nations police forces your best practices for how you investigate aboriginal cases or missing persons cases?

[Supt Susanne Decock]

We work very closely with the first nations policing services in Ontario. If there were a homicide, a missing person case, in their community, it would be our Criminal Investigation Branch that would most likely be called in to assist and to work with them.

In terms of the best practices piece, all of our organizations sit together on various committees at the provincial level, so with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as at a national level, so with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. I just happen to be a co-chair of the subcommittee there on policing with first nations, Métis, and Inuit people. We often talk about best practices.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

So are you confident then that there's sufficient sharing of best practices across all these various police forces on how missing person and homicide cases are investigated and do you cross-train between the OPP and, say, the first nations forces in Ontario?

[Supt Susanne Decock]

Any of the training we offer in the OPP is made available to all of our first nation policing partners, yes.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Very good, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

Thank you very much.

Thank you once again to the three of you. Thank you for lending us your expertise today for an hour. I hope it went by quickly for you and we really do appreciate your coming to Parliament Hill to give us your testimony and for contributing to our report. Thank you so much.

We're just going to suspend for a minute or two while we switch panels and then we'll see everyone back here again.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

Welcome back to our second hour.

We are very pleased to have with us today, representing the National Association of Friendship Centres, Mr. Jeffrey Cyr, the executive director.

As representatives from the Assembly of First Nations, we have National Chief Shawn Atleo; Regional Chief Cameron Alexis from Alberta; and Ms. Charlene Belleau, former Chief of Alkali Lake, B.C.

Welcome to all of you.

Mr. Cyr, are you comfortable going first with your 10 minutes?

[Jeffrey Cyr, Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres]

Sure, I'll start.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

Thank you.

[Jeffrey Cyr]

Madam Chair, distinguished members of the Status of Women special committee, thank you for the opportunity to present to you on this very serious issue.

I wish to acknowledge first the traditional lands of the Algonquin nation where we are meeting today.

My name is Jeff Cyr. I'm a Métis from Manitoba and the executive director of the National Association of Friendship Centres.

Just for your knowledge, the National Association of Friendship Centres is a national aboriginal organization comprised of 119 urban-based aboriginal service organizations and seven provincial and territorial associations located form coast to coast to coast in Canada.

We've been providing community-based services on the front line for over 60 years in Canada, and are part of the social fabric of this country. As to the topic of this committee this evening, it's all front-line work, from our perspective.

The work of this special committee is very important to the friendship centre movement. Many of the documented cases of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada have links to urban areas. Furthermore, these women and girls are members of our communities, so we are compelled to speak out. We are compelled to seek change.

What I really want to speak to you about today is action. I believe we should focus on making demonstrable change on the ground in the lives of aboriginal people on a societal level. This issue of murdered and missing women and violence against women and girls is fundamentally a Canadian problem. It is not an aboriginal problem. It has often been cast as such. These are the most vulnerable elements of our society.

I have long stated that complex issues are not solved in isolation, are not solved by one single actor—not my organization, nor police forces, nor the government can do this alone. It is through shared goals, collective action, and leadership that we can effect change. This is our challenge.

The Native Women's Association of Canada's Sisters In Spirit database shows that of the cases they documented to 2010, 70% disappeared from urban areas, and 60% of those who were murdered were murdered in urban areas. The National Association of Friendship Centres believes this is a broad societal problem, one that requires action on all levels to ensure that indigenous women and girls are safe.

Research into this complex issue has been undertaken by the Native Women's Association of Canada, Manitoba's aboriginal justice inquiry, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry in British Columbia, and others. The research has revealed the higher vulnerability of aboriginal women and girls to violence.

In 2009, as a response, at our annual general meeting of the National Association of Friendship Centres, the membership passed a resolution and conducted an organization-wide study on poverty and social exclusion. I'll draw the connection for you in a minute.

Some of the findings of the research are that 94% of respondents agreed that social exclusion is an issue with our clients: that's 94%. Of the respondents, 58% say that social exclusion is a major factor in creating poverty. The study identified that the main reasons for the social exclusion of urban aboriginal people include racism, prejudice, stereotyping, poor education and literacy, poverty and unemployment, lack of government policies and programs for urban aboriginal people, and an unwillingness of governments to include urban aboriginal people in their policies.

The key messages from this study that friendship centres want all governments to know are that poverty and social exclusion among the urban aboriginal population in Canada are very serious issues that impact many thousands of children, youth, and single families in their daily lives; and that the impacts of poverty and social exclusion are having devastating impacts on health, social education, economic well-being, and the future lives of Canadian urban aboriginal people. Furthermore, poverty and social exclusion are linked to violence in our communities.

Sadly, indigenous women and girls are among the most vulnerable in Canadian society. For those of us who provide services to them, we know that there are serious systemic barriers and challenges that our communities face. We know that historical trauma, social exclusion, and systemic racism only begin to paint a picture of vulnerable communities and the obstacles they face in achieving safety.

The NAFC has done some work in this area. Our New Journeys website is designed to provide information directly to aboriginal peoples, and particularly to first nations women, who need this information for their transitions from the reserve or remote communities to a city. The website lists thousands of service organizations and agencies. It also contains transitional planning guides for women, students, and families.

However, in order to address these issues, we believe that widespread systemic action and change are needed. We must focus on integrative approaches to collective action. Innovative approaches and widespread systemic action are needed in areas of policing, education, social services, public health, and others to ensure that we provide effective support for our most vulnerable populations.

An example that I find enlightening in providing hope on how we do things within our communities is the hub model that was developed in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, led by the chief of police there. This is an example of interlinking service providers to decrease crime rates—and there's evidence that it works. Using short-term case-work teams made up of a spectrum of human services personnel is a way of acknowledging that violence and crime prevention is a community responsibility. They have found success in ways that would not have been possible without an integrated approach. It was not about money but about an integrated approach.

Indigenous communities are recognizing the role they play and are taking action. Two friendship centre programs in particular address violence against aboriginal women. One is the moose hide campaign. This is where men wear a small patch of moose hide to symbolize their commitment to stand up against violence towards aboriginal women and children. I am wearing one tonight. To quote my colleague in British Columbia, Paul Lacerte:

We need to speak up and take positive action, and we need to support each other as Aboriginal men in our healing journey.

Another program is Taking Care of Each Other's Spirit. This is a campaign undertaken by the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres to address the abuse of women in aboriginal communities across Ontario. The tools provide communities with a road map for an action plan to end violence against aboriginal women, while providing resources for aboriginal women who may be experiencing violence or who are at risk.

I am amongst a distinguished panel here today, so I want to keep my remarks brief and allow the committee time to do its work. I wanted to leave with some parting thoughts on the way forward. First, I believe we need to articulate a set of shared goals at a community, regional, and national level.

Second, we need to set aside perceived areas of influence and jurisdiction—that's within cities, within provinces, and within communities—and build a model of collective action that empowers community action. The Prince Albert hub model may provide some key insights as to how we can do this. It isn't about the money; its about the effort.

Last, we need to show leadership. We need to use our collective clout, power, and influence to move communities, to move governments, and to allow for new forms of integrated action.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

Thank you very much.

I'll turn it over to you, National Chief Atleo.

[National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations]

[Witness speaks in Nuu-chah-nulth]

Greetings. I am A-in-chut.

[Witness speaks in Nuu-chah-nulth]

I want to join others in acknowledging that we're here in unceded Algonquin territories.

It's my privilege to offer up some thoughts as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. As I said, I am A-in-chut, or Shawn, Atleo.

I am joined here tonight by my colleagues.

With me is Alberta Regional Chief Cameron Alexis, who holds the national portfolio with the Assembly of First Nations executive. We have executive members representing 10 regions from coast to coast to coast. He carries the executive responsibilities for justice matters, has also served his community as chief, and brings with him over 20 years as a police officer with the RCMP.

Also with me is Charlene Belleau, a former chief of Alkali Lake first nation.

Thanks to the chair for acknowledging that she is a former chief herself.

She works with the Assembly of First Nations and, in my view, has demonstrated some of the most important leadership on the issues that are before us this evening at this committee, as well as in her community, in addressing safety, security, justice, and healing issues.

I really appreciate the opportunity to be here and to provide you with contributions to your recommendations.

In doing so, the Assembly of First Nations would like to recognize you, Dr. Carolyn Bennett, for your leadership in introducing the motion to create this committee.

We also recognize the support among all parties that was given to moving this forward. We welcomed the reconstitution, Madam Chair, of this committee in the new session of Parliament. I wanted to share that with all of you.

You've heard from a number of witnesses at this point and have a clear understanding of the contexts and the background, and I will not spend time going over that with you this evening.

We know there are many factors that work together to increase the vulnerability of indigenous women and girls: that historical, socio-economic, and legal realities have come together to create the conditions that allow this violence against indigenous women and girls to persist. You also know that it is simply and sadly true that there continue to be unacceptable levels of violence against indigenous peoples, particularly women and girls. The safety of indigenous women and girls is central to the health and well-being of all of our nations.

The factors that have led to the current rates of violence are absolutely complex, and they're intersecting, as was just articulated. Therefore, our responses must similarly be comprehensive, and they must be far-reaching.

At the 2012 annual general assembly of the Assembly of First Nations, over 800 chiefs, leaders, and citizens made a pledge to “live violence free and to personally work to achieve safety and security for all Indigenous peoples—women and men, girls and boys”. At the 2012 Council of the Federation, the premiers took up this pledge as a reminder in their professional and personal lives of the responsibility to ensure the safety of indigenous women and girls.

Since that time, thousands of first nations citizens and Canadians alike have taken the pledge. The pledge is clear recognition that ending violence and ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, particularly those most vulnerable, is everyone's responsibility.

Change starts within all of us, and we all have a role to play. In April of this year, the Assembly of First Nations and the Native Women's Association of Canada together convened a national forum on community safety and ending violence. We came together to identify the key elements and actions that needed to be brought forward for prevention, response, and ongoing support.

Specific actions were identified under broad themes of addressing structural/state violence and racism, rebuilding strong and healthy communities through capacity-building and support, increasing and strengthening partnerships, and building awareness and accountability. We've provided all of this to you, this national action plan, and I encourage you to incorporate it into your findings.

In the preparations leading up to this joint event, we summarized recommendations from previous inquiries and studies, and I remarked that if we stacked up all of the reports and studies related to first nations justice matters and violence, this body of work would simply tower over all of us. We don't lack for reflection. What we lack is accountability, and what we lack is action.

When I and others met with the Prime Minister last January and spoke specifically about a national inquiry into missing and murdered women, he responded that he had not yet seen the evidence that another inquiry could make a difference. Instead, he wanted to know what actions should be taken. I've heard these words echoed since by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.

I want to be very clear with all of you tonight. The families who have lost loved ones—mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends—are not asking for more study to delay moving forward on what we know needs to happen. The AFN is not in any way saying that we sit back and not undertake the needed efforts now to stop violence against indigenous women and girls. Instead, I want you to know that a national public commission of inquiry is critical for accountability and to create change. What has prevented us from moving forward in the past? Has it been cost, negligence, or has it been oversight?

The children, families, and communities that have been indelibly marked by violence deserve answers and accountability towards the future, a commitment that we all strive to achieve safety.

I believe you have a unique and very powerful role and I urge you to use it for the best outcomes. Structural change and achieving true reconciliation in this country, overcoming decades of failed and oppressive laws and policy, will take time, but there are immediate actions this committee can recommend take place, actions that demonstrate the commitment and political will needed to create change.

These actions include the creation of an independent national public commission of inquiry on violence against indigenous women and girls with a focus on developing action plans to address violence and the factors that lead to it, one that is inclusive and reflective of the perspectives of indigenous women, communities, and the families of missing and murdered women.

We seek a clear and unmitigated commitment to taking action demonstrated through the creation of a national public action plan. Indigenous communities, organizations, provinces and territories, are advancing strategies to end violence, but without clearly articulated national goals and coordinated efforts led by the federal government these initiatives will not fully address the magnitude of response required to prevent and end violence against indigenous women and girls and bring accountability to the families of those who are missing and murdered.

Thirdly, there need to be immediate increased investments in front-line services and shelters on reserve and in rural areas so that every first nations woman and girl experiencing violence has access to immediate support. As well, there needs to be a coordinated focus on prevention among youth and across populations, with particular outreach to remote communities and, as was expressed, in the urban centres.

You've heard from police services, and our work has brought forward specific recommendations for police that are worth noting here and in your final report. Police services need to work together to produce verifiable numbers on incidents of violence against indigenous women and girls so that progress can be measured. Adequate sustainable resources are required for first nations police services. Compulsory protocols are needed between and amongst police services to share information and immediately respond to and appropriately investigate reports of missing persons by indigenous families.

In conclusion, addressing violence against indigenous women and girls is all of our responsibility: individuals, elected representatives, legislators, and police. I believe we know what the solutions are. What is needed now is the commitment, the will, and the leadership to get there.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Stella Ambler]

Thank you very much.

Over to you, Ms. Crowder, for seven minutes.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Thank you very much.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming before us on this very difficult topic, and I appreciate both the national chief and Mr. Cyr's referencing the number of reports and studies that have already been done. We hear this from women, their families, and aboriginal organizations from coast to coast to coast that people certainly want to see the national inquiry but they also want to see action.

We had the opportunity to look at the national action plan that was developed. It is a very thorough action plan. You mentioned a couple of points out of that action plan, National Chief, and I wanted to touch on a couple of others.

Of the two others I wanted to mention specifically, first is the local community action grants to support the development of community action plans.

I think, Mr. Cyr, you mentioned the community action plans specifically.

And second, there's the question of creating a national public awareness and prevention campaign on violence against indigenous women and girls.

If you were to recommend three key immediate steps, what would your top three be out of probably about eight or ten that were listed at the end of this report? What are your top three?