I would like to move now to the recommendations we have made in the report, which we would urge this committee to consider.
First, police accountability is a necessity for the safety of indigenous women and girls. Meaningful police accountability requires independent civilian investigations of all allegations of serious police misconduct, including allegations of sexual abuse.
Our research showed that when police abuse happened or when the police failed to provide adequate protection, women, girls, and their families had limited recourse. Fear of retaliation for filing complaints runs high in the north, particularly for women and girls who live in small communities, who are homeless, or who have had multiple contacts with the criminal justice system. They could lodge a complaint with the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP, but the process is time consuming and the investigation of the complaint could, and often would, fall to the RCMP itself or to an external police force. The CPC's primary role was to monitor the processing of complaints by the RCMP, and the RCMP ultimately determined what remedial action would be taken.
While the passage in June 2013 of the Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act resulted in some reforms, including the replacement of the CPC with the new Civilian Review and Complaints Commission, CRCC, which has expanded investigative powers, we do not feel this goes far enough. The law still does not obligate the RCMP commissioner to heed the recommendations of the CRCC, nor does it remove the CRCC from reporting to the Minister of Public Safety, a move that would have enhanced the body's independence. Moreover, although serious incidents are to be referred to provincial investigative bodies where these exist, the law does not foreclose the possibility of the RCMP investigating itself.
Even in a province like British Columbia where an independent civilian investigative body has been established, this system will not ensure proper investigation of all serious allegations of misconduct. British Columbia's Independent Investigations Office, IIO, which began operations in September 2012, is mandated to conduct criminal investigations regarding police-related incidents involving death or serious harm. Serious harm is, however, defined in such a way as to exclude sexual assault. Consequently, it is highly likely that even with the new federal law, sexual assault allegations against RCMP officers in B.C. will be investigated by police officers either external to or with the RCMP.
Second, the gravity of the crisis of violence against indigenous women demands a national inquiry. We were heartened by the establishment of this committee and we look forward to the results of your work. At the same time, our conviction that an independent national inquiry is necessary for addressing this violence has grown stronger over time. There is still so much that we do not know about the scope and the dynamics of the violence, as well as the police response to it. Recently published research indicates that the number of missing and murdered indigenous women across Canada may be over 800, but comprehensive data collection efforts are hampered by the fact that there is currently no precedent for the standardized collection of ethnicity data by police forces in Canada.
An independent inquiry could also examine in depth the range of complex economic, social, and historical factors that contribute to this violence. The need to address the problem at this level is painfully visible in northern B.C., where billboards warn women and girls of the dangers of hitchhiking but where many have few alternatives when they need to get to a doctor, go to court, visit family, or attend to any number of pressing needs. Apart from the clear infrastructure gaps, which have been known about for years, this speaks to the need for a larger discussion of the economic and social dynamics that put women at risk.
The desire to move forward and take immediate action is understandable, and indeed a national action plan is called for, but the action should be informed by a comprehensive independent inquiry with the full participation of all stakeholders, including individual indigenous women and girls, family members of victims, indigenous community representatives, women's rights advocates, law enforcement, and social service providers.
A national inquiry would represent a major undertaking, but the safety of Canada's indigenous women and girls is at risk, and has been for far too long.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify.