Good afternoon.
I would like to begin by thanking the honourable members for providing the Métis National Council with the opportunity to appear before you today. We commend the committee for its examination of the root causes, extent, and types of violence experienced by aboriginal women, and its desire to recommend solutions in cooperation with aboriginal women.
Women account for over 50% of all Métis in the Métis homeland of Canada. The homeland includes the prairie provinces and extends into Ontario, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and the United States. The 2006 census reveals that there are a little over 170,000 women who identify as Métis in the homeland. The Métis National Council represents the Métis nation at the national and international level. Through democratically elected representatives, the Métis National Council governing members speak on behalf of the Métis nation in Canada.
Our population is very youthful. Fully 25% of Métis women in the homeland are under the age of 15. Another 26% are between the ages of 15 and 29. The majority of Métis women are in fact children and youth.
Violence and discrimination against Métis and other indigenous women in Canada are a human rights concern that is national in scope and tragic in scale. Over the past several years, evidence of systemic discrimination and brutal violence towards Métis, first nations, and Inuit women has made it impossible for Canadians and the international community to deny. Reports about delays in investigating the disappearances of aboriginal women in Vancouver's downtown east side and in other centres such as Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and Toronto have revealed unjust treatment of aboriginal women in Canada. Lack of Métis-specific data on incidence rates prevents us from providing a precise statistical view of the nature and extent of violence against Métis women. However, Métis women, their families, and communities know too well the magnitude of discrimination and violence.
Some research has been undertaken on Métis victims in the sex trade, for example, that demonstrates the stark reality many women and youth find themselves in. We would like to commend the federal government's recent budget commitment to address violence against aboriginal women. Initiatives such as the Native Women's Association of Canada's Sisters In Spirit campaign have played a role in raising awareness of issues through its research, education, and policy initiative.
According to NWAC's report, there are currently 582 known cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women or girls. It can be safely and sadly assumed that many of these cases are those of Métis women and girls. Another relevant report, which was produced by Amnesty International, is entitled No More Stolen Sisters. The report describes violence and discrimination against indigenous women as a major human rights concern.
The Métis National Council supports Amnesty's call for the federal government to create a national plan of action to protect the rights of Métis, first nations, and Inuit women. It agrees that a plan of action must include the collection and routine publication of gender-disaggregated data on health and social and economic conditions for Métis, first nations, and Inuit women and men, including the rates of violence against women; standardized protocols for police handling of missing persons cases that recognize the specific risks of aboriginal women; improved police investigations into missing persons cases and unsolved murders involving aboriginal women; and adequate, sustained, long-term funding to ensure the provision of culturally relevant services to meet the needs of Métis women and girls at risk of violence or in contact with the police and justice systems.
The Métis National Council urges the federal government to take a strong leadership role in response to deeply entrenched discrimination and to the large numbers of women who have been murdered or gone missing in Canada. As initiated by the Council of the Federation, an aboriginal affairs working group has been formed, consisting of provincial aboriginal affairs ministers and aboriginal leaders. It is preparing for a meeting on April 28 to address economic development, education, and violence against aboriginal women. At its initial meeting last fall, the working group reiterated the premiers' call for a first ministers meeting on aboriginal issues. The Métis nation also urges the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of first ministers with Métis, first nations, and Inuit leaders as soon as possible.
The complex and extensive nature of violence against Métis women will require a massive undertaking. It will need to involve multiple levels of government and include justice, law enforcement, child welfare, and social service agencies.
The MNC encourages the establishment of task forces such as the Manitoba Integrated Task Force for Missing and Murdered Women. This task force includes representatives of the Government of Manitoba, RCMP, the Winnipeg Police Service, and a spokesperson for Métis women in Manitoba. Meaningful change is not possible without sustained collaboration, political will at all levels, and adequate financial investments.
We would like to take this opportunity to further address the committee on issues of access to federal resources. Core funding for Métis women was previously administered through the Department of Canadian Heritage, and it is now being administered through the office of the federal interlocutor for Métis. However, this core funding is limited to incorporated women's organizations.
This policy has been a long-standing source of frustration among Métis nation leaders, both male and female, because it prohibits democratically elected Métis governments from accessing these much-needed resources. Status of Women Canada has a mandate to promote the full participation of women in the economic, social, and democratic life of Canada.
The MNC is pleased to report that 48% of the elected provincial leaders are women. In two of our larger governing members, the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Manitoba Métis Federation, the percentage of democratically elected female leaders is 64% and 52% respectively. Métis women are elected both in general provincial elections and as women representatives. Women are elected to regional and provincial Métis councils and boards, and they are often responsible for the women's portfolios, or designated as ministers responsible for women.
Yet resources such as the Status of Women's partnerships and community funds cannot be accessed. This has been a detriment to Métis women, children, family, and communities. Current government policy imposes an approach to funding that is inconsistent with Métis nation governance. The Métis National Council recommends a review of government policy on core funding. It is open to working with federal departments to find an appropriate solution.
In summary, I would like to reiterate three recommendations.
The first is that members of the committee and the federal government more broadly take a leadership role in addressing violence against women by supporting a distinctions-based approach to social and economic inequalities between aboriginal peoples and the general population, including a Métis-specific plan of action; participating in and supporting the ongoing work of the aboriginal affairs working group; and calling upon the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of first ministers and Métis first nations and Inuit leaders to address the priority areas identified by the aboriginal affairs working group.
Two is that dedicated resources be provided to allow focused engagement between Métis nations, federal and provincial governments, service agencies, the justice system, courts, and police forces to address issues of violence against Métis women, including missing and murdered Métis women and girls.
Three is that the federal government work with Métis nations to address long-standing bureaucratic barriers to accessing funding for Métis women through Status of Women Canada and other agencies, such as the office of the federal interlocutor of INAC. This is an important starting point to advance the equality of Métis women in the manner that is consistent with the aspirations of Métis women and respectful of Métis nation governance.
In closing, the Métis nation is resolved to support, protect, and respect the rights of Métis children, women, and youth. We as a nation have lost too many of our mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, and children to violence. This cannot be tolerated in a just society.
Thank you.