Okay; I was told I had 10 minutes, so I'll cut parts of my speech or speak really fast.
First off I just want to say meegwetch to everyone for inviting me here to speak. I also acknowledge the traditional territory where we are situated today.
In attempting to better understand, appreciate, and address violence in all of its forms in respect to aboriginal women and girls, one must invariably and rightly begin with the advent of colonialism in Canada--that is to say, start at the root causes of said violence.
I will not spend much time outlining our collective history and those marginalizing policies--residential schools, the Indian Act, etc.--that were enacted with devastating consequences for aboriginal women and girls. Rather, I would simply state that it is imperative and requisite to acknowledge and incorporate, without fail, this shared history into our discourse, analysis, processes, and resultant directives.
Particularly as we operate from within this residential school post-apology era, with its expressed desire to move forward together in a journey of collective healing and reclamation, we now enjoy a safe space in which to discuss openly and respectfully the colonial legacy and its impact on aboriginal women and girls, with exacting reference to violence.
Aboriginal women and girls experience violence from within a myriad of manifestations, including racism, sexism, classism, sexual identity discrimination, social and economic marginalization, lack of adequate and safe housing, lack of access to education, lack of access to justice, and lack of access to social services such as lawyers, specialized shelters, and various social service programs, to name but a few.
Taken together, all these manifestations of violence create an overwhelming, inequitable space of marginalization and dislocation and a sense of hopelessness in the daily lives of aboriginal women and girls. Often we see intergenerational trauma and crisis in the experiences and narratives of aboriginal women and girls, with little opportunity to escape or move forward toward healing.
Although each of the above manifestations deserves its own separate volume of discussion, deliberation, and debate, I choose instead to focus my comments specifically on the tragic phenomenon of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, which is indisputably the ultimate and final manifestation on this spectrum of violence.
We know that even moderate figures designate approximately 600 aboriginal women and girls as either missing or murdered. We know, too, that each of these women and girls is representative and reflective of the diversity within our indigenous community. Some were teachers, some were students, some were workers, some were sexually exploited, and some had transient mental health disorders. Indeed, these women represent a microcosm of most, if not all, Canadian women and girls. They were mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunties, and cousins. Indeed, there exist two prominent connecting features amongst missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls: they were aboriginal, and they were all loved and cherished by their families.
It is within this spirit that Manitoba affirms that the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women and children is both a regional and a national tragedy demanding immediate attention, condemnation, and action by government, civil society, non-governmental agencies, grassroots associations, and their respective leaderships.
There are close to 80 missing or murdered aboriginal women and girls from Manitoba alone. We continue to commit to their families and loved ones--and what's more, to all Manitobans--to thoroughly, methodically, and strategically address this issue and ensure that justice is achieved for these loved ones.
Consequently, on August 26, 2009, the Government of Manitoba announced the creation of the Manitoba integrated task force for missing and murdered women, in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Winnipeg Police Service.
One week following, on September 3, 2009, Manitoba established the Manitoba action group on vulnerable and exploited women, seeking partnership between government and grassroots organizations to address this critical issue.
A special adviser on aboriginal women's issues was appointed to work specifically on this file in concert with government, community, and families. In addition, the special adviser is assigned to work directly with the RCMP and the WPS in a liaison capacity on behalf of the families of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls, providing a much-needed trusting link between the two parties.
Current research from Chandler and Lalonde shows us that truly meaningful social outcomes for aboriginal communities are achieved when--