Good afternoon, Madam Chair and honourable committee members.
I would like to thank you for the invitation to speak to you on your important study on indigenous women in the federal justice and correctional system.
I would also like to acknowledge that we are meeting on unceded traditional Algonquin territory.
My name is Shirley Cuillierrier. I am the senior adviser on reconciliation in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. I am a Mohawk woman and a member of the Kanesatake First Nation. My traditional name, given to me by my tota, is Kwanarataionne.
The safety and well-being of indigenous women and girls remains a priority of the RCMP. As such, the RCMP recognizes that in order to best serve and protect indigenous women and girls, ongoing work is required to foster and maintain respectful and trusting relationships with indigenous people.
Although the RCMP has a long history of working co-operatively with indigenous people, for some there remains a feeling of fear and distrust towards the police and the criminal justice system.
In 2013, the RCMP took leadership on the issue of violence against indigenous women and girls by undertaking a comprehensive study on police-reported incidents. The research consolidated data from police agencies and Statistics Canada. The results collected enabled the RCMP to gain insight into the vulnerability faced by indigenous women and the disproportionality of their victimization. The study aimed to provide a better understanding of the root causes of victimization, and highlighted the need to adopt a multidisciplinary, whole-of-government approach.
The RCMP is committed to working in collaboration with indigenous communities, partners and stakeholders and indigenous organizations, to ensure that they provide policing services that are transparent, responsive, respectful and culturally appropriate.
For the RCMP, trust and transparency in processes means that everyone, especially the most vulnerable populations, feel safe and confident in reporting crime. When filing a police report, complainants need to feel safe, respected, believed, and trust that appropriate action and follow-up will take place.
For example, in Nova Scotia people now have the option to affirm their oaths or give their statements using the sacred eagle feather. Adopting this traditional practice serves to increase the comfort of the victim, witnesses, and the accused.
The RCMP updated its missing persons policy. The policy emphasizes that missing persons cases must be given priority, and ensures it is supported by the necessary level of supervision throughout the course of the investigation. It requires ongoing and timely communication with the family or reporting parties and ensures that support to families be accessible if required, including referrals to culturally appropriate victim services. The RCMP has implemented a standardized risk assessment tool for missing persons investigations.
The RCMP continues to work toward building trust and confidence within indigenous communities through efforts such as identifying communities vulnerable to violence against indigenous women and girls. Through the identification, the RCMP has been able to focus prevention, intervention, and enforcement efforts to reduce vulnerabilities and incidents of violence against women and girls.
The RCMP has also aligned funding provided under the family violence initiative to support community-led programs within these communities. One such program, led by subject matter expert Diane Redsky uses community forums to help raise awareness about the risks of violence against women, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking. The forums bring community members together to provide crucial information on how indigenous women and girls can protect themselves. The community forums can also lay the foundation for the development of community action plans, a community specific plan that focuses on these critical issues.
A National Indigenous Liaison position has been created to support regular and transparent communication with indigenous leadership. Furthermore, the RCMP and the Assembly of First Nations have signed a relationship building protocol to promote relationship building and co-operation in policing matters between first nations and the RCMP. The RCMP has formed various committees which provide opportunities for expert exchange of ideas and opportunities.
The RCMP provides cultural awareness training to all its employees, with the belief that it is important to understand and be sensitive to the history of colonialism and discrimination that indigenous communities have faced. Many of the socio-economic conditions that continue to plague indigenous communities have made indigenous women and girls vulnerable to violent victimization.
Of particular importance to your area of study, the RCMP has engaged in a variety of restorative justice programs across Canada. Pre-charge restorative justice practices can divert offenders from the formal criminal justice system and provide opportunities for reconciliation between victims and offenders. The RCMP supports these practices and believes they are very beneficial to indigenous women by diverting them from criminal charges. It also protects them from harm through reconciliation and restoration. For example, the RCMP is working with the indigenous justice program to establish programs in Nova Scotia and Manitoba.
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and to share with you our commitment to improve the justice system for indigenous women.
Recognizing the complexity of this issue, the RCMP understands that a whole-of-government approach is necessary to create effective and lasting change. The RCMP is committed to working closely with our federal and provincial partners and most importantly with indigenous women and girls, who bring experience and expertise to your areas of study.
Thank you.