Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be back here. I have spoken on this issue before in previous late shows and I am back again in response to questions I have asked before. I want to underline the importance of what I am saying, the importance to many groups in Canada and, I would submit, the importance to many Canadians.
I want to acknowledge the Sisters in Spirit initiative of the Native Women's Association of Canada. It was launched by a Liberal government in 2005 and supported ongoing by the current Conservative government. It is an initiative that has brought forth the issue of the more than 520 missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in our country.
Before this initiative, Canadians did not have much knowledge of this issue. They did not know about the tragedy that had been mounting over the past 30 years. Because of the important work of Sisters in Spirit and so many other grassroots organizations, the national disgrace is now part of the public dialogue.
More than 223 of the 520 recorded cases have happened since the year 2000. That is 43% in the last nine years. These cases are all over the country. It is not a provincial problem. It is a national problem and it is one that needs to be addressed by the federal government.
To date, since we on this side of the House have raised the issue and called for a national, public and comprehensive investigation into the matter, it has been the provinces that have taken up leadership on the issue. Manitoba announced a joint task force with the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service on this matter earlier this fall. Alberta has an initiative to look into the disappearances which have happened in that province. The province of British Columbia is launching its own inquiry.
These inquiries should not be left up to the provinces. These cases are national in scope. Many of the girls could have been trafficked, or have been trafficked, across borders and may be in other provinces and perhaps even in other countries, yet the federal government chooses not to take action on this critical problem.
Last year at the United Nations peer review, Canada was denounced for not taking any action on this matter. The council gave the government an opportunity to respond with a deadline of November this year. That deadline has come and gone and now we hear the government will reply some time later this year.
Why is it not taking this issue seriously? Why is it not giving it pre-eminent attention? What will it take and how many more women have to go missing?
I know the government's response will talk about the work of Sisters in Spirit. I applaud the initiative of Sisters in Spirit and I hope to hear it say that it will renew this initiative. The research is important, but it is now time to take action and it is time for the government to act. I am hopeful the government will finally hear the calls from aboriginal peoples across the country and the international community and launch a public investigation into this matter.
I have travelled the country, primarily in western Canada, meeting with individuals and organizations. I know this is what they are looking for and I know they are calling on the government to act, and I am as well.