Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people to answer the question posed by my hon. colleague.
Our government remains committed to ending the ongoing national tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada. This is why, when previous governments failed to do so, we immediately moved to establish an independent inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
As we have announced and have indicated many times, the federal government has provided nearly $54 million over the past two years to ensure the success of this national inquiry.
The inquiry released its interim report on November 1, 2017. The commissioners stated in their interim report that they were striving to make stronger connections with families, survivors, and women's and indigenous organizations that are their key partners on the front line.
The government will respond shortly to the recommendations of the inquiry's interim report and we will outline further actions at that time. The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs has met with these commissioners on several occasions, including since the interim report was released.
On the broader recommendations, the commission is right to raise these important issues because they are all connected. The government took immediate action on these points. They produce better results for communities, lead to stronger and healthier families, and support self-determination.
A working group has also been created and is meeting regularly with the commission to help resolve the administrative issues faced by the commission. The working group is providing solutions to ensure the commission can complete its work.
We are also discussing the commission's recent request for an extension to the work that it is doing, so it may deal further with families, indigenous partners, and provincial and territorial counterparts.
We have said along, and we continue to say, that families must be at the centre of the independent commission's work. The families of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls remain at the heart of this inquiry. We know we need to bring healing for the families, justice for the victims, and put an end to this national tragedy once and for all.
We are determined to do this right for the survivors and for their families, to honour the spirits and memories of those who have been lost, and to protect future generations.