Elizabeth May, Saanich—Gulf Islands
“Seven years ago, an inquiry gave the government 231 calls for justice to stop violence against Indigenous women and girls. Indigenous women are still being abused, killed, and going missing, and the government has not said how many of these calls it has met. I want to know if the government will commit to finishing them, including safe rural transit and a guaranteed income.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise at this hour in Adjournment Proceedings to pursue a question I asked in question period on May 5. We were nearly at the anniversary of June 3, 2019, the date of the long-fought-for report. It was such a traumatic experience just to get an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. That inquiry wrapped up, and as I asked my question on May 5, I noted that it was almost seven years ago that the report of the inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit plus people had been given to the government. Back then, we hoped. The government of the day said it would do its very best and certainly was committed to achieving all of the calls for justice within the report. There were 231 calls for justice. In other reports, one might just call them recommendations, but I think it was powerful that they were called calls for justice. The horror of the number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in this country remains with us, because many of those women and girls are still missing, and many more have gone missing since we got the report back on June 3, 2019. The response I got from the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations was compassionate, caring and thoughtful, as is she. She did not provide a number of how many of the calls for justice had been achieved. She did, of course, express the concern that justice, as she said, was “not with respect to just one project, but a life we need to continue to live”, and that violence against indigenous people must end. However, it remains the fact that here we are in late October 2026, and we still are dealing with the reality that women are missing and murdered. I have a lot of friends from all kinds of backgrounds, close friends, but it is only among my indigenous women friends that it is rare to find a friend who is indigenous in this country who has not been beaten up and abused. One of my close friends, I thought I knew about her life until she said, “I never told you about the time I was left for dead in a dumpster.” She said it as if it was a sort of normalized experience for indigenous women and girls, and it is, in fact, far too common. I tried to find a number for tonight’s debate, from Statistics Canada and other sources, as to how many indigenous women and girls have gone missing since we got the recommendations, which have not been fulfilled. It was hard to find a number because Statistics Canada and sources do not necessarily agree, but it is a large number of women and girls from the indigenous communities of this country who have gone missing since the report came out. I will quote, because it was at least authoritative, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, which states, “Despite half a decade passing since the release of the National Action Plan, the implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice has been insufficient.” It states that “many federal commitments remain delayed, fragmented, or difficult to measure in ways that reflect the realities Indigenous communities [face] every day.” What we are looking at is an ongoing crisis. We have recommendations that were really important and sweeping, such as bringing in a guaranteed livable income, such as ensuring that there is safe and efficient transportation in rural and remote Canada, a recommendation that would serve all parts of society in rural and remote Canada, where people cannot get from A to B unless they own a car, other than hitchhiking and putting themselves at risk. It is now, with a few seconds left, time to ask again. What is the level of commitment of this government? Will we hear a commitment to achieve these recommendations?”
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise at this hour in Adjournment Proceedings to pursue a question I asked in question period on May 5. We were nearly at the anniversary of June 3, 2019, the date of the long-fought-for report. It was such a traumatic experience just to get an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. That inquiry wrapped up, and as I asked my question on May 5, I noted that it was almost seven years ago that the report of the inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit plus people had been given to the government. Back then, we hoped. The government of the day said it would do its very best and certainly was committed to achieving all of the calls for justice within the report. There were 231 calls for justice. In other reports, one might just call them recommendations, but I think it was powerful that they were called calls for justice. The horror of the number of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in this country remains with us, because many of those women and girls are still missing, and many more have gone missing since we got the report back on June 3, 2019. The response I got from the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations was compassionate, caring and thoughtful, as is she. She did not provide a number of how many of the calls for justice had been achieved. She did, of course, express the concern that justice, as she said, was “not with respect to just one project, but a life we need to continue to live”, and that violence against indigenous people must end. However, it remains the fact that here we are in late October 2026, and we still are dealing with the reality that women are missing and murdered. I have a lot of friends from all kinds of backgrounds, close friends, but it is only among my indigenous women friends that it is rare to find a friend who is indigenous in this country who has not been beaten up and abused. One of my close friends, I thought I knew about her life until she said, “I never told you about the time I was left for dead in a dumpster.” She said it as if it was a sort of normalized experience for indigenous women and girls, and it is, in fact, far too common. I tried to find a number for tonight’s debate, from Statistics Canada and other sources, as to how many indigenous women and girls have gone missing since we got the recommendations, which have not been fulfilled. It was hard to find a number because Statistics Canada and sources do not necessarily agree, but it is a large number of women and girls from the indigenous communities of this country who have gone missing since the report came out. I will quote, because it was at least authoritative, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, which states, “Despite half a decade passing since the release of the National Action Plan, the implementation of the 231 Calls for Justice has been insufficient.” It states that “many federal commitments remain delayed, fragmented, or difficult to measure in ways that reflect the realities Indigenous communities [face] every day.” What we are looking at is an ongoing crisis. We have recommendations that were really important and sweeping, such as bringing in a guaranteed livable income, such as ensuring that there is safe and efficient transportation in rural and remote Canada, a recommendation that would serve all parts of society in rural and remote Canada, where people cannot get from A to B unless they own a car, other than hitchhiking and putting themselves at risk. It is now, with a few seconds left, time to ask again. What is the level of commitment of this government? Will we hear a commitment to achieve these recommendations?
