March 14, 2014
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Supports All-party Resolution of National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Children
Provincial Government is Committed to Violence-free Families and Communities
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador supported the Native Women's Association of Canada in calling for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in July of 2013. The Provincial Government is now supporting an all-party resolution calling for that inquiry. The resolution, to be brought forward next week, can be found in the backgrounder below.
“Violence against Aboriginal women and children is a serious problem, both in our province and across Canada. We are calling on the Federal Government to launch an inquiry into the tragedy of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in this country, and we are prepared to work with the Government of Canada on such an inquiry. I want to thank the leader of the New Democratic Party, who initiated this all-party resolution, and the leader of the Liberal Party for ready agreement to proceed. We stand together on this issue.”
- The Honourable Tom Marshall, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
“We fully support a provincial resolution calling upon the Government of Canada to hold an Independent Inquiry as a way to seek out justice for all Aboriginal people. The recent tragic death of Loretta Saunders has made the circumstances surrounding the high numbers of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls even more troublesome. It is clear that this is a crisis that must be addressed immediately.”
- Dwight Ball, Leader of the Official Opposition
“We hope that by passing a unanimous resolution of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, as was done in the Nova Scotia Legislature, that our actions will push the federal government of Canada to action to end violence against Aboriginal women.”
- Lorraine Michael, Leader, New Democratic Party
QUICK FACTS
- The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is supporting an all-party resolution calling for a Federal Public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal Women and Children.
- The Provincial Government is working with Aboriginal governments and organizations and allocated $200,000 towards 11 projects to help prevent violence against women as a component of the Violence Prevention Initiative.
- Further information about the Violence Prevention Initiative can be found at www.gov.nl.ca/vpi
- National statistics reveal that violence against Aboriginal women is a significant issue, reporting Aboriginal women being 3.5 times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be victims of violence.
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Media contacts:| Milly Brown Director of Communications Office of the Premier 709-729-3960 millybrown@gov.nl.ca | Tracey Boland Press Secretary Office of the Premier 709-729-4304, 697-3128 traceyboland@gov.nl.ca |
Carla Foote Director of Communications Office of the Official Opposition 709 729-6151 691-6673 carlafoote@gov.nl.ca | Jean Graham Director of Communications NDP Caucus Office 709-729-2137 693-9172 JeanGraham@gov.nl.ca |
BACKGROUNDER
All-Party Resolution
Call for a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls in Canada
WHEREAS Canadian Aboriginal women between the ages of 25 and 44 are five times more likely than all other Canadian women in the same age group to die as a result of violence;
WHEREAS the Native Women’s Association of Canada estimates that there are approximately 800 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada;
WHEREAS the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is on record as supporting the Native Women's Association of Canada in calling for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in July of 2013;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that all parties of this Honourable House call upon the Government of Canada to do its part to address the very serious issue of violence against Aboriginal girls and women by launching a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada.
The Honourable Tom Marshall, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
2014 03 14 3:20 p.m.