The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Churchill MP Niki Ashton has joined a growing chorus demanding a national public inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal women in Canada. She and her fellow New Democrats, along with aboriginal leaders, Liberals and the Human Rights Watch advocacy group, are calling on the Harper government to take that step. 'A national, open inquiry is the only way to get justice for the women who have been murdered as well as their families and communities,' said Ashton, NDP status of women critic, in a news release. 'Successive governments have failed aboriginal women. Continuing to ignore this national tragedy is unacceptable and will not make it go away.' Ashton said an inquiry would also help increase aboriginal women's trust in police. Several aboriginal women and girls in northern B.C. allege physical or sexual abused by RCMP officers. Many of the victims reportedly believed their complaints would not be taken seriously. 'It is a national disgrace that in a country like Canada, women have so little trust in the police,' Ashton said. 'A national inquiry is a necessary first step towards rebuilding this relationship and putting an end to violence against aboriginal women.' For its part, the Harper government supports the idea of a parliamentary committee to study missing and murdered aboriginal women, according to the Canadian Press.
