Canada s Response to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples

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1 Canada s Response to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples Canada received a letter from the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples dated 6 October 2011 related to the issue of violence affecting Aboriginal women in Canada. In his letter the Special Rapporteur sought information on the following: 1. Measures taken to investigate and prosecute cases of violence against Aboriginal women, as well as to provide culturally appropriate services to survivors and relatives of victims of this violence ; 2. Measures taken by Canada to address the alleged root causes of violence against Aboriginal women, including factors related to racial and sexual discrimination, poverty, social and economic marginalization as well as the effects of intergenerational trauma suffered by Aboriginal peoples that bear relevance to the causes of this situation ; 3. The reasons for which funding was denied to the Native Women s Association of Canada (NWAC) in its participation in the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry of British Columbia ; and 4. The attempts made to provide for the effective participation of Aboriginal women in the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry of British Columba. In addition, information on measures taken to address concerns regarding the disadvantages faced by Aboriginal women representatives in terms of access to effective representation by counsel as compared to counsel available for Government, federal and provincial police authorities. Canada notes that it has previously provided information to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls related to its concluding observation in paragraph 32 following Canada s appearance before the Committee on 22 October Canada provided an Interim Report in follow-up to this Concluding Observation in February 2010 (with a corrigendum filed in March 2010) and supplemental information was also provided in November These are attached as Annexes 1 and 2 respectively. Investigation and prosecution of cases and measures to address root causes of violence against Aboriginal women As noted in its responses to the CEDAW Committee, Canada is deeply concerned about the disappearance and murder of Aboriginal women and girls, and is committed to improving community safety and ensuring that the justice system and law enforcement agencies can better respond to such cases. In this regard, Canada has undertaken several initiatives and a number of measures have been implemented at different levels of government. For example, governments are addressing the issue through a number of approaches, including the creation of several provincial task forces to investigate cases of missing and murdered women, including the Manitoba Integrated Task Force, Project E-PANA (Northern District and Centre region of British Columbia), Project Even-Handed (Vancouver) and Project KARE (Edmonton). All governments in Canada are committed to ensuring that all women in Canada are safe and secure regardless of the community in which they live, and the Government of Canada and the provincial and territorial governments which are primarily responsible for policing continue to work with each other, with Aboriginal peoples, and with other stakeholders to develop more effective and appropriate solutions, and to mount collaborative responses to this pressing matter. On October 29, 2010, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $10 million over two years to improve community safety and to ensure that the justice system and law enforcement agencies 1

2 can better respond to cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. The Government of Canada will provide new tools for law enforcement and improve the justice system and victims' services through the following seven concrete steps: 1. Through a $4-million investment, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will: establish a National Police Support Centre for Missing Persons, including one resource, linked to National Aboriginal Policing Services, specifically dedicated to the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women; enhance the Canadian Police Information Centre to capture additional missing persons data; create a national registry for missing persons and unidentified remains so police have more comprehensive information on missing persons across jurisdictions; and create a national Web site to encourage the public to provide tips and information on missing persons cases and unidentified human remains. 2. The Government of Canada's Department of Justice will introduce amendments to the Criminal Code to streamline the application process when specific court orders or warrants need to be issued in relation to an investigation for which a judge has given a wiretap authorization. Currently, a law enforcement officer may make multiple appearances before different judges to obtain authority to use these related investigative techniques. This amendment will improve the efficiency of investigations into serious crimes, including those that involve missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Other amendments will be proposed to section of the Criminal Code, which provides authority for wiretapping without a warrant in emergencies (exigent circumstances). These circumstances can include murder or kidnapping investigations relating to missing and murdered Aboriginal women. The amendments being proposed would enhance privacy safeguards by, among other things, adding notification and reporting requirements to section The notification amendment would require notice to be given in writing to persons who were the object of an interception under this provision. The reporting amendment would require an annual report to be prepared on the use of electronic surveillance under this provision. 3. The Department of Justice will also provide $1 million to support the development of schooland community-based pilot projects to help heal, move forward and provide alternatives to high-risk behaviour for young Aboriginal women, including young offenders. The overall goal of the initiative will be to reduce the vulnerability of young Aboriginal women to violence. 4. Funds will be added to the Department of Justice's Victims Fund to help provinces develop or adapt culturally sensitive victim services for Aboriginal people. Additional investments in the Victims Fund will also be made available to Aboriginal community groups to respond to the unique issues faced by the families of missing or murdered Aboriginal women at the community level. This funding will total approximately $2.15 million over two years. 5. The Department of Public Safety Canada will provide $1.5 million over two years to develop community safety plans to improve the safety of Aboriginal women within Aboriginal communities. The plans will be developed by Aboriginal communities with the support of the Government of Canada to improve community safety and wellness. The information gathered from this process will help the government improve its programs and services and better respond to community issues. 2

3 6. In , the Justice Partnership and Innovation Fund made additional funds available of approximately $850,000 to develop materials for the public on the importance of breaking intergenerational cycles of violence and abuse that threaten Aboriginal communities across Canada. This funding was available to Aboriginal organizations and Public Legal Education groups working with Aboriginal groups. 7. The Department of Justice will also invest almost $500,000 in the development of a national compendium of promising practices in the area of law enforcement and the justice system to help Aboriginal communities and groups improve the safety of Aboriginal women across the country. These best practices will be identified in a number of fields: law enforcement, victim services, Aboriginal community development and violence reduction. More recently, in February 2011, the Government of Canada, through Status of Women Canada, approved over $1.8 million in funding to the Native Women s Association of Canada for a project entitled Evidence to Action II (ETA II). The goal of this 36-month project is to reduce the levels of violence experienced by Aboriginal women and girls in communities across Canada. Building on previous work, the project will work to strengthen the ability of communities, governments, educators (including those working with the Canadian Policy College, post-secondary institutions, and educators of elementary and high school students) and service providers to respond to issues that relate to the root causes of violence against Aboriginal women and girls. This will be achieved by education, developing communitybased resources and engaging communities, emphasizing awareness, prevention and responsiveness. The project will reach out to new audiences and those working to end violence against Aboriginal women through community engagement workshops, and will test and share a community resource guide with Aboriginal women, service providers, police and justice officials and leaders in communities. The Government of Canada recognizes that many of the challenges facing Aboriginal people, including Aboriginal women, are long-standing, multi-faceted and complex and that any proposed solution must correspond well to these challenges. The Government of Canada is making efforts to address these challenges through initiatives in key areas such as: education; reconciliation, governance and selfgovernment; economic development; empowering citizens and protecting the vulnerable; and, resolution of land issues. Canada s annual Sustaining Momentum report, a copy of which can be located at: provides further detail on programs and services in these key priority areas. The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry The provincial Government of British Columbia identified the need for the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry because it recognizes that there are lessons to be learned from the investigation and circumstances surrounding the disappearance of women from Vancouver s Downtown Eastside between 1997 and The purpose of an inquiry is for the Commissioner to establish facts and determine potential causes of events through an inquisitorial rather than an adversarial process and then make recommendations to government based on the findings. The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was established on September 27, Under the Terms of Reference, the Commission will: a) inquire into and make findings of fact respecting the conduct of the investigations conducted between January 23, 1997 and February 5, 2002, by police forces in British Columbia respecting women reported missing from the Downtown Eastside of the City of Vancouver; 3

4 b) inquire into and make findings of fact respecting the decision of the Criminal Justice Branch on January 27, 1998, to enter a stay of proceedings on charges against Robert William Pickton of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and aggravated assault; c) recommend changes considered necessary respecting the initiation and conduct of investigations in British Columbia of missing women and suspected multiple homicides; and d) recommend changes considered necessary respecting homicide investigations in British Columbia by more than one investigating organization, including the co-ordination of those investigations. The report of the Commissioner was to be submitted to the Attorney General of British Columbia by December 31, 2011 but this deadline has now been extended to June 30, The Government of British Columbia established the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry as a hearing and study commission in order to give it maximum flexibility to design a process that would facilitate the participation of all interested parties and enable the Commission to investigate the entirety of the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of women from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. A hearing commission holds formal evidentiary hearings and makes findings of fact; a study commission conducts research and consults both with inquiry participants and interested members of the community by receiving oral and written submissions. Study commissions can use a less formal process than a hearing commission to gather the information required to fulfil the mandate to develop recommendations for policy change. Inquiry participants as defined by the British Columbia Public Inquiry Act are those individuals or groups to whom the Commissioner grants participant standing. The Commissioner determines the nature and extent of a participant s role in the proceedings. Ten participants were granted full participant status and eight were granted limited participant status by Commissioner Oppal at the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. Participants with full standing are able to cross-examine witnesses and make submissions during evidentiary hearings and have access to documents disclosed to the Commission. Limited participants have access to disclosure documents and have the right to make final submissions at the conclusion of evidentiary hearings, but they are required to apply to the Commissioner on an individual basis in order to cross examine witnesses. The Native Women s Association of Canada was granted full standing but decided to withdraw from the inquiry process. All inquiry participants are able to take part in the Inquiry and do not need legal counsel to participate fully in either the hearing or study commission. The Commission employs several lawyers who present evidence and cross-examine witnesses during the hearing process in the interest of the public, which includes probing the accuracy of evidence presented during the Inquiry. Additionally, the Commission has engaged four independent lawyers to assist groups from the Downtown Eastside and First Nations organizations. Two of these lawyers are working on a pro bono basis, and other lawyers have volunteered to do so as well. All inquiry participants with full standing may present evidence, make submissions, and cross-examine witnesses. Therefore, anyone designated by the Native Women s Association of Canada is able to present information and ask questions about issues faced by Aboriginal women concerning racial and gender discrimination, factors that may make Aboriginal women especially vulnerable to violence, or any other issue the organization wishes to raise so long as the Commissioner finds it relevant. In 4

5 addition the Association can provide their input to the Commission counsel who would be able to present the information on behalf of the Association or ask questions posed by the Association. The study commission provides a less formal opportunity for participation by groups and individuals wishing to focus on policy issues related to the investigations of missing and murdered women. As part of the study commission, the Commission held seven Community Forums in northern British Columbia to provide an informal venue to receive submissions from interested members of communities regarding the investigation of missing and murdered women along Highway 16 in this region, also known as the Highway of Tears. Many of these women are of Aboriginal descent, and the communities have large Aboriginal populations. Because the police investigations of these cases are ongoing, the Commission is not directly inquiring into them. However, input from communities will assist the Commission in carrying out its mandate to make recommendations about changes respecting the initiation and conduct of investigations in British Columbia of missing women and suspected multiple homicides and will allow the Commission to take into account the situation of these specific communities. With respect to funding for legal counsel for the Native Women s Association of Canada and other inquiry participants, the Government of British Columbia only provides legal representation outside the legal aid program in very rare circumstances, such as proceedings where an individual s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms may be engaged and where the outcome of the proceeding is likely to affect an individual s rights, liberty, or security. For this reason, the British Columbia Attorney General seldom provides funding for legal counsel to participants at public hearings, inquests, or inquiries since these proceedings are not adversarial in nature nor do they engage an individual s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Government of British Columbia is however providing funding for counsel for the family members of the murdered and missing women. The government determined that the family members should take priority for any available financial assistance, which is consistent with past practice in recent commissions of inquiry in British Columbia. The families interests are best served by having them advanced by a single legal team, which is led by a senior member of the British Columbia Bar. The Government of British Columbia is aware that the Vancouver Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General are allocating resources directly from their budgets to have counsel represent their interests at the Inquiry. Under British Columbia s Public Inquiry Act, the Commissioner has the ability to make findings of misconduct against individuals employed by these organizations given that its mandate is to inquire into the conduct of investigations by police forces in British Columbia respecting women reported missing from Vancouver s Downtown Eastside and into the decision by the Criminal Justice Branch to stay proceedings against Robert William Pickton of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, and aggravated assault in an incident prior to his arrest on the murder charges which led to this inquiry. The Government of British Columbia recognizes the importance of the Inquiry s work and is looking forward to receiving its report and recommendations to improve investigations of missing and murdered women in this province and to avoid the possibility of the repetition of these tragic events in the future. The Commission has taken steps to facilitate the participation of the Native Women s Association of Canada and other representatives of Aboriginal women in British Columbia. As explained, the victims families have legal representation paid for by the Government of British Columbia and 5

6 organizations such as the Native Women s Association of Canada are free to appear on their own behalf, hire lawyers to represent them or work with counsel employed by the Commission to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at the hearings. Finally, you may be interested to know that between June 15 th and June 17 th 2011, the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (MARR) of the Government of British Columbia and the Native Women s Association of Canada (NWAC) co-hosted the Collaboration to End Violence: National Aboriginal Women s Forum. The Forum explored the underlying issues related to violence and missing and murdered Aboriginal women in British Columbia. More than 250 people from all provinces and territories in Canada attended the Forum, with participants including representatives of provincial and territorial government departments and agencies, national Aboriginal organizations, and First Nation, Métis and Inuit communities and community-based organizations. 6