According to The Globe and Mail, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against women released a damning report which accused Canada of “violat[ing] the rights of Aboriginal women by failing to thoroughly investigate why they are targeted for violence.” The committee added its voice to numerous others who advocate for a national inquiry into the matter.
It is clear from this report that the Conservative Party does not take violence against Aboriginal women seriously. However, the Canadian government must be the one to take action, as they are responsible for this issue in the first place.
The Canadian public has launched itself into a frenzy over the spectre of terrorism, which truly hasn’t been much of an issue. RCMP records state that 1,181 Aboriginal women have been murdered or declared missing in Canada, and yet for many this does not provoke the same gut reaction of righteous indignation. The public, for the most part, remains starkly unemotional. For evidence of this complacency we need look no further than Prime Minister Harper.
He is a near-authoritarian arbiter of justice (see Bill C-51), yet on this issue his stance is reserved and calm. Just this week he announced his support for a bill which would introduce life sentences with no chance of parole for crimes like murder and terrorism, which he called “repulsive” and “heinous.” Why isn’t Harper repulsed by the scourge of violence against Aboriginal women? The most Harper can muster is that a national inquiry on the issue “isn’t really high on our radar.”
Centuries of racist policy in Canada have left the nation’s Aboriginal peoples disadvantaged — subject to racial discrimination, cultural genocide, and the societal consequences of poverty. As of 2006, approximately 50 per cent of all ‘status’ aboriginal children were living in poverty. In Manitoba, where the Aboriginal population is higher than most provinces, that number jumps to 62 per cent.
It is clear that the Conservatives do not take violence against aboriginal women seriously.
Poverty has profound effects on a people. It is correlated with increased exposure to crime, violence, exploitation, substance abuse, and mental health issues, all of which have become endemic in Aboriginal communities. The Canadian government is solely responsible. When the Indian Act was first introduced in 1876, it imposed draconian restrictions on Aboriginal peoples in regards to who had ‘status’ and who did not.
Furthermore, it victimized Aboriginal women who married out. These women would lose their status, legal recognition, and be cut off from their families, communities, and support networks. This is where the seeds of a future of abuse are sown.
The residential school system routinely abused Aboriginal children sexually, physically, and emotionally, and gave them trauma which they carried throughout their lives. The current violence is just a continuation of a history of similar brutality.
The only difference now is that the state, instead of being the direct perpetrators, are law enforcers who have more pressing agendas than to deal with violence against Aboriginal women. After all, how can we expect a government that has consistently dehumanized and oppressed these women to suddenly care about their safety?
A national inquiry is necessary for justice to be achieved, full stop. It is clear that the status quo has not adequately protected Aboriginal women, and an inquiry could do two things. First, it could explore the root causes of violence. Second, and most importantly, it could provide justice for countless victims.
A society where individuals are well aware that committing violent acts against Aboriginal women is routinely met with impunity is one in which Aboriginal women will continue to be victimized. Moreover, for the families of victims like Loretta Saunders and Tina Fontaine, it denies them any sense of restitution.
For Aboriginal women living in Canada, a national inquiry won’t eliminate a culture of violence and oppression. But it’s a start.
