Canada’s First Nations already feel failed by inquiry into missing and murdered women

More than a dozen people gathered behind the podium, some clutching framed photos of loved ones. For years they had called for justice and demanded change, amid estimates that as many as 4,000 indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered in Canada in recent decades. Their determination crystalised into federal action last August, when the Liberal government launched a two-year, C$53.8m inquiry aimed at bringing an end to what it called an “ongoing national tragedy”. But nearly one year later, this Manitoba coalition – made up of those who had last family and friends – had come together again to demand change.We have lost confidence in the national inquiry,” Hilda Anderson-Pryz, whose sister Dawn died under mysterious circumstances in 2011, told reporters. “We’re being left out and not being heard by the national inquiry. We all agree that we cannot dishonour our loved ones and ourselves by participating in a flawed process.” The declaration came after months of red flags, they said. The inquiry sparked anger early on when it was revealed that policing would be omitted from the terms of reference, despite longstanding complaints of police failure to protect indigenous women equally.(theguardian)…[+]