Rachelle Venne speaks at the June 3, 2022 news conference.

By Chris Brown

Four pathways for action

Province creates premier’s council in response to MMIWG national inquiry

Jun 3, 2022 | 1:15 PM

The Alberta government has established a new premier’s council to guide the province’s response to the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

The council will report to the premier and identify the gaps that need to be addressed to eliminate violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual (2S+) and other gender-diverse people. The MMIWG Council will include Indigenous women and have a five-year mandate.

Rachelle Venne was co-chair of a group that presented 113 Pathways to Justice: Recommended Actions of the Alberta Joint Working Group on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

“Today, with the announcement of the Premier’s Council and a roadmap, Alberta will now have a mechanism to assist with implementation of systemic changes required to ensure the safety of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people,” she says in a statement.

Four pathways for action are laid out in the MMIWG Roadmap:

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• Community connections, healing and cultural supports
• Education, economic independence and infrastructure
• Community wellness and improving the justice system
• Accountability to and inclusion of Indigenous women and girls

“For far too long, Canada has failed Indigenous women, girls and 2S+ peoples. Today, we will remember, listen to the voices of survivors, families and community members, and will act to make Alberta safer for all who call this province home,” states Rick Wilson, minister of Indigenous relations. “It’s not just up to the government: we all have a role in putting an end to the systemic racism that contributes to this ongoing tragedy. I call on everyone in Alberta to help us walk this path together.”

Alberta has already enacted legislation modelled after Clare’s Law, creating a Public Safety Indigenous Advisory Committee and funding more Indigenous learner spaces at post-secondary schools to increase safety and economic opportunity among the Indigenous population.

Quick facts

• First Nations, Métis and Inuit women face significantly higher rates of violence throughout their lifetimes than all other women in Canada.
  • In Alberta, Indigenous women are seven times more likely to be murdered, three times more likely to experience sexual assault and twice as likely to be assaulted compared with non-Indigenous women.
• Alberta has the second-highest number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Out of all the MMIWG cases in Canada, Alberta has 16 per cent and 42 per cent of those cases remain unsolved.