National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls to Hold First Family Hearings in Whitehorse

VANCOUVER, March 28, 2017 /CNW/ - The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls will continue holding a series of regional advisory meetings across the country over the next two months in order to receive input from survivors and families leading up to family hearings that will begin at the end of May.

The meetings, which are mandated in the National Inquiry's Terms of Reference, will soon be held in Whitehorse, Northern British Columbia, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, and Halifax. The meetings are to enable the National Inquiry to seek advice on local matters, cultural practices and protocols, gain understanding into region-specific historical issues affecting health, and enable our legal and health teams to begin preparing families and survivors for their participation in the family hearings.

The National Inquiry will spend three days in each location meeting with families and survivors, grassroots and frontline organizations, as well as regional political bodies in preparation for hearings – a first for a public inquiry in Canada.

Advisory meetings were a recommendation from pre-inquiry submissions and have already been held in Wendake (QC), Ottawa, Montreal, Alton (ON) and Vancouver.

The schedule for upcoming regional advisory meetings is as follows:

Whitehorse: April 11, 12 and 13
Edmonton and Thunder Bay: April 18, 19 and 20
Halifax and Winnipeg: May 1, 2 and 3
Northern British Columbia and Saskatoon: May 16, 17 and 18

In addition, there will be a family advisory circle for Quebec in Montreal on May 9 and 10.

The National Inquiry will then hold its first family hearings in Whitehorse the week of May 29 when survivors and families will have an opportunity to share their stories.

Representatives from the Women's Directorate at the Government of Yukon and from the Yukon Aboriginal Women's Council confirmed they welcome the National Inquiry for these family hearings.

Dates and locations for family hearings will be released as they are confirmed. We will hold family hearings where we are welcome, including in smaller and remote communities.

SOURCE Commission of Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Girls

For English media inquiries, please contact Tiar Wilson, Communications Advisor: 204-298-7243 or [email protected]; For French media inquiries, please contact Sue Montgomery, Interim Director of Communications: 514-240-0368 or [email protected].