Grand Chief Derek Nepinak attends provincial roundtable on National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

Press Release

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Derek Nepinak met with the Minister of Indigenous and Municipal Relations, Honourable Eileen Clarke, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Honourable Heather Stefanson, SCO Grand Chief Terry Nelson, MKO Grand Chief Sheila North-Wilson, MMF President David Chartrand, Chief Betsy Kennedy, and Chief Dennis Meeches for a roundtable discussion on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).

WireService.ca Media Release (07/20/2016) Treaty One Territory – AMC Chiefs-in-Assembly have consistently maintained the need for a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. In response to the ongoing tragedy of MMIWG, the AMC pursued the engagement of the families of MMIWG province-wide. Through extensive consultation and direct meetings with families, the AMC produced the Families First report to further support the messages received from the families. The AMC incorporated the Families First Foundation (FFF). FFF has identified a multi-faceted approach designed to support the families of MMIWG. The FFF fund has been established and fundraising efforts began in June 2015.

The message delivered at today’s roundtable discussion was a unanimous position of support for the immediate implementation of the National Inquiry into MMIWG by all Indigenous leaders at the table. Further to the message of support, all leaders wanted to see preventative measures functioning concurrently to the inquiry process.

Grand Chief Derek Nepinak explained that there are direct links to the Manitoba Child and Families Services system and the issue of MMIWG. He shared, “The most violent act that you can commit to a person regardless of gender, is to take away their child or children. This sense of loss directly contributes to the number of people we are losing from our communities due to violence or tragedy.” He further states, “AMC has responded in a meaningful way by initiating the Bringing Our Children Home and Families First community engagement processes followed by diligently implementing the recommendations. When we have over 11,000 children trapped in the CFS system and 90% are Indigenous, we cannot allow jurisdictional safeguards to be used to prevent a full discussion on the factors contributing to missing or murdered family members. This means we should be open to the need to revisit some areas that the province of Manitoba might feel are adequately being addressed under provincial processes,” he concluded.

AMC urges the Manitoba Government to commit to the National Inquiry into MMIWG and extends the support from our organization in carrying out a fulsome regional engagement under the terms of reference identified by the Federal government.

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For more information, please contact:

Kayla Frank, Policy Analyst
204.230.8166, kfrank@manitobachiefs.com

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