The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report lays out in undeniable detail how Indigenous women and girls have been discriminated against, harmed by and failed throughout the criminal justice system. The report’s 231 calls for justice — many of which have been advocated for previously in past reviews and reports — are now in the hands of governments, police forces, and other institutions.Advocates say the focus now must be on actually making changes, and holding institutions accountable for failing to do so. What might that take? Some of the recommendations require new funding to establish or expand already existing measures such as access to Indigenous sentencing reports, legal support and victim services. Others, such as instituting harsher sentences for violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual), require changes to the Criminal Code.Criminal justice reforms alone, especially those addressing the trauma and aftermath of violence including punitive sentencing measures, do not address the root causes of the violence and racism experienced by Indigenous women and girls across the country for generations, said Kim Stanton, a lawyer who practises Aboriginal law at Goldblatt Partners in Toronto. The report also calls for public transit to remote communities, a guaranteed annual livable income for all Canadians, child welfare reform and safe housing and clean water for all Indigenous communities. The recommendations must be viewed as a whole if they are to make a meaningful impact, she said. “Even at the most basic level we need to be paying attention to the lack of services that make it possible for Indigenous women not to be victimized in the first place,” she said.One key recommendation, Stanton said, is the report’s call for a national ombudsperson and tribunal that would evaluate g ...
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