The sister of a missing First Nations woman in Alberta is relieved a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women is going ahead.
“I’m very happy to hear that the inquiry is finally going forward in this tragedy and something is actually going to be done,” said Candice L’Hommecourt, whose sister Shelly Dene disappeared from Edmonton in 2013.
“The inquiry is the first step, action is the second step, and I’m really happy and amazed to hear today that it is going to go ahead.”
‘Victims … deserve justice, their families an opportunity to be heard and to heal’ – Grand Chief Tony Alexis
The Grand Chief of Treaty Six in Alberta hopes the inquiry will lead to a new relationship with Ottawa.
“Bringing families together, involving organizations; that kind of a nation-to-nation building and supporting one another is the way that we’re all going to progress,” said Chief Tony Alexis.
First Nations members from across the province are already calling the inquiry a huge step forward, he said.
“We’re all going to have the opportunity to make sure that our questions are answered and that there’s healing for our community members,” he said.
“Victims … deserve justice, their families an opportunity to be heard and to heal,” Alexis said.
The first phase of the inquiry will involve the families of missing and murdered indigenous women meeting with the government.
Palpable relief to victims’ families
The announcement brought a palpable sense of relief to those families struggling with loss, said L’Hommecourt, a member of the Fort McKay First Nation.
“[It’s] a weight off my shoulders and a lot of other families of the victims,” she said. “I can see it and I can feel it through the websites, through the news, through the media, and through the families of the victims.”
L’Hommecourt said she’ll never stop trying to find her sister.
Last year, the RCMP identified nearly 1,200 indigenous women who had gone missing or were murdered between 1980 and 2012.
The province also welcomed the federal government’s announcement.
“Formally adding Alberta’s voice to the call for such an inquiry was one of our government’s first actions,” Premier Rachel Notley said in a statement Tuesday. “These families need to be heard and they need to heal.”
But reconciliation can’t stop at the inquiry, she said.
“We must openly and honestly acknowledge and address the root causes that place indigenous females at the highest risk – harsh realities like poverty, racism, and inadequate housing.”
