On February 14th, communities across Canada will hold Women’s Memorial Marches to remember Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The Canadian Labour Congress has already called for a National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and reiterates its demand for justice.
The very first march happened in 1991 out of a sense of anger and hopelessness following the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver.
“Every international human rights body that has investigated this crisis has called for action. The federal government’s failure to call a National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women is a national embarrassment”, says Hassan Yussuff, CLC President.
Violence against Indigenous women is disproportionately high compared to non-indigenous women. The cycle of poverty and racism directly contributes to the larger number of Indigenous women’s experience of violence in Canadian society. The march serves to remember this and to compel the government to take action on this violence, starting with a National Public Inquiry.
You can support the march by spreading the word and attending an event near you. You can also send a message to the federal and provincial governments supporting the call for a National Public Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
Find an event and learn more about the memorial marches.
