St. Albert became the latest community this week to join the growing list of places across the nation where an aboriginal woman has disappeared.
Back in September, the RCMP confirmed there have been 1,186 cases of murdered or missing aboriginal women across the country – since 1980. That equates to approximately 27 women each year, a statistic that should shock Canadians. A brutal attack in Winnipeg on Nov. 8 that left 16-year-old Rinelle Harper clinging to life, was just the latest brutal highlight to this Canada-wide problem.
The disappearance of Jacqueline Leavins from St. Albert on Oct. 22 adds another name to that depressing and ever-growing list, yet the federal government still resists calls for a national inquiry to investigate this gruesome trend.
Back in May, the RCMP released results of an organizational report that revealed aboriginal women account for 4.3 per cent of the Canadian female population yet account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of the cases of missing women.
While that same report showed police have solved cases at approximately the same rate as similar cases, the figures point to the need for more prevention.
Whether it is here in Alberta, north into Canada’s Arctic or east to the Maritimes, the plight of aboriginal communities is similar. Low education rates, rampant substance abuse, poor housing conditions and overcrowding, high unemployment, and disturbing incidences of violence point to the need for programming to combat the social problems, which are likely contributing to the severe violence facing aboriginal women.
While we can argue this issue has been studied in excess and now is the time for action, a national round-table could lay the foundation and serve as a call to that action. Despite the studies, reserves remain woefully underfunded, aboriginal schools underequipped and housing conditions, in some cases, bordering on Third World. In 2011, the Assembly of First Nations stated that 85,000 new units would have to be built to address the housing shortage on Canadian reserves. These conditions are a breeding ground for violence and social ills that will only be passed from generation to generation if left unaddressed.
First Nation leaders and aboriginal leadership in Inuit and Métis communities also must band together and commit resources to combat this serious problem. The solution will not be found in the halls of a single entity but only through the co-operation of all levels of government.
Perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel, however. To start the year Stephen Harper announced $1.9 billion in federal funding starting next year to help address shortfall in aboriginal education. The federal government also pledged $1.25 billion over three years for aboriginal schools across Canada beginning in 2016 – an amount that would increase by 4.5 per cent each year after.
This is a good start that might go a long way to helping combat violence, substance abuse and help aboriginal citizens more easily access the workforce and subsequently reduce violence.
