Ottawa – Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations; Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for PrairiesCan and CanNor; Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services, Minister responsible for FedNor; Marci Ien, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth, issued the following statement:
“Today, people in communities across the country will march in memory of those whose lives were taken or impacted by the national crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people. The first gathering was held 33 years ago, on February 14, 1992, after a First Nations woman was murdered in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Today, the large crowd that attends the march in Vancouver stops for a moment of silence at places where women’s bodies have been found or where women were last seen before they went missing.
Three decades after the first Women’s Memorial March, marches take place in many cities and towns across the country. However, Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people continue to disproportionately face violence as this national crisis goes on. Every day that Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people continue to go missing, is a day we have failed them. Now, we have a plan, the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan, to put an end to this crisis by responding to the 231 Calls for Justice. The voices of Indigenous families, survivors, communities, and grassroots service providers who are driving solutions must always be at the center of this work.
Last week, the federal government hosted Indigenous partners and provincial and territorial counterparts to accelerate progress toward ending this ongoing crisis. Together, they made some progress, including on how to best establish a Red Dress Alert. The hours immediately after a person becomes missing are crucial in order to find them, which is why we are working toward a notification system for the public. There is more work to do. Above all, February 14 is about love. Love for the Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people who are missing, love for those who were murdered, and love for the young Indigenous girls and Two-Spirit and gender-diverse kids who deserve to grow up free from violence.”