The Canadian Council of Muslim Women has signed this letter.
June 15th, 2016
Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice of Canada
Honourable Patricia A. Hajdu, Minister on the Status of Women Canada
Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs of Canada
Dear Ministers,
We, Canadian Women’s Equality Seeking groups urge you to act immediately in providing funding to the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC). NWAC is the only National Independent Indigenous women’s group in Canada.
Since 1974, NWAC has been tirelessly advocating for the equality and rights of Indigenous women and girls in Canada and in the International community for decades.
NWAC’s efforts to establish safety and equality for Indigenous women has included work to improve access to education, health, employment, environmental rights and a significant focus on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. NWAC began documenting missing and murdered Indigenous women long before any government or national police forces acknowledged the issue. NWAC has not only been active in Canada but also in International forums including the United Nations and the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights.
Shortly after being elected, your government stated that Indigenous people in Canada will be a “high priority” in the Federal budget yet we continue to see no substantial support of NWAC, only unsustainable short-term project funding.
In the year of the National Inquiry into the over 1200 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada it is abhorrent that NWAC is rendered powerless in this process by the consistent de-funding of the organization by your government.
Given that this issue is highly gendered and in need of feminist analysis and intervention, providing funding to only male led and mixed organization such as the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) instead of prioritizing Indigenous women’s leadership in this process in wholly inadequate. Unless you change this, the critical voices of Indigenous women will continue to be lost amongst the male narrative that has shaped the inquiry process thus far.
We are calling on the Federal government to provide NWAC with immediate emergency funding to be able to fully and adequately participate in the inquiry and long-term core funding to enable them to do their much needed political advocacy on behalf of Indigenous women across the country. For your government to ignore this request and NWAC’s historical and current importance to Indigenous women in Canada will be an utter contradiction to your governments declared commitments to promote the advancement of women and Indigenous peoples of our country. Sincerely, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter
Sincerely,
Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter
