QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Public Safety
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
May 31, 2023
Saturday will mark four years since the release of the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Indigenous families want to know what happened to their loved ones, minister, just as any other family in Canada would. These families deserve answers and it is high time that the Trudeau government treated all victims of crime with respect. In both 2021 and 2022, I asked the Trudeau government what progress was being made by the RCMP in resolving these cold cases. I did not receive a satisfactory response but, frankly, that’s not surprising. Minister, what specific progress has been made in resolving the cold cases since the final report was released in 2019, and have any RCMP reviews resulted in arrests, charges laid or convictions?
First, Senator Plett, I want to begin by saying that I share your concern and the concern of everyone around any cold case because those women and those young girls deserve justice. And that was the reason why we created the MMIWG commission, which was a commission that had not been previously struck but one we did strike because we want justice for those victims and survivors.
As to the most recent status of any outstanding investigation and cold cases, obviously, those are questions best put to the RCMP or any other police jurisdiction who has the responsibility for carrying them out, and I’m happy to work with you, senator, to get the latest update on that. I know that our time is coming to a close here, but I do hope, Senator Plett, you will take the technical briefing on Bill C-21, which we have offered. It is important that we do this work together so we can save lives through responsible gun control legislation.
