Minister Jeanie McLean is applauding the launch of two federal initiatives in response to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and the resulting Calls for Justice.
In a statement issued on Jan. 12, McLean, the minister responsible for the territory’s Women and Gender Equity Directorate, noted that Jennifer Moore Rattray has been appointed as a Ministerial Special Representative. She’ll give advice to the federal government on creating an Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsperson.
Moore Rattray, a member of the Peepeekisis First Nation in Saskatchewan and chief operating officer for the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, was appointed on Jan. 10 by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller.
Moore Rattray led the national inquiry into MMIWG, which delivered a final report and 231 Calls for Justice to the prime minister and premiers in June of 2019.
McLean also welcomed the announcement that a national Indigenous organization, Innovation 7, has been selected to advise the government on ending violence against Indigenous women and girls.
“With the signing of the National Action Plan in 2021, federal, provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous governments committed to working with Indigenous organizations, communities and people to end the systemic violence Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ people have disproportionately endured for far too long,” McLean said.
In June last year, the federal government launched the Federal Pathway to Address MMIWG.
The plan was developed to drive transformative change to end the systemic racism and violence.
“A key principle of this work remains to ensure families and survivors are involved in the plan’s implementation and management,” said McLean, who is a co-chair of the Yukon Advisory Committee on Missing and Murdered Women, Girls and Two-Spirit+ people.
“This roundtable honoured this approach, bringing together Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ people, family members and survivors with government representatives to discuss how to improve collaboration and highlight areas of future focus.”
In 2021, the federal government proposed a significant investment of $2.2 billion over five years and $160.9 million per year ongoing to end violence against Indigenous women, girls and non-binary people. These investments will be committed towards action in four key areas: culture, health and wellness, human safety and security and justice.
“We look forward to continuing the discussion and collaboration at the national level; the possibility of future roundtables at the regional level; and continuing the work we have begun with our partners in the Yukon on the territory’s own MMIWG2S+ strategy,” McLean added.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com