Executive director of MMIWG inquiry stepping down

Debbie Reid was known for quoting an army general in her emails.

The controversial executive director of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is stepping down.

Sources say the news broke at a staff team-building event in Toronto this week.

Debbie Reid was hired in October as the second executive director of the two-year MMIWG inquiry.

She came in with a heavy hand under a mandate to clean up an under-performing team and fired several people. More employees resigned in protest.

Reid is from Skownan First Nation in Manitoba. She is said to be leaving for personal reasons.

Debbie Reid

This brings to 21 the number of employees that have left the federal inquiry as it criss-crosses the country hearing from families and survivors of violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Its operation, with a budget of $53.8 million, has been roundly criticized – leading to the resignation of the first executive director and one of five commissioners.

So far it has hosted eight public hearings; one is scheduled for Yellowknife later this month.

Reid was vocal on Twitter at the start of her tenure, posting about throwing off the chains of government bureaucracy and blasting the work of an APTN reporter as “irresponsible.”

She was known for quoting an army general in her emails but recently she dialled back her online presence. She surfaced briefly in Maliotenam, Que., where she contradicted a commissioner on whether the inquiry would host a hearing in Montreal.

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12 thoughts on “Executive director of MMIWG inquiry stepping down

  1. alberta canada says:

    Before judging, you must know if it has been under pressure! Corruption is present in many ways. Racism is a huge problem that will only be solved if there is the will to change things and at the government level a lot of work needs to be done in this direction. These communities are marginalized ex officio initially, how do you want people’s minds to evolve in such a context?

  2. Before judging, you must know if it has been under pressure! Corruption is present in many ways. Racism is a huge problem that will only be solved if there is the will to change things and at the government level a lot of work needs to be done in this direction. These communities are marginalized ex officio initially, how do you want people’s minds to evolve in such a context?

  3. This inquiry should be done by people whom are interested in solving the crisis and less by those who aim to benefit from the money. What the hell does a military general have to do with missing and murdered women? This is an inquiry into poverty, isolation, runaways and a stretch of road that rapists and murderers travel on. Train a search party, set up policing and put some money into a transition camp for those who want to leave the reserve. That doesnt cost 50 million.

  4. This inquiry should be done by people whom are interested in solving the crisis and less by those who aim to benefit from the money. What the hell does a military general have to do with missing and murdered women? This is an inquiry into poverty, isolation, runaways and a stretch of road that rapists and murderers travel on. Train a search party, set up policing and put some money into a transition camp for those who want to leave the reserve. That doesnt cost 50 million.

  5. Maybe the liberals could commission another inquiry to determine why 21 people have now left this federal inquiry.

  6. So perhaps she wasn’t enabled enough for this position? what was her current an adhere reason as to why she resigned?

    1. It stated personal reasons. Like people do have families things happen such as deaths , illness , feelings change. What more is there to know?!

  7. Maybe the liberals could commission another inquiry to determine why 21 people have now left this federal inquiry.

  8. So perhaps she wasn’t enabled enough for this position? what was her current an adhere reason as to why she resigned?

    1. It stated personal reasons. Like people do have families things happen such as deaths , illness , feelings change. What more is there to know?!

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