BUDGET 2014
APTN National News
OTTAWA–Calls for a public inquiry into the high number of murdered and missing Indigenous women remain unheeded by the Harper government.
The federal budget unveiled Tuesday makes no mention of an inquiry, but commits $25 million over five years beginning in 2015 to “continue efforts to reduce violence against Aboriginal women and girls.”
The money will be a continuation of the same amount of funds pledged in 2010. The budget document said that money was used to make improvements “to law enforcement and the justice system.” Part of the money was also spent on the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains, which doesn’t specifically target murdered and missing Indigenous women.
What the $25 million will be used for is unknown at this time, but will be part of a future announcement, according to a federal official, speaking on background.
The budget said that the government has already “made enhancements” to a victims fund “to ensure that Aboriginal victims and families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women have access to culturally appropriate services.”
The government has also supported “the development of community-based awareness initiatives and safety plans to promote the safety of Aboriginal women and girls.”
It’s clear from the budget document that the Harper government has chosen not to dedicate any funds to specifically solve unsolved missing and murdered Indigenous women cases. Instead, the Harper government has decided to lump those cases into broader efforts to deal with missing persons in general.
The federal budget promises to invest $8.1 million in 2016, after the next federal election, to create a DNA-based missing Persons Index as part of the RCMP’s National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains.
The funding would allow for police forces and coroners to submit samples from unidentified remains allowing investigators to cross-reference it with the National DNA Data Bank.
The federal government also announced it its 2014-2015 federal budget $22.2 million over two years for its Aboriginal Justice Strategy.
The strategy aims to provide an “alternative to the mainstream justice system for non-violent property or lesser offences.”
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