APTN National News
Québec has announced the province will hold a public inquiry into the relationship between government departments and Indigenous people.
The inquiry will focus on police, justice, health and child welfare departments said Premier Philippe Couillard Wednesday.
“We want to look at systemic issues,” said Couillard. “This will allow everyone to have their say.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a probe into complaints by Indigenous women in Val d’Or who alleged police there sexually abused them for years.
Two officers were charged in other provincial jurisdictions but none of the more than 30 complaints in Val d’Or resulted in charges.
Indigenous leaders have been calling for an inquiry in Québec for over a year but the province resisted stating that the National Inquiry was enough.
Now, the province’s inquiry will run parallel to the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women expected to begin next year.
“It will be a compliment to the national inquiry,” said Couilliard.
Québec’s Minister of Justice Stephanie Vallee said the purpose of the inquiry will to find concrete solutions.
“The mandate is not to find guilty parties … rather find the root causes of the situation,” Vallee said.
She said the inquiry will be held in Val d’Or and will be led by retired Superior Court Justice Jacques Viens. It will be public and behind closed doors if a witness or information needs to be protected.
The inquiry is expected to have a report filed by November 2018.
Ghislain Picard, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Québec and Labrador, said despite the adversity “our sisters, our families and our people” never gave up.
“It is thanks to them today that we are at this stage to recognize that systemic racism and discrimination is a priority and that measures must be put in place to combat them in Québec,” said Picard.
Lac Simon Algonquin First Nation Chief Adrienne Jérôme said trust needs to be restored.
“This commission presents an opportunity to build a more harmonious relationship at several levels. I welcome the setting up of this commission of inquiry,” said Jérôme.
Matthew Coon-Come, grand chief of the Grand Council of the Crees, said echoed the inquiry is not about finding blame.
“It is about all of us, Indigenous people, police officers and other stakeholders, working together to fix problems. Listening to the Indigenous women will help them begin to heal,” said Coon Come. “I want to thank them for their courage and perseverance – without them, this inquiry would never have happened.”
