New funding for investigations involving Aboriginal women
Posted October 29, 2010 2:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Federal government is pledging millions to ensure police and the justice system can better respond to a disturbingly high number of Aboriginal women going missing or murdered.
The announcement was made in Vancouver by Rona Ambrose, Minister for Status of Women, with Vancouver Police Chief Constable Jim Chu by her side. She said $10 million in funding will be set aside over the span of two years.
As part of the commitment, a National Police Support Centre for Missing Persons will be set up in Ottawa. It’s expected a national “tip” website for missing persons will be launched, and criminal code changes will also be addressed.
The head of the Pickton inquiry Wally Oppal calls the announcement “a step in the right direction.”
Oppal says it’s time cases involving missing and murdered Aboriginal women are recognized as a national issue. “We, in British Columbia, think the Pickton issue is a uniquely British Columbian issue, but it’s not!”
Oppal feels that ten million dollars invested will allow police forces from across the country to better communicate and share information Meantime, Vancouver Police Chief Constable Jim Chu says he looks forward to using whatever additional funding becomes available to help aboriginal women in the city.
Meanwhile, the brother of a missing aboriginal woman says he’s encouraged by Ottawa’s plan. The DNA of Ernie Crey’s sister Dawn was found on the Port Coquitlam pig farm of Robert Pickton.
He says the feds’ pledge for a national missing person’s centre will be a valuable tool for police working on big cases, such as the missing women’s probe. “Often, policing agencies have a difficult time working with one another, coordinating their efforts and disseminating information around, between and amongst themselves while they’re doing their investigations. So I think this will be a real aid.”
