BC Greens promise new MMIWG2S task force, end to RCMP’s Critical Response Unit

BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau says, if elected, her party would introduce a task force to investigate cases of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S).

She says the proposed task force would be a police group with strong oversight from Indigenous communities — particularly Indigenous women — following the guidance of the Red Women Rising Report, by the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

“There are so many cases of Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people that go unsolved and unaddressed. Every loss has a devastating impact on their families and communities,” said Furstenau while speaking in Vancouver Wednesday.

Furstenau says, despite the many reports on MMIWG2S, the BC NDP have “failed to take concrete action.”

She says the Greens are committed to “ensuring that the justice system is truly about justice” and that it reflects systemic issues like racism, poverty, and the toxic drug crisis. 

Furstenau also promised to end the BC RCMP’s Critical Response Unit, formerly known as the Community Industry Response Group.

She says the level of violence and harm caused by the unit has drawn criticism worldwide.

“Heavily armed police, excessive violence, violations of human rights, putting indigenous people under surveillance in their own territories does not show us a government that’s invested in reconciliation and does not hold up the values of free, prior, and informed consent,” said Furstenau.

She said the previous BC NDP government put too much stock into “industries of the past,” risking the safety of Indigenous and non-Indigenous land defenders, referencing the use of the CRU officers in response to the Fairy Creek and Wet’suwet’en protests.

Furstenau says the promises are not about being “anti-police,” but “pro-public safety for everybody in B.C.”

“I think when police are actively engaged in working with people in the community, when the police are working with Indigenous leadership and the police are working with leaders from racialized communities and creating greater safety for everybody, we all win,” she said. 

“What we’ve seen from the [CRU] is it has created a sense of less safety for Indigenous people.”