NDP Critic for Indigenous Relations says Rick Wilson must work on implementing the report’s recommendations now

Richard Feehan, NDP Critic for Indigenous Relations, made the following statement in response to the UCP government receiving the final report from the Alberta Joint Working Group on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls:

“The Minister of Indigenous Relations must immediately release the final report and recommendations from the Alberta Joint Working Group on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls that he has in his hand today.”

“Rick Wilson must get to work on implementing the report’s recommendations now. Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S+ people deserve action as they continue to be at risk while this government sits on its hands.

“It’s an insult to continue to ‘study’ recommendations. It’s time for action. Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S+ people deserve to live in a province where they feel safe, respected and are a vital part of the community.”

“The government has the recommendations to make that happen. They have failed MMIWG so many times, including recent funding cuts that resulted in the loss of a program designed to support the Families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in the court system.”

“And although it is good news that the government is working on implementing 24 of 29 provincial calls to action from the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report released in 2015, those are not the calls for justice from the MMIWG inquiry that can be acted upon today.

“The UCP must release the report and get to work implementing vital recommendations to advance the cause of reconciliation.”