The Canadian Bar Association welcomes the report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and expresses its gratitude for the contributions of the survivors and families.
Building positive and mutual relationships with Indigenous communities will be an ongoing and evolving journey.
We will be looking carefully at all of the report’s Calls for Justice, particularly those aimed at the legal profession and the justice system generally.
The CBA has a long history of advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Canadian justice system, and a number of initiatives are already underway. For example, we are moving forward in the development of training programs for Canadian lawyers on cultural competency and Indian residential school legacy, which the report talks about in its Calls for Justice (10.1)
The CBA is committed to continuing this work, and will look for ways to contribute to addressing the dire situation outlined in the report.