Left to right: Francyne Joe (Former President of the BC Native Women’s Association), Cathy McLeod (Member of Parliament, Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo), and Nikki Fraser (BC Youth Representative for the Native Women’s Association of Canada) at the inquiry launch.
Image Credit: Contributed by Cathy McLeod
August 03, 2016 - 6:30 PM
KAMLOOPS - Local MP Cathy McLeod wants to see “concrete recommendations” to come from the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls inquiry launched today.
McLeod, the federal opposition critic for indigenous affairs, says in a press release the Conservative Party supports the inquiry as long as it focuses on ‘measurable improvements in the day-to-day lives of indigenous women.'
“The Liberal Government has increased the budget from $40 million, stated in Budget 2016, to $53 million, which already represents a 33 per cent increase,” McLeod says in the release. “The Liberals will need to ensure that costs and timelines are kept under control as the inquiry moves forward.”
McLeod also says she is concerned about the Liberal government’s approach to sentencing for violent crimes and wants to see police provided with “the resources they need to bring perpetrators to justice.”
McLeod was a registered nurse before her life in politics and was first elected as an MP in 2008 as part of the ruling Conservative government.
“Having spent many years as a nurse in Indigenous, rural communities, I too-frequently witnessed first-hand the pain and the violence against women and girls,” she says in the release. “As families of victims have expressed, justice is needed for these terrible crimes, and not just more resolutions and recommendations.”
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