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Online
Petition to Canadian Government |
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Please help circulate to others and request that they read the below mentioned online Petition and if they agree, and if they are residents of Canada, to please sign. This Petition will be delivered to the Federal Government in Ottawa later this summer. Background Information
on this Petition can be found at Petition is located
online at:
Copy of the Petition
In light of the fact of our nation's apparent disregard of the recommendations made by the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of (1999) in Manitoba; including the shameful behavior of law inforcement in Vancouver, BC resulting in many unnecessary deaths of known missing women; the fact that many of those are First Nations women; We, the undersigned appeal to the Governing agencies of Canada with the following petition.
The Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba was created in response to two specific incidents in late 1987 and early 1988. The 1987 incident involved the rape and murder of Helen Betty Osborne of The Pas Manitoba, and the investigation and trial that followed. The Conclusions of the Inquiry are in quotation marks and are as follows. We have made particular emphasis to specific conclusions and recommendations: "We realize, of course, that much has changed in the years since Betty Osborne's life was taken in 1971. The segregation in the school lunch-room, the bars and the movie theatre has, we understand, ended. Still, much more must be done. If the two communities make a real and concerted effort to eradicate the separation, things will inevitably improve. The non-Aboriginal community must learn to respect Aboriginal people and their culture. Instead of looking at the Aboriginal people only as consumers, the business community should be offering them employment in stores and businesses. It is surprising even to see how few Aboriginal people are employed in the shopping mall located on the reserve. If Aboriginal people are to become self-sufficient, those in control of business have to make a greater effort to provide them with an opportunity to work. Government may have to take the lead by employing greater numbers of Aboriginal people in all government offices. We believe that quotas should be used so that Aboriginal people receive preference in employment until the numbers employed are representative of the numbers living in a community. Not only could the provincial government do this in its own offices, but it could require the same policy be followed by all Crown agencies and by all companies with which it does business. The pervasive separation and discrimination that existed in The Pas in 1971 shows the need for increasing the involvement of the Aboriginal peoples in the institutions of mainstream Canada. Would the case have come more quickly to a conclusion if more Aboriginal persons were in the police? Or in the Crown Prosecutor's office?Of course, we have no way of knowing and it is pointless to speculate. But it is a fact that it was the special effort made by Constable Urbanoski which brought those involved to court. This may be due in part to changes in police practice. It is only recently that the police have resorted to the use of newspaper advertisements and television shows such as "Crime Stoppers." But it is also possible that, had there been Aboriginal persons involved in the investigation and prosecution, the necessary extra effort might have been forthcoming earlier. We do not know if that is so. We cannot know. We believe that only if the justice system employs more Aboriginal persons will such questions be avoided in the future. Until it does, such doubts and suspicions will continue to arise. It is an inescapable fact that the Osborne case demonstrates that the justice system must employ many more Aboriginal persons. And it must do so immediately. In the other volume of our report we discuss more specifically how this process might begin. It is clear that Betty Osborne would not have been killed if she had not been Aboriginal. The four men who took her to her death from the streets of The Pas that night had gone looking for an Aboriginal girl with whom to "party." They found Betty Osborne. When she refused to party she was driven out of town and murdered. Those who abducted her showed a total lack of regard for her person or her rights as an individual. Those who stood by while the physical assault took place, while sexual advances were made and while she was being beaten to death showed their own racism, sexism and indifference. Those who knew the story and remained silent must share their guilt. " (Reference the following website for the complete report: http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volume.html) We the undersigned: 1. Maintain that little, if anything has been done to implement the recommendations of the inquiry referenced above. ... The mass numbers of unresolved cases of missing or murdered First Nations women in Canada is testimony to the validity of this statement. There are an estimated 500 such cases in Canada since Helen Betty Osborne was murdered, most of which remain unsolved. These cases are often filed in the "cold case files" much earlier than in cases involving non- native women. We disagree that "much has changed in the years since Betty Osborne's life was taken in 1971"; 2. Believe there appears to be a war against First Nations women in this country and little is being done about it by those sworn in to protect ALL citizens of this country. Family members of missing women in our communities report that months and even years after their loved ones have disappeared, visits to their local RCMP show that the files appear to be untouched. Investigations at times, are at most, shabby. Some investigations are at best shabby and appear to be undertaken grudgingly; 3.Maintain that ALL cases of missing women MUST be investigated thoroughly and quickly regardless of race; 4. Maintain that much more could and should be done in regards to exposure of these cases in order to enlighten the general public and possibly lead to a speedy resolution; 5. Maintain the RCMP and other investigative Law Enforcement agencies within this country dismiss these cases much earlier than they do cases involving non-native women; 6. Submit to you that racism continues within these agencies and results in society's lack of understanding of this situation, as well as the unspoken approval that it is ok to harm or even murder a First Nations woman. We feel the need for ongoing sensitivity training be provided to ALL law enforcement agencies and should be mandatory for ALL police officers/investigators. We urge the Canadian government to immediately investigate WHY these cases are not actively investigated, professionally handled nor resolved as quickly, if ever, as are similar cases of serious crime. We urge the Canadian government to conclude, as we have, the need for the recommendations of the Manitoba inquiry to be implemented and, if they are not implemented, to show cause as to why you feel they are unnecessary.
Follow this LINK to sign the Petition
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Page last updated December 7, 2002 |
