Call Off the Search Party: Conservatives Confirm Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Have Themselves to Blame

You'll have to excuse any forthcoming incendiary language on my part—as I am still sitting here in my apartment, reeling in a fit of rage.

On October 4, hundreds gathered at different locations across the country for a series of candlelight vigils to support grieving families and honour the lives of the growing number of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada—a humanitarian crisis that has prompted the United Nations' Human Rights Committee to speak out against this inaction, and recommend a national inquiry.

On the heels of this sacred gathering hosted by Sisters in Spirit, which has never once received acknowledgment or attendance from anyone in the Harper government, incumbent MP Bob Zimmer had a few charming things to say on the subject:

"One of the major drivers of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is lack of economic activity or, simply put, a lack of a job. [The Harper government has] tried to do things where we bring economic activity or jobs to reserve, and different other legislation to see that through. And ultimately, when people have a job, they're not in despair and they can stay on reserve and that's where we want them to be. We want them to be happy where they live."

Well, that's good to know. I guess the United Nations, the Native Women's Association of Canada, Amnesty International, Oxfam International, and tens of thousands of concerned Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike who've signed petitions, held social media campaigns, and turned up at protests demanding a real solution to this tragedy, can move on. Everything's cool, you guys.

As it stands, the Harper government has unreservedly and unapologetically opposed all pleas for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women.

That's why it came as no surprise this week when VICE's Matty Matheson asked Stephen Harper if his plans might change if re-elected and whether he'd finally step up to deal with this violence. Here's how he responded:

“We have moved forward with a whole series of criminal justice reforms that deal with the problems of violence against people generally, violence against women in particular.” He went on to claim that “most of these cases have already been solved.

It’s clear nothing has changed since Harper sat down with Peter Mansbridge last year and casually indicated that the more than 1,200 women and girls reported missing by the RCMP “weren’t really high on [his] radar.” (A comment he’s since denied making).

This short-sighted mentality seems to resonate with the right wing. According to a CBC radio interview this week, a pre-Harper era Tory MP and former leader of the BC Conservatives, James Cummins, also indicated that doesn’t see these cases resulting from a fundamental systemic issue—aside from their own poor judgement and “dangerous behaviour.” Nice.

But you can’t blame these guys for these utterly senseless mentalities. Look at their government’s record. If there’s one file Harper has dropped the ball on, it’s mending Canada’s tumultuous relationship with our Indigenous peoples.

Promptly upon assuming office in 2006, Stephen Harper walked away from the Kelowna Accord—an unprecedented agreement between Aboriginal leaders and the government of Canada based on 18 months of consultation.

When the housing crisis struck Attawapiskat last year, Harper refused to act. Which was hardly surprising, given the fact that the First Nations housing fund (a $300-million dollar project) built only 99 homes on reserves over six years during Harper’s tenure, rather than the initially-proposed number of 25,000.

In more recent history, Bill C-51 has threatened First Nations’ ability to defend and support Aboriginal rights and title—making it easier for authorities to persecute on the grounds that minorities are more likely to engage in “terrorist behaviour.” The sweeping bill has been criticized extensively, and labelled a “legislative drift net” with the potential to scoop up Aboriginal activists with no link to terrorist activity whatsoever—limiting the ability to protest land claims, environmental concerns, and human rights concerns.

Harper’s failure to consult with Indigenous peoples on many public affairs and governmental activities is a long list. But of the most glaring of these, the one that has prompted criticism on the world stage, in his failure to properly address violence against Indigenous women.

As a growing body of research tells us, if you are an Indigenous woman in Canada—you are up against a deeply insidious spectrum of systemic discrimination and oppression. CCPA research notes that Aboriginal women are affected by higher levels of poverty, lower educational attainment, higher unemployment, poorer physical and mental health, and lack of housing than non-Aboriginal women.

You’d think disturbing social phenomena of this nature would prompt a government to act, but it hasn’t. The behaviour of our own incumbent Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Bernard Valcourt, at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission this year was a blatant encapsulation of this inaction. As Press Progress reported, Valcourt was the only person in a packed room of dignitaries, elders and Indigenous leaders who refused to stand when the TRC chair Justice Murray Sinclair called for a national inquiry.

Post-colonial practice lives on in Canada whether we choose to acknowledge it or not—and Indigenous women bear the brunt of this systemic oppression. From the day an Indigenous woman is born in this country, she is taught blatantly and subliminally that she is the “Other” to our white, Anglo-Saxon “Norm.”

I’m guessing Harper, Zimmer, and Cummins are not privy to this reality.

Follow Jenn Jeffreys on Twitter