Latest news with #MMIWG
Toronto Sun
13-06-2025
- Toronto Sun
HUNTER: Scolding, posturing has not solved one MMIWG cold case
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox MURDERED: Master carver George David. PAPD We all remember the scoldings. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Daily, we were told that the crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) was our fault. In some ways, it was true, but in most ways, it wasn't. So we launched a commission that cost a zillion dollars and had a pre-determined outcome. Reality, however, scorched the commission's narrative and that of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government. Now, six years after the final report was released in 2019, with a so-called action plan, Red Dress Days and myriad other faculty lounge-inspired endeavours, MMIWG remains a national crisis. MMIWG: A criminology professor has warned that the real number of murdered Indigenous women and girls could be double official estimates. Little has been done except for the go-to vibes. 'Many of these murders of women and children could be easily solved, but it's like the government has an aversion to doing anything,' one homicide detective told me. 'They don't seem to want to bring closure, justice and relief to the families and communities affected.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Easier to scold and virtue signal than to do anything constructive. South of the border, it's a different story. It's a commitment and a promise. On Thursday, Washington state's newly minted Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Unit announced they arrested an Arkansas woman in a nine-year-old cold case. A red ribbon attached to an eagle feather is held up during ceremonies marking the release of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women report in Gatineau, Monday June 3, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld While the victim was an Indigenous man, the result was an arrest and a charge of second-degree murder. According to The Olympian , George David, 65, was a respected master woodcarver and a resident of the Port Angeles area. He was found murdered on March 28, 2016. David had just returned from visiting family and attending a funeral in British Columbia. Tina Alcorn appeared in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday. She remains in custody, held on $1 million bail. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. VIBES: Ex-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the National Caucus holiday party in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. Photo by Kamara Morozuk / Bloomberg Cops say Alcorn was on their radar as a primary suspect early in the investigation but fell through the cracks until last month. 'This case has never been forgotten,' Port Angeles Police Chief Brian S. Smith said. 'The renewed investigation, bolstered by our partnership with the MMIWP Task Force, reflects our commitment to justice and to honouring George David's memory.' It's startling when you consider the hundreds of faces of missing and murdered Indigenous women in this country. Seemingly forgotten, except for the wails of anguish from their heartbroken families. Indigenous mother of two Terri McCauley, 18, was murdered in 1983. American cops have closed the case. ISP Instead of arrests and answers in Canada, victims' families are left with tiresome platitudes and a numbing limbo. A small coterie of loudmouths and their bureaucratic enablers leave survivors high and dry. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the U.S., detectives with the new MMIWP are making arrests. More than 40 years after 18-year-old Terri McCauley was murdered in Iowa, investigators made an arrest there. McCauley was a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. REMEMBER: A makeshift memorial to murdered mother of two Terri McCauley. Cops say theyve arrested her killer after more than 40 years. FACEBOOK 'She could have been a successful person, a Native female, who could have made a big difference in this community. And unfortunately, that was taken from her,' family spokesman Joshua Taylor said. McCauley vanished after a night out with friends in the fall of 1983. She was last seen getting into a vehicle outside a Sioux City watering hole. Her body was discovered days later in a wooded area miles away. She had been shot to death. More lost promise. Read More Thomas Duane Popp has been charged with first-degree murder. 'I want to commend our cold case team for their work on behalf of victims and families,' Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said. 'This is a milestone on a long path toward accountability. The Legislature funded this work because so many people would not give up the pursuit of justice for their loved ones.' And in Canada? MMIWG families are like those stranded in Casablanca in the classic Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name. They wait, and wait, and wait. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun World Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto & GTA Canada Music
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
HUNTER: Scolding, posturing has not solved one MMIWG cold case
We all remember the scoldings. Daily, we were told that the crisis of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) was our fault. In some ways, it was true, but in most ways, it wasn't. So we launched a commission that cost a zillion dollars and had a pre-determined outcome. Reality, however, scorched the commission's narrative and that of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government. Now, six years after the final report was released in 2019, with a so-called action plan, Red Dress Days and myriad other faculty lounge-inspired endeavours, MMIWG remains a national crisis. Little has been done except for the go-to vibes. 'Many of these murders of women and children could be easily solved, but it's like the government has an aversion to doing anything,' one homicide detective told me. 'They don't seem to want to bring closure, justice and relief to the families and communities affected.' Easier to scold and virtue signal than to do anything constructive. South of the border, it's a different story. It's a commitment and a promise. On Thursday, Washington state's newly minted Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Unit announced they arrested an Arkansas woman in a nine-year-old cold case. While the victim was an Indigenous man, the result was an arrest and a charge of second-degree murder. According to The Olympian, George David, 65, was a respected master woodcarver and a resident of the Port Angeles area. He was found murdered on March 28, 2016. David had just returned from visiting family and attending a funeral in British Columbia. Tina Alcorn appeared in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday. She remains in custody, held on $1 million bail. Cops say Alcorn was on their radar as a primary suspect early in the investigation but fell through the cracks until last month. 'This case has never been forgotten,' Port Angeles Police Chief Brian S. Smith said. 'The renewed investigation, bolstered by our partnership with the MMIWP Task Force, reflects our commitment to justice and to honouring George David's memory.' It's startling when you consider the hundreds of faces of missing and murdered Indigenous women in this country. Seemingly forgotten, except for the wails of anguish from their heartbroken families. Instead of arrests and answers in Canada, victims' families are left with tiresome platitudes and a numbing limbo. A small coterie of loudmouths and their bureaucratic enablers leave survivors high and dry. In the U.S., detectives with the new MMIWP are making arrests. More than 40 years after 18-year-old Terri McCauley was murdered in Iowa, investigators made an arrest there. McCauley was a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. 'She could have been a successful person, a Native female, who could have made a big difference in this community. And unfortunately, that was taken from her,' family spokesman Joshua Taylor said. McCauley vanished after a night out with friends in the fall of 1983. She was last seen getting into a vehicle outside a Sioux City watering hole. Her body was discovered days later in a wooded area miles away. She had been shot to death. More lost promise. HUNTER: Iowa MMIWG cold case bust shames virtue-signalling Canada HUNTER: Winnipeg serial killer reveals MMIWG inquiry did nothing COLD CASE EXPERT: MMIWG death tally likely double Thomas Duane Popp has been charged with first-degree murder. 'I want to commend our cold case team for their work on behalf of victims and families,' Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said. 'This is a milestone on a long path toward accountability. The Legislature funded this work because so many people would not give up the pursuit of justice for their loved ones.' And in Canada? MMIWG families are like those stranded in Casablanca in the classic Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name. They wait, and wait, and wait. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun
CBC
03-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Red Dress Alert program must be in place by May 2026, says report from organization leading project
Social Sharing All levels of government must act quickly to establish a notification system within the next year that would help find missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba, the organization spearheading the project says. A Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children. Giganawenimaanaanig, the Manitoba committee implementing calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, released an interim report on Tuesday detailing the development of the program, which started after Manitoba MP Leah Gazan put forth a motion in Parliament in 2023 to fund an alert system. Survivors and family members, along with leadership and representatives from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, attended 29 engagement sessions held as of January throughout the province, in both rural and urban communities, the report says. Participants in the engagement sessions stressed the "extreme urgency" of establishing an effective notification system, the report says, and Giganawenimaanaanig is now calling on all three levels of government to get the program running by May 2026 at the latest. "Every day that the Red Dress Alert is not implemented is a day that someone could go missing," project lead Denise Cook said at a Tuesday news conference. A public survey is currently being conducted for those who were unable to attend the engagement sessions, with over 1,000 responses received in the month of May alone, said Sandra DeLaronde, the chair of Giganawenimaanaanig. The program will differ from existing notification systems, since it will be guided by those families and communities, DeLaronde said. "This alert is really going to be built on their words," she said at the news conference. "When a Red Dress Alert saves a life, it's because of all the people who provided their ideas, thoughts and opinions on how this should be done in a good way." The alert system will also need a co-operative and co-ordinated effort across jurisdictions and agencies to keep tabs on youth who've run away from foster care, as well as those experiencing gender-based violence, housing insecurity and/or human trafficking, the report says. The next steps are to meet with those agencies, said Cook. Participants in the engagement sessions overwhelmingly said that they are "not being listened to, not being taken seriously, not being given the resources or the time that they need from those service providers that are there — that are supposed to be there but are not there," said Cook. "There are gaps, and we recognize that individuals and systems do not necessarily … perform in the way that they should be, but it's so significant in the Indigenous community," she said. "A lot of communities have been left to do what they can with what they have." The alert system's success will depend on all Manitobans, said Cook. Evacuees 'vulnerable and targeted' The program is also making considerations for people who go missing after travelling to an urban centre from a remote or northern community, and those who may be vulnerable after leaving a hospital or other institution that's far from their home, the report says. It's something that hits close to home, said DeLaronde, as thousands are currently evacuated from northern Manitoba communities due to wildfires. "People told us that when they were evacuated, they were in fact vulnerable and targeted" in larger urban centres, DeLaronde said. While planning for the alert system continues, DeLaronde said more patrols in and around hotels and evacuation sites, as well as a response line to call if someone goes missing, are ways to help keep those fleeing fires safe. At a separate news conference, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said her organization is looking at addressing safety concerns in spaces where displaced people are staying, and is working to bring in wraparound support for those forced from their homes. "We know that these sites are now a target for predators, for human traffickers, for drug dealers," she said. Participants said there's no single technique or technology for an alert system to reach everyone, but they'd want it to be more than just a way to distribute missing persons reports, which can desensitize the public with frequent use, the Giganawenimaanaanig interim report says. Clear criteria for the notification system must be widely publicized, participants said, and expectations of how police and other government agencies should respond to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, must also be written into law to ensure accountability, it says. A final report on the Red Dress Alert program's engagement sessions, with recommendations, is expected to be released in October. Extreme urgency' for MMIWG alerts: report 1 hour ago Duration 2:03 The Manitoba team working on a provincewide Red Dress Alert system will meet with police, child welfare agencies and sports groups. The Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children.
CBC
03-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Red Dress Alert program must be put in place by May 2026: Giganawenimaanaanig
All levels of government must act quickly to establish a notification system by May 2026 that would help find missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba, the organization spearheading the project says. A Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children. Giganawenimaanaanig, the Manitoba committee implementing calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, released an interim report on Tuesday detailing the development thus far of the program, which started after Manitoba MP Leah Gazan put forth a motion in Parliament in 2023 to fund an alert system. Survivors, family members, leadership and representatives from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities attended 29 engagement sessions held as of January throughout the province in northern, southern, rural and urban communities, the report says. The program will differ from pre-existing notification systems, since it will be guided by those families and communities, project lead Sandra Delaronde said. "This alert is really going to be built on their words," she said at a news conference on Tuesday. "When a Red Dress Alert saves a life, it's because of all the people who provided their ideas, thoughts and opinions on how this should be done in a good way." A public survey is currently being conducted for those who were unable to attend the engagement sessions, with over 1,000 responses received in the month of May alone, Delaronde said. Participants in the engagement sessions stressed the "extreme urgency" of establishing an effective notification system, the report says, and Giganawenimaanaanig now calls on all three levels of government to get the program running by May 2026 at the latest. Participants also said there's no single technique or technology for an alert system to reach everyone, but they'd want it to be more than just a way to distribute missing persons reports, which can desensitize the public with frequent use, the report says. Clear criteria for the notification system must be widely publicized, participants said, and expectations of how police and other government agencies should respond to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls must also be written into law to ensure accountability, the report says. The alert system will also need a co-operative and co-ordinated effort across jurisdictions and between agencies to keep tabs on youth who've run away from foster care, as well as those experiencing gender-based violence, housing insecurity and/or human trafficking, the report says.
CBC
11-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Ann's Eye: Honouring Red Dress Day at Killarney Lake
The Under One Sky Friendship Centre in Fredericton organized a memorial walk at Killarney Lake for Red Dress Day, a national day of remembrance and awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
