On February 14, Unifor members participated in community events across the country to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people.
“Indigenous women are far more likely to experience violence, and communities are suffering,” said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. “There can be no reconciliation without an end to violence. It must be a national priority.”
Started after an Indigenous woman was murdered in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side in 1992, the women’s memorial march has become an important annual event, which has grown from coast to coast to coast. Marches are often led by the family members of murdered or missing women and involve spiritual ceremonies. Those gathered mourn the women lost to violence and pledge to work for justice. Outside of Vancouver, events also take place in Victoria, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and a number of cities.
According to Statistics Canada, First Nations women are three and half times more likely to be victims of violence than non-Aboriginal women — and seven times more likely to be murdered.
“Countless families and communities have been devastated by this ongoing tragedy. The pain of loss and of justice denied echoes through Canada’s history, its present and will echo into our future if we fail to act,” said Warnock.
Violence against women is always unacceptable and to honour the lives lost, organizers call upon the community and allies to work for justice for murdered and missing women and stand in defiance of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices, the courts, and federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous peoples. Unifor echoes and amplifies the longstanding demands from Indigenous people for reform of Canada’s broken justice system.