Missing Women

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Atleo Responds to Oppal Report, Continues Press for National Public Commission of Inquiry

(Ottawa, ON) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo today expressed the need to build on the recommendations of the BC Missing Women Commission released by the BC government this afternoon in Vancouver, continuing to urge government commitment to a National Public Commission of Inquiry that would address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women across Canada.

“We must build on the recommendations of the BC Missing Women Commission, and the good work being done across the country by Indigenous, First Nation and women’s organizations, to ensure violence ends against and among our peoples,” said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo, who also shared his support for the families and loved ones impacted by the tragedies in BC and across the country.  “We will continue our calls for a National Public Commission of Inquiry that addresses the root causes of why so, and too many, Indigenous women find themselves in vulnerable situations.”

The calls for an independent National Public Commission of Inquiry on missing and murdered Indigenous women have been strongly made by First Nation leadership over many years, most recently during the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly earlier this month and last week when National Chief Atleo stood with the family of Summer Star Elizabeth Krista-Lee Fowler who echoed the calls.

“In the depth of our grief for our beloved daughter, we are comforted in the support of our leaders, for continuing to take this message forward and to advocate on behalf of us and the other families impacted by such tragedies,” said Matilda Fowler from Vancouver December 12, mother of 16 year old CJ Morningstar Fowler whose body was found in Kamloops December 5.

A National Public Commission of Inquiry would examine the socio-cultural and socio-economic risk factors associated with Indigenous women and girls, and includes public hearings and a review of police policies and procedures in regard to searches, investigations and communication between police, officials and families.

More specifically, a National Public Commission of Inquiry on violence against Indigenous women and girls could:
• ensure an open and transparent examination of the socio-economic, political and historical factors that lead to increased vulnerability;
• examine police practices and protocols with regards to investigations in incidences where Indigenous women are reported missing, communications with families and among and between jurisdictions;
• build on and examine the substantial – and sadly often unimplemented – recommendations made in previous commissions, inquiries, reports and task forces (such as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Manitoba Justice Inquiry , National Aboriginal Women’s Summits, etc.) with a focus on identifying critical barriers to their implementation and strategies to overcome these;
• examine supports, experiences and strategies in urban centres;
• provide special focus on the North and the unique perspectives and experiences of Northern First Nations and Inuit communities;
• review innovative practices and community-based supports in preventing violence and achieving reconciliation.

“Commissioner Oppal’s findings in his Report only confirm what First Nations have been saying for decades – First Nation women and girls are far too often in vulnerable situations that result in violence and death,” said AFN BC Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould. “The recommendations in Commissioner Oppal’s Report seem promising, but work needs to be done at a national level to get at the root causes of a justice system that continues to allow this violence to occur. We must see a commitment from the Prime Minister to the establishment of a National Public Commission of Inquiry to address these underlying systemic issues so that this violence does not continue to happen without action for justice or prevention.”

AFN continues to work in coordination with First Nations across the country and other Indigenous and women’s organizations, including the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) to develop a national action plan to end violence against Indigenous women and girls. AFN and NWAC plan to host a national forum in 2013.

The BC Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, led by The Honourable Wally Oppal examined the conduct of police investigations of women reported missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside between January 23, 1997 and February 5, 2002.

The Assembly of First Nation is the national organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada. Follow us on Twitter @AFN_Updates and @AFN_Comms.

For more information please contact:

Jenna Young, Assembly of First Nations Communications Officer 613-241-6789, ext 401 or cell: 613-314-8157 or e-mail jyoung@afn.ca
Alain Garon, Assembly of First Nations Bilingual Communications Officer 613-241-6789, ext 382 or cell: 613-2920857 or email agaron@afn.ca

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo today expressed the need to build on the recommendations of the BC Missing Women Commission released by the BC government this afternoon in Vancouver, continuing to urge government commitment to a National Public Commission of Inquiry that would address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women across Canada.

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Community and Advocacy Groups Respond to Missing Women Commission of Inquiry's Final Report

A coalition of more than twenty-five community and advocacy groups has prepared a statement responding to the release of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry's final report. The statement expresses support for the families, calls for a national inquiry into the hundreds of missing and murdered women and girls, reiterates support for the investigation previously announced by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and calls for a systemic analysis of the underlying conditions of sexism, racism, poverty, and colonialism.

In Vancouver, the majority of the organizations will be releasing their statement at a press conference on Monday, December 17 at 2:30 p.m. at the Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street (Room 470).

In Prince George, the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council and the Carrier Sekani Family Services will hold a press conference on Monday, December 17 at 2:00 p.m., in the Carrier Sekani Family Services boardroom, 987 Fourth Avenue.
For more information contact:

Don Bain, Executive Director, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, (604) 831-9709 or donb@ubcic.bc.ca

The following organizations are signatory:
• Aboriginal Front Door Society
• Amnesty International Canada
• Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution
• Assembly of First Nations
• Atira Women's Resource Society
• B.C. Assembly of First Nations
• B.C. Civil Liberties Association
• Battered Women's Support Services
• Butterflies in Spirit
• Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres/Association Canadienne des Centres Contre les Aggressions a Caractere Sexuel
• Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
• Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence Society
• Downtown Eastside Women's Centre
• Ending Violence Association British Columbia
• EVE, formerly Exploited Voices Now Educating
• Justice for Girls
• February 14th Women's Memorial March Committee
• First Nations Summit
• National Congress of Black Women's Foundation
• Native Women’s Association of Canada
• PACE: Providing Alternatives Counselling & Education Society
• PHS Community Services Society
• Pivot Legal Society
• Poverty and Human Rights Centre
• Provincial Council of Women of British Columbia
• Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
• Union Gospel Mission
• Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter
• West Coast LEAF
• WISH Drop-in Centre Society
• Women's Equality and Security Coalition

By Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
May 2, 2012
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/workers+police+discuss+plans+protect+vulnerable/6551499/story.html

Sex trade workers and police gathered Monday in a small room of Vancouver’s down-town library to discuss ways to prevent another serial killer such as Robert Pickton preying on vulnerable women.

Susan Davis, a sex worker for 26 years, said sex workers have a traditional distrust of police because of a history of being arrested for drugs and out-standing warrants for failing to show up in court.

She and other sex workers suggested women working the streets tend not to report rapes and violent customers to police because of that fear.

“We’re trying to break down that distrust,” Vancouver police Insp. Mario Giardini told the public forum, the first of six being held by the Missing Women inquiry to try to shape recommendations to the government about how to better protect vulnerable sex workers on the street.

“Cannot there be some discretion by officers so the women can report assaults?” asked inquiry Commissioner Wally Oppal.

“That should be happening,” Giardini said.

Sex workers’ advocate Jamie Lee Hamilton said the city also needs to improve street lighting and improve the conditions for the survival of sex workers working in the dark, industrial areas of the Downtown Eastside. “The same conditions exist today that existed when Pickton preyed on women,” Hamilton told the forum.

Oppal agreed. “The environment needs to be changed,” he said, adding His final report must be handed to government by June 30. The inquiry resume hearings on May 9.

nhall@vancouversun.com

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/public-warning-unnecessary-pickton-inquiry-hears/article2413252/

Three senior police officers felt it unnecessary to put out a public warning that women were vanishing from the Downtown Eastside in the late 1990s, though they’ve agreed in hindsight that there wouldn’t have been harm in suggesting a serial killer was at work.

Vancouver Police were first tipped in summer 1998 that Robert Pickton might be picking up sex workers from Vancouver and killing them at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

A civilian who was the only permanent, long-term staff member of the missing person’s unit had also raised red flags several times between the early and mid-1990s that prostitutes were disappearing from the city’s streets in high numbers and there weren’t enough resources to handle the files.

But no action was taken because police had “nothing specific” to warn the community about, the sergeant in charge of the unit at the time said Tuesday in testifying at the inquiry looking into why the killer wasn’t apprehended sooner.

“Any male that they get into a car with is a potential danger,” former Sgt. Geramy Field, whose surname is now Powell, said of the sex trade workers.

“Because we didn’t have anything specific like a description or anything else to go on, my general feeling at the time was that it wouldn’t have been too productive.”

Field’s senior officers, former Insp. Fred Biddlecombe and acting Insp. Dan Dureau, both agreed that despite a lack of official warnings, the community was fully aware women were going missing.

“I think the community was completely alive to the fact there were issues,” Dureau said. “I don’t know that any other warnings or more warnings would have been beneficial.”

The trio were testifying as part of a law enforcement panel put together to help the inquiry understand the decisions made by Vancouver Police in relation to Pickton’s crimes.

The panel was quizzed by an inquiry lawyer about a news release drafted by former Det. Insp. Kim Rossmo in fall 1998, but never released. Rossmo was a geographic profiler who wanted to inform the public that police were investigating reports of dozens of missing women who might be victims of an active serial killer.
Commission lawyer Art Vertlieb asked what harm could have come from its release.

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” said Field.

Biddlecombe agreed that he wouldn’t object to it. But he noted some of the information in it didn’t appear to be accurate. For example, he said the murders of eight of ten sex trade workers in previous years had been solved, but the release left it hanging as to how many were unsolved.

“I didn’t know if that would leave things dangling that all these women were being murdered when we didn’t even know that at that time,” he said.
But Biddlecomb said he was just making a fresh assessment, explaining he actually has no recollection of many events from 1998.

His lawyer has submitted a doctor’s letter to the inquiry stating he was diagnosed a year later with job-related stress, causing his absence from the office for long periods in the late 1990s. He said a psychiatrist has more recently diagnosed him as having suffered major depressive and anxiety disorders and he said he is still taking medication.

The inquiry has previously heard that Biddlecombe nixed the release, complaining to a colleague that it was “inaccurate and quite inflammatory.”

The force’s media spokeswoman didn’t publicly acknowledge the possibility of a serial murderer until November 1999.

About 19 women vanished in connection with Pickton’s pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. from the late 1990s until he was arrested in 2002. The remains or DNA of 33 women were found on the premises. Pickton was ultimately convicted of six murders.

Three senior police officers felt it unnecessary to put out a public warning that women were vanishing from the Downtown Eastside in the late 1990s, though they’ve agreed in hindsight that there wouldn’t have been harm in suggesting a serial killer was at work.

The alleged accusations within the commission speaks volumes to the systemic issues that led to the initial misconduct of the VPD and RCMP investigations into the murdered and missing women across British Columbia.  Tribal Chief David Luggi states, “This is yet another stark example of the general mindset which creates violence against women, where male members of the commission responsible for bringing justice to this process are making lewd comments about their coworker’s body image.” Luggi concluded, “How’s the commission going to get a fair and just outcome for the murdered and missing women with attitudes displayed by those leading this commission?”

Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee states, “It’s painfully obvious this commission has been deeply flawed from the start, with no legitimacy whatsoever.” Teegee concluded, “it seems now, with these new allegations, the Inquiry is rotting from the inside and is destined to fail the people it was supposed to serve, our most vulnerable.”

The CSTC, representing a high percentage of First Nation’s women whose lives have tragically ended through sexism and violence, are opposed to the inquiry moving forward.  We share the concerns of all of the other aboriginal agencies and legal representative who have withdrawn from the process citing it to be unjust, unrepresentative of Aboriginal interests and riddled with systemic racism and sexism.  

We call for the disbandment of this commission and the creation of a new and inclusive process which will bring justice to the atrocities that have occurred, and ensure that accountable and fair investigations occur in the future. 

– 30 –

For further information contact:
Tribal Chief David Luggi: 250-562-6279 ext.226; Cell 250-640-6622
Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee: 250-562-6279 ext.223; Cell 250-640-3256

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The attached letters from an informal coalition of advocacy and service providing groups, the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations are written in response to an invitation letter sent by Commissioner Wally Oppal, asking organizations to return to the Inquiry.

For more information, please contact:

• Aboriginal Front Door Society, Mona Woodward, Executive Director, (604) 697-5662
• Amnesty International Canada, Craig Benjamin, (613) 744 -7667 ext 235
• Atira Women’s Resource Society, Janice Abbott, Executive Director, (604) 331-1420
• B.C. Civil Liberties Association, David Eby, Executive Director, (778) 865-7997
• Battered Women’s Support Services, Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director, (604) 808-0507
• Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council, Terry Teegee, Vice Tribal Chief, (250) 640-3256
• Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence Society, Katrina Pacey, (604) 729-7849
• Ending Violence Association British Columbia, Tracy Porteous, Executive Director, (604) 633-2506, x11
• February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee, Lisa Yellow-Quill, L.YellowQuill@gmail.com
• First Nations Summit, Colin Braker, Communications Director, (604) 926-9903
• Native Women’s Association of Canada, Claudette Dumont-Smith, Exec. Director, (613) 722-3033 x223
• PACE: Providing Alternatives Counselling & Education Society, Karen Mirsky, (778) 838-2972
• Pivot Legal Society, Doug King, Lawyer, (778) 898-6349
• Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, (250) 490-5314
• Union Gospel Mission, Genesa Greening, Director, Community Strategies, (604) 506-0845
• West Coast LEAF, Executive Director, Kasari Govinder, (604) 684-8772, x212
• WISH Drop-in Centre Society, Kate Gibson, Executive Director, (604)669-9474

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Open Letter: Non-participation in the Policy Forums/Study Commission
Missing Women Commission of Inquiry                                
Attn: Commissioner Wally Oppal, QC
#1402 – 808 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC
V6Z 2H2

April 10, 2012

Dear Commissioner Oppal,

We write to advise the Commission that we, the undersigned groups, will not be participating in the Policy Forums or Study Commission aspects of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (the “Inquiry”). We are not prepared to lend the credibility of our respective organizations’ names and expertise to this Inquiry, which can only be described as a deeply flawed and illegitimate process. The Commission has lost all credibility among Aboriginal, sex work, human rights and women’s organizations that work with and are comprised of the very women most affected by the issues this Inquiry is charged with investigating.

Many of the organizations listed below have for years been demanding an inquiry into the disappearances of so many marginalized women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and across the province. When this Inquiry was finally called, we fully expected it to be a meaningful and inclusive process that would respect and honour the expertise of women, Aboriginal people, sex workers and other community members with important insight and knowledge to share. However, it has become painfully clear over the course of the Inquiry’s proceedings that this Inquiry is not a meaningful and inclusive process. Instead, it has served to repeat the same discrimination and exclusion that we had hoped it was going to uncover.

Women have been going missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and across the province, for decades. Women, especially Aboriginal women, sex workers, and women living in poverty, continue to face extreme violence in their lives, and experience profound barriers to reporting their victimization to police. Police and government failures to take women’s safety seriously and to commit resources to improving the social and economic conditions in which women live are issues of long-standing concern to all of the undersigned groups. It is disturbing to note that this Inquiry into the disappearances and murders of sex workers from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is taking place while government funding for sex worker support groups like PACE (Providing Alternatives Counselling and Education Society) and PEERS (Prostitutes Empowerment Education Resource Society) has been drastically reduced to the point that these two essential organizations may soon be forced to close their doors. Women’s organizations across the province are feeling a similar squeeze.

We feel that it is important to state our profound disappointment in how this Inquiry has unfolded. Based on our experiences of exclusion from the Inquiry process, as well as our assessment of events occurring throughout the course of the proceedings, we have no confidence that our participation in the Policy Forums or Study Commission will contribute to the truth, reconciliation and accountability that we fully expected when this Inquiry was initiated. Instead, we will continue to seek alternative ways to support the families of the missing women and the vulnerable communities who continue to deal with ongoing violence, and we will advise you of this work. 

When the provincial government denied funding to the community group participants who had been calling for this public inquiry for over a decade (the “Community Group Participants”), the Inquiry became the subject of intense and well-deserved criticism.  We are extremely disappointed that multiple appeals to the Province to remedy this injustice were unsuccessful, and that Community Group Participants were unable to exercise the standing rights granted to them by the Commissioner.

The failure to ensure equal access to the Inquiry process for the Community Group Participants granted standing made it clear to us, as it was to the broader public, that there would be deep inequities in terms of what evidence would be tendered and what interests would be represented. The value of the Inquiry was called into question and, at that point, so much more could have been done by the Commission to fight for the integrity of the process. The lack of commitment to fighting for the appropriate, meaningful, and adequately funded involvement of Community Group Participants was extremely disappointing. Additionally, former Attorney General Barry Penner, current Attorney General Shirley Bond, and Premier Clark themselves bear responsibility for refusing to adequately fund Community Group Participants, marginalizing their essential contributions and undermining the legitimacy of the Inquiry process.  The families, who have appropriately been provided counsel, are unable to offer the same contributions that would have been made by the many other groups who were shut out. These groups have decades of relevant policy expertise, have been supporting women who have experienced the most extreme levels of violence imaginable, have been tracking deaths of women for many years, and have been analyzing the serious problems with policing in British Columbia, as well as other systems such as child protection, income assistance, housing, healthcare, and transportation. These groups could have made a positive difference to the proceeding and outcomes for women and families in our Province.

We would like to take this opportunity to set out a number of other concerns we have had as this Inquiry has progressed.

Limitations of the terms of reference: In unilaterally setting the terms of reference for the Inquiry without consulting any of the affected parties, the provincial government unnecessarily restricted the Commission to examining the criminal justice system and its handling of the Pickton investigation, without providing for a fulsome examination of the various systemic issues leading to marginalized women’s particular vulnerability to violence, the lack of protections available, or the epidemic of missing and murdered women in British Columbia. 

No lawyers for organizations and community members who represent crucial perspectives: 25 publicly funded lawyers have represented police and government interests and yet no lawyers were funded to represent the Community Group Participants who originally demanded an inquiry in the first place. The Community Group Participants represent essential perspectives and experiences that have not been, and cannot be, adequately represented by Commission counsel, the amici or the two very dedicated but overburdened lawyers who represent the families of the missing women. 

Lack of Witness Protection: The Inquiry has recreated many of the barriers that women face when requiring police protection. One key example of this was the failure to grant adequate protection for the identities of vulnerable witnesses who agreed to come forward to tell their stories. Instead, the Commissioner granted significant protections for people convicted of assaulting the exact women that the Commission was hoping to hear from.

Delayed, incomplete disclosure: The failure to order the disclosure of the book written by Lori Shenher, a lead VPD investigator on the Pickton file, for months, the order requiring the book to be redacted, and then the failure to mark it as an exhibit so that the public may have access to it, is just one example of the inadequate and delayed disclosure that has become commonplace throughout this Inquiry.

Impossible Timelines: The provincial government has set a deadline of June 30, 2012, for the production of the Commissioner’s report. Hearings will end by April 30. This arbitrary timeline cannot and will not provide for an appropriately diligent examination of all relevant issues. The Commissioner’s request for an extension was refused, and all indications are that similar demands made recently by the families of Pickton’s victims will also be rejected.

Conflict of interest: The Commission hired a former Vancouver Police Department officer to conduct witness interviews and to “help” write an “independent” report on the Vancouver Police Department and RCMP investigations that was intended to be authored by the Peel Regional Police. The Peel Regional Police had numerous officers under investigation by the RCMP while they were writing their portion of the report about the RCMP investigations into Pickton. We also understand this former VPD officer is writing questions for Commission counsel and has no training to be doing this type of work.

Allegations of sexism and marginalization of witnesses: Former staff from the Commission have alleged sexist conduct, and conduct inconsistent with the intent for which the Inquiry was established, namely, to facilitate hearing the evidence of marginalized women. The Commission appears woefully out of touch with how it may be replicating the exact exclusion and discrimination that led to this Inquiry being called in the first place.

Limited Witnesses: The arbitrary and unworkable timeframe has meant that the Commission has not and will not hear evidence from many important witnesses. Key witnesses requested by counsel for the families have not been added to the witness list more than four months after the request was made. The Commission has refused to hear evidence about possible connections between the Pickton brothers and Hell’s Angels, or to look into allegations of corruption and connections with organized crime. The purpose of the Inquiry is to get to the bottom of why police failed to stop the killings of vulnerable women. The question of whether women were prevented from coming forward to police with information about Pickton because they were intimidated by organized crime connections is highly relevant to this purpose and should be fully explored. Instead, this line of inquiry has been explicitly shut down by the Commissioner.

Further to these concerns, the recent resignation of Robyn Gervais, the lawyer hired to represent “Aboriginal interests” at the Inquiry, has further reinforced our concerns. Ms. Gervais resigned her position citing the Commission’s unwillingness to give enough time and weight to evidence from Aboriginal witnesses. “Aboriginal interests have not, and will not, be adequately represented in these hearings,” she said. “Given that these hearings were about missing Aboriginal women, I didn’t think I would need to fight to have their voices heard.” From the outset, we did not support the appointment of amici to represent community interests. Ms. Gervais’ resignation confirms our belief that this was a tokenistic appointment that could never have been expected to effectively represent the broad and essential perspectives of First Nations people.  We are extremely troubled by the recent announcement regarding the hasty appointment, one month before the end of the hearings, of two new Independent Counsel to present issues related to Aboriginal interests.  We emphasize that this will still not allow for the inclusion of critical Aboriginal voices – those voices required their own legal counsel in order to participate. 

On May 1, 2012, the Inquiry will shift into its Study Commission function and begin holding Policy Forums in which interested individuals and organizations can make submissions to the Commission on issues within the advisory and policy aspects of its mandate. Given the record of the Inquiry thus far, our organizations have no confidence that the insight or expertise we could now offer would make any difference to the Inquiry’s outcome or the strength of its recommendations. The government’s failure to commit the necessary resources to this Commission does not bode well for its commitment to implementing any of the Commission’s recommendations, and the Commission’s continued exclusion and marginalization of community voices undermines the credibility of the entire process. We see little value in spending our organizations’ extremely limited time and resources contributing to a process that is fundamentally flawed and irredeemably defective.

Canada has been criticized by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, just weeks ago, by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination because of the inadequacies in its law and practice respecting the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of violence against women, particularly Aboriginal women. The high levels of violence experienced by Aboriginal women, as well as the hundreds of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across the country, are evidence of Canada’s failure to meet its international legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the fundamental human rights of women. To date, Canada has not made an effective response to these serious and significant findings by expert human rights bodies.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has initiated its inquiry procedure under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women  in response to information it has received regarding disappearances and murders of Aboriginal women and girls. Given the failures of the British Columbia and Canadian governments to address effectively the human rights crisis of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, including the social and economic conditions that make Aboriginal women and girls more vulnerable to violence in the first place, our organizations will dedicate what limited resources we can offer to working with the United Nations to facilitate their investigations and fact-finding processes, in order to ensure that Canada is held internationally accountable for these ongoing human rights violations. We have no confidence that the Commission of Inquiry can provide such accountability.

In closing, we reiterate our disappointment in the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, which continues to lose relevance and credibility.  Ensuring that the Commission proceeds with the maximum amount of evidence and input available is literally a matter of life and death for the marginalized women who continue to experience extremely dangerous situations on a daily basis in the Downtown Eastside and throughout the province, and we are extremely upset that the Commission has not chosen to implement measures to allow for this.  We are angry that millions of dollars continue to be spent on the Inquiry, and yet the Province and Commissioner were not able to provide adequate funding for Community Group Participants to participate in an appropriate manner.  Our organizations will continue to support the families of the missing women and will work together going forward to ensure that real change happens for the vulnerable women of the Downtown Eastside.

Yours truly,

• Aboriginal Front Door Society
• Amnesty International Canada
• Atira Women’s Resource Society
• B.C. Civil Liberties Association
• Battered Women’s Support Services
• Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
• Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence Society
• Ending Violence Association of British Columbia
• Feb. 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee
• First Nations Summit
• PACE: Providing Alternatives Counselling & Education Society
• Pivot Legal Society
• Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
• Union Gospel Mission
• West Coast LEAF
• WISH Drop-in Centre Society

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File # 2011-431 – http://bc.rcmp.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=50&languageId=1&contentId=21421
2011-10-17 09:29 PDT
Statement issued by: Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick, E Division Major Crime Section

The RCMP is here today to announce that a series of homicide charges have been laid in connection with one investigation dating back to 2009 and two investigations from 2010.

These charges are the result of a 10 month coordinated investigation called Project E-Prelude, a joint investigation led by investigators from the North District Major Crime unit and the Prince George RCMP Detachment Serious Crime Unit. It also involved extensive resources from around the province including investigators and support staff from the E Division Serious Crime Unit, Behavioral Science Group, the E Division Interview Team, Criminal Analysts and a number of specialized RCMP Forensic Laboratories throughout the country. Investigators also took the unusual step of utilizing a Forensic Specialist from the United States to examine specific aspects of the available evidence.

We can announce today that 3 counts of first degree murder have been laid against 21 year old Cody Alan Legebokoff from Prince George in connection with the deaths of 35 year old Jill Stacey Stuchenko, 35 year old Cynthia Frances Maas, and 23 year old Natasha Lynn Montgomery. Legebokoff was arrested this past Friday at the Prince George Regional Correctional Center where he is currently awaiting trial in the November 2010 homicide of 15 year old Loren Donn Leslie from Fraser Lake, BC.

Jill Stuchenko was a mother from Prince George. She was also a talented singer. She was reported missing to police on October 22, 2009. At the time, the Prince George RCMP conducted a missing persons investigation and sought the assistance of the media and the public to help find her. Sadly, her body was found on October 26th, 2009 in a gravel pit off Otway Road in the outskirts of Prince George, BC.

Cynthia Maas was also a mother. She was reported missing by her friends on September 23rd, 2010. Her family was also concerned because they had not heard from her over the course of several weeks. Despite numerous proactive policing initiatives on the part of the Prince George Detachment and North District Major Crime Unit, such as street checks, contact with various organizations and businesses and other search efforts, Cynthia was not found until October 9, 2010, when her body was discovered in LC Gunn Park, also in a remote area of Prince George.

Also a mother, Natasha Montgomery was originally from Quesnel, BC but had been living in the Prince George area. When she failed to connect with her family after a number of weeks, they contacted the RCMP to report her missing. She was reported missing the same day as Cynthia Maas. While her body has not been recovered, investigative findings have resulted in a murder charge in relation to her disappearance.

All four were women loved by their friends and family. All four were homicide victims. As a result of Project E- PRELUDE, all four of these murdered women have been connected to a single suspect.

We have spent the last 24 hours with members of the victims’ families and support services have been provided to help them through this difficult time. It was evident by our meeting yesterday; these women were all very vibrant, talented and loving. They were all mothers, daughters, and aunts and possess large extended familes who miss them tremendously. The families request privacy at this very sad time.

We also respect news of this development and the charges will be met with mixed emotions by the community. These are difficult and complex investigations that require a dedicated team of resources. This group and particularly the RCMP remain committed to ensuring justice is delivered.

While these cases are before the courts, I am limited to the amount of information or details I can provide at this time. However, I can confirm that in all three of these new cases investigators were assigned with first locating the missing person. Upon receiving the Missing Person Reports investigators were immediately focused on locating the women and gathering information as to their potential whereabouts. This consisted of a number of proactive policing strategies including street checks, designated patrols, targeting areas and people known to frequent areas these women were known to have attended. Extensive and immediate follow-up was conducted on potential sightings as well as a number of other investigative avenues. In fact, during this time at least one other woman was reported missing. The on-going investigation thankfully located her safe and sound in another city.

When they were located, in the cases of Jill Stuchenko and Cynthia Maas, the crime scenes were examined and the latest in forensic collection and analysis methods were used. In two of the four cases, this also included, as I mentioned earlier, utilizing a forensic specialist from Pennsylvania who utilized state of the art computer technology to forensically examine some of the evidence.

Over the course of the investigation a number of search warrants were executed at two Prince George residences associated to 21 year old Cody LEGEBOKOFF. The vehicle he was driving during the aftermath of 15 year old Loren LESLIE’s November 27, 2010 murder was also painstakingly forensically examined over the course of several weeks. It was a combination of many factors, along with a dedicated team of investigators that has brought us to the point where these additional three charges can be laid.

However, our investigation is not over. We do need the public’s help. In order to assist us with advancing our investigation, we are releasing a photo of Cody Alan Legebokoff and his vehicle.

Legebokoff is described as 21 years old, Caucasian male, 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing approximately 220 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. His vehicle is described as a Black 2004 GMC ½ ton pickup truck. We also know that he was an avid user of social media and technology. Our investigation indicates he extensively utilized social media and on-line dating to correspond with friends, associates, potential girlfriends and others. He frequently used the on-line name of 1CountryBoy.

It should also been known that Mr. LEGEBOKOFF lived in Lethbridge, Alberta for a short time between June 2008 and August 2009.

We are asking anyone with any information, in particular between the time period of October 2009 and November 2010 to call a special Tip Line that has been established for this case. The number 1-877-987-8477 (TIPS)

We believe there are others out there that may have been in contact with LEGEBOKOFF or these victims and possess information that can assist our on-going investigation.

Released by:

“E” Div. Communications Services
Phone: 604-264-2929
 

Email: bcrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

The RCMP is here today to announce that a series of homicide charges have been laid in connection with one investigation dating back to 2009 and two investigations from 2010.

Dear Madam Premier:

We write to you as organizations directly interested in the crucial human rights concerns at the heart of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, established by your government’s September 27, 2010 Order in Council. Regretfully, we write to advise you that this Commission is in serious jeopardy. We are asking for you to intervene in this broken process, meet with our organizations, hear our concerns, and take steps to ensure that the Commission lives up to its vital mandate to determine why so many women’s lives were lost and what can be done to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy.

We would be remiss if we did not, first, thank your government for establishing the Commission of Inquiry. We asked for this Inquiry to take place, and your government established an Inquiry in response. The subject matter being canvassed by this Commission is information we have wanted to be brought before the public for years. This Commission appears to us to represent the sole opportunity for that information to be heard, and for government to reform policy in response in a manner that is constructive, engaged and meaningful for our communities. We want this Commission to succeed, and
we want to participate in it. The success of this Commission means nothing less than the human rights, physical safety and security of girls and women we care deeply about, people who are our friends and family members.

All of our organizations share the goal of ending violence against girls and women. This Commission has as a key mandate identifying the systemic failures that led to brutal violence against women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and failed to prevent it. That violence against this group of vulnerable women continues to this day; the problem has not been solved with the arrest of William Pickton. This Commission is therefore not just a necessary step, but is only one step towards ending violence against women. Its failure and its loss of legitimacy among women and girls and those that support their safety is a disappointing continuation of successive failures of governments to enact meaningful policies to eradicate violence against women, and, in particular, against Indigenous women and other vulnerable and disadvantaged women.

This Commission also represents an important opportunity not just for truth, but for some reconciliation between police and Indigenous and marginalized communities. This Commission in itself will not solve the myriad of issues between police, members of Indigenous communities, and women who live in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, but it will go a distance to better understanding the problems and perhaps healing some old wounds. If this Commission is allowed to fail, which would certainly be the case if it is ultimately seen as illegitimate by affected communities, the result will be to not only aggravate old wounds, but open new ones. For these reasons too, we want this Commission to succeed, and we want to participate fully and meaningfully in it.

Despite our unflinching desire for this Commission of Inquiry to succeed, and for our communities and organizations to be able to participate in it, the people and communities who are intended to be benefited by this process have been made to feel that their participation is not needed, or even particularly desired. This outcome will negatively impact the findings and credibility of this Commission. For example, the unique experiences of women who live in the Downtown Eastside must be heard given the unique intersection of systemic challenges these women face before effective recommendations affecting them can be made. Some groups among us have formally or informally withdrawn because they are not able to participate given the current structure, process and resources. Others are considering whether they can remain involved. These deeply worrying concerns have been largely met by silence from your government, or by reassurance to the larger public that the non-participation of these groups will not affect the legitimacy, effectiveness or the conduct of this Commission.

Our concerns are simple but fundamental: that those with information critical to the inquiry are assisted and supported so that their information can come before the Commission; that the hearings, when held, provide a fair and safe opportunity for those with evidence to share their information and be heard; that groups granted standing have representation by legal counsel of their choice, just as the police do, so that they may probe and engage with the evidence that comes to light; and that, when the hearings are concluded, government will act in a constructive way in reforming policy based on the information collected. It is only through a fair and safe opportunity for truth telling and cross examination of police and government witnesses that the aims of the Commission around preventing violence against women,
ensuring accountability, building trust, realizing reconciliation and creating meaningful policy reform can be achieved.

We urge you to appoint someone senior within government to hold an emergency meeting with every group granted standing in this Inquiry, either in a group, or individually, to determine how this Commission of Inquiry may be fixed. We urge your government to repair the inquiry process based on these consultations so that we may all move forward.

Today is September 28, 2011. The Commission hearings are scheduled to commence on October 11, 2011. We hope to hear from you by October 5, 2011 at the latest.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration. Please help us protect those we all care about by ensuring the success of this Commission; a process critically important to the people and communities our organizations represent, but ultimately of vital importance to all people in British Columbia and across Canada.

Yours truly,

• The Family of Dianne Rock
• The Family of Georgina Papin
• The Family of Marnie Frey
• The Family of Cynthia Dawn Feliks
• The Family of Cara Ellis
• The Family of Mona Wilson
• The Family of Helen May Hallmark
• The Family of Dawn Crey
• The Family of Angela Hazel Williams
• The Family of Jacqueline Murdock
• The Family of Brenda Wolfe
• The Family of Andrea Joesbury
• The Family of Elsie Sebastian
• The Family of Heather Bottomley
• The Family of Andrea Borhaven
• The Family of Tiffany Drew
• The Family of Angela Jardine
• The Assembly of First Nations
• Amnesty International Canada
• The B.C. Civil Liberties Association
• The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
• Don Larsen (of Crab Water for Life Society)
• The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
• The Ending Violence Association of B.C. (EVA BC)
• The February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee
• First Nations Summit
• The Frank Paul Society
• Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC
• The Native Women’s Association of Canada
• The Providing Alternatives Counselling & Education Society (PACE)
• The Sex Workers United Against Violence Society
• The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
• The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU)
• The WISH Drop In Centre Society (WISH)
• The West Coast Women’s Legal Education Fund
• The Women’s Equality and Security Coalition
• The Aboriginal Women’s Action Network
• The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres
• The Coalition of Childcare Advocates
• EVE (formerly Exploited Voices now Educating)
• Justice for Girls
• The National Congress of Black Women Foundation
• The University Women’s Club of Vancouver
• The Vancouver Rape Relief Society
• The Poverty and Human Rights Centre
• The Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution
• The Provincial Council of Women

“Initially, the UBCIC was deeply troubled by the extremely narrow and restrictive terms of reference, the tight timelines and was shocked by the unilateral appointment of BC’s former Attorney-General Wally Oppal as Commissioner,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the UBCIC. “From the start, it appeared there was an incredibly low and impenetrable funding ceiling for this Inquiry. In truth, the decisions and sheer hypocrisy of the Christy Clark Government have effectively slammed the door to this Inquiry.”

Terry Teegee, Vice Tribal Chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council stated “Premier Christy Clark recently hosted a First Minister’s meeting where she stated publicly that the safety of First Nation women was of paramount concern. If that is the case, we must learn from the errors of the past. We must listen to those families who endured the silence of authorities when their loved ones went missing. We must pursue answers to the many questions of the missing and murdered women not only in Vancouver but along the Highway of Tears in the North.” Teegee further stated, “This was an opportunity for the Christy Clark Government to demonstrate that the safety of First Nation women, and their families, matter to this government. With the full involvement of all the participants, this Inquiry, and the full and meaningful implementation of its recommendations, could have been a small but significant measure of justice.”

“We thank Commissioner Oppal for his efforts to expand the scope of the Inquiry and to seek the necessary resources from the Province to allow all participants to contribute equally to the Inquiry,” said Grand Chief Phillip. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families who lost their loved ones and to their many friends who worked hard with community organizations for a full and exhaustive inquiry to address their many concerns. We continue our commitment to them and to work with them to ensure justice will one day be served. We will not abandon them.”

For further information please contact:
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President, UBCIC (www.ubcic.bc.ca) (250) 490-5314
Terry Teegee, Vice Tribal Chief, CSTC (www.carriersekani.ca) (o) (250) 562-6279, (c) (250) 640-3256

PDF copy: http://www.carriersekani.ca/images/uploads/docs/cstc/UBCIC_CSTCPress
_WithdrawfromMWCI_072711.pdf