Summary
When the Native Women’s Association of Canada learned that Debbie Reid, the executive director of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, had resigned, it said it was “shocked and outraged”. Reid had been with the inquiry for only a few months.
NWAC said the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women were now, once again, having to deal with more upset coming from the inquiry’s internal struggles, with now more than 20 people who have left the organization, creating a burden heaped upon the families’ own personal tragedies.
This resignation creates instability and a further setback with the Inquiry, with NWAC having issued “failing grades in almost all key areas” of the inquiries progress. A statement released by NWAC cites issues with communications, which NWAC described as a sporadic, with families having to rely on anecdotal information, and lack of transparency. NWAC called on leaders to implement a “clear and robust strategy for transparent communication to benefit families and achieve a successful outcome.”
NWAC said it is concerned that “the ongoing operational failures will damage what remaining trust and belief families may still have in the inquiry. NWAC strongly believes that in order for the National Inquiry be a success, it must re-examine its administrative issues and operations.”