The mandate of the Special Committee was to conduct hearings on the critical matter of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada and propose solutions to address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women.

It is clear from the testimony and documentation received that measures to address the problem of violence against Aboriginal women and girls must take the following into account:

• women must actively participate in developing solutions;
• solutions must be holistic in nature;
• programs and services must be culturally and geographically adaptable;
• solutions must be developed and offered at the community level — we must help communities acquire the tools they need to find their own solutions.

The Committee recognizes that to adequately address the issue of violence against Aboriginal women and children requires a partnership based on respect and engagement between the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments and First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.

Accordingly, the Committee recommends:

Awareness Campaign

Recommendation 1

That the federal government learn from the stories of the families of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls and work with the provinces, territories and municipalities to create a public awareness and prevention campaign focusing on violence against Aboriginal women and girls in Canada.

Support for the family of victims

Recommendation 2

That the federal government continue strengthening the criminal justice system to ensure, among other things, that violent and repeat offenders serve appropriate sentences.

Recommendation 3

That the federal government maintain its commitment to develop the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights including initiatives aimed at making the criminal justice system more responsive to the needs of victims, such as keeping them informed and providing them with appropriate standing, access and assistance throughout the process.

Recommendation 4

That the federal government implement a national DNA-based missing person's index

Support for communities

Recommendation 5

That the federal government continue to support K-12 education on reserve as an important tool in combating the root causes of violence against Aboriginal women and girls.

Recommendation 6

That the federal government continue to support programming and legislation that allow Aboriginal communities to respond to violence.

Recommendation 7

That the federal government examine options to address poverty as a root cause of violence against Aboriginal women and girls by empowering Aboriginal people through economic development opportunities and jobs and skills training.

Recommendation 8

That the federal government engage First Nation communities to examine how to improve supports for shelters and front-line services on reserve for victims of violence.

Recommendation 9

That the federal government support provincial, territorial and First Nation childcare agencies in their responsibility to ensure effective and accountable service delivery.

Police Services

Recommendation 10

That the federal government in cooperation with municipal, provincial and territorial governments examine the possibility of collecting police data on violence against Aboriginal women and girls that includes an ethnicity variable.

Recommendation 11

That the federal government engage Aboriginal communities and municipal, provincial, and territorial governments to examine options to improving procedures among police services to facilitate multipartite investigations.

Recommendation 12

That the federal government encourage Aboriginal organizations, the Canadian Police College and municipal, provincial and territorial governments to improve police officer training, including continuing education, to foster cultural understanding and sensitivity.

Violence against women and girls

Recommendation 13

That the federal government continue to take appropriate action to reduce human trafficking and to reduce the violence and harm associated with prostitution.

Other supports

Recommendation 14

That in implementing the public awareness strategy on substance abuse, the federal government target support to Aboriginal communities.

Recommendation 15

That the federal government examine opportunities to improve the incorporation of best practices into existing programs and services available to Aboriginal women and girls.

Moving to action

Recommendation 16

That the federal government implement all of the recommendations above in a coordinated action plan.