CALLS FOR JUSTICE

Calls for Justice

As the evidence demonstrates, human rights and Indigenous rights abuses
and violations committed and condoned by the Canadian state represent
genocide against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
These abuses and violations have resulted in the denial of safety, security,
and human dignity. They are the root causes of the violence against
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people that generate
and maintain a world within which Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people are forced to confront violence on a daily basis,
and where perpetrators act with impunity.
The steps to end and redress this genocide must be no less monumental
than the combination of systems and actions that has worked to maintain
colonial violence for generations. A permanent commitment to ending the
genocide requires addressing the four pathways explored within this
report, namely:
• historical, multigenerational, and intergenerational trauma;
• social and economic marginalization;
• maintaining the status quo and institutional lack of will; and
• ignoring the agency and expertise of Indigenous women, girls,
and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

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Addressing these four pathways means full compliance with all human and Indigenous rights
instruments, as well as with the premise that began this report: that the daily encounters with
individuals, institutions, systems, and structures that compromise security must be addressed
with a new view toward relationships.
Although we have been mandated to provide recommendations, it must be understood that these
recommendations, which we frame as “Calls for Justice,” are legal imperatives – they are not
optional. The Calls for Justice arise from international and domestic human and Indigenous
rights laws, including the Charter¸ the Constitution, and the Honour of the Crown. As such,
Canada has a legal obligation to fully implement these Calls for Justice and to ensure Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people live in dignity. We demand a world within which First
Nations, Inuit, and Métis families can raise their children with the same safety, security, and
human rights that non-Indigenous families do, along with full respect for the Indigenous and
human rights of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis families.
As we noted in our Interim Report, there has been very limited movement to implement recom-
mendations from previous reports. What little efforts have been made have focused more on
reactive rather than preventative measures.1 This is a significant barrier to addressing the root
causes of violence. Further, insufficient political will continues to be a roadblock across all
initiatives. We maintain now, as we did then, that proper prioritization and resourcing of solu-
tions by Canadian governments must come with real partnerships with Indigenous Peoples that
support self-determination, in a decolonizing way.2
In presenting these Calls for Justice, we begin, first, by setting out the principles for change that
have informed our work throughout the National Inquiry, and that represent the building blocks
for meaningful and permanent transformation. These basic principles permeate and inform all of
our Calls for Justice, and should be considered guiding principles for interpreting and imple-
menting all of the Calls for Justice.
Next, we articulate our Calls for Justice as imperatives for redress that go beyond one area or
issue and that touch on all of the abuses and violations that family members and survivors of
violence identified in sharing their truths.
These Calls for Justice represent important ways to end the genocide and to transform systemic
and societal values that have worked to maintain colonial violence.
Our Calls for Justice aren’t just about institutions, or about governments, although they have
foundational obligations to uphold; there is a role for everyone in the short and the long term.
Individuals, institutions, and governments can all play a part; we encourage you, as you read
these recommendations, to understand and, most importantly, to act on yours.

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Principles for Change

Our Calls for Justice are based on a solid foundation of evidence and law. Witnesses who shared
their truths with us also explained that there are many important principles and ideas that must
inform the implementation of any of the Calls for Justice in order for them to be effective and
meaningful.
A Focus on Substantive Equality and Human and Indigenous Rights
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people are holders of inherent Indigenous
rights, constitutional rights, and international and domestic human rights. In addition, many
Indigenous Peoples in Canada are rights holders under various Treaties, land claims, and
settlement agreements.
As this report affirms, and as the Canadian Human Rights Commission has pointed out:
A fundamental premise of this approach is that Indigenous women and girls should not be
treated solely as victims but as independent human rights holders…. A human
rights-based approach would be a critical element in efforts to bring about a paradigm shift
in Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples, particularly Indigenous women and
girls. This is because such an approach would reframe issues of importance related to
Indigenous women and girls as a “denial of rights” instead of “unfulfilled needs”.
Exposure to violence would then be seen as a systemic violation of the rights to gender
equality and non-discrimination requiring broad structural changes (i.e. policing
practices, judicial), instead of a symptom of service gaps requiring temporary solutions.

This approach would reaffirm Canada’s commitment to uphold and to promote the human
rights of people in vulnerable circumstances. It would also constitute a significant step
towards the implementation of Canada’s obligations enshrined in international human
rights conventions and declarations (e.g. the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).
These obligations were further outlined in the recommendations made by various
international bodies, such as the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.3

Throughout this report we have also pointed to other legal instruments, including the Convention
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (PPCG), that must be considered in
terms of viewing Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people as rights holders. Please
note that, due to the complexity of the issue of genocide, a supplementary report will be available
on our website that explores this finding in greater detail within a legal framework of analysis.
Throughout these Calls, we maintain that all actions and remediation to address root causes of
violence must be human and Indigenous rights-based with a focus on substantive equality for
Indigenous Peoples.

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Indigenous women speak out: there can be

no true reconciliation without justice.
Credit: Ben Powless

“Substantive equality” is a legal principle that

refers to the achievement of true equality in
outcomes. It is required in order to address the
historical disadvantages, intergenerational
trauma, and discrimination experienced by a
person to narrow the gap of inequality that they
are experiencing in order to improve their over-
all well-being. In addition, the fundamental
principle that human rights are interconnected
means that none of the issues addressed in this
report, though separated for ease of reading and
comprehension, should be considered in isolation; all are key to achieving and maintaining sub-
stantive equality and in implementing measures that uphold rights and create safety. In these
Calls for Justice, we frequently call upon “all governments”; in the interpretation of these Calls,
“all governments” refers to federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous
governments.
A Decolonizing Approach
Implementation of these Calls for Justice must include a decolonizing approach. As we explained
in our Interim Report:
A decolonizing approach aims to resist and undo the forces of colonialism and to
re-establish Indigenous Nationhood. It is rooted in Indigenous values, philosophies, and
knowledge systems. It is a way of doing things differently that challenges the colonial
influence we live under by making space for marginalized Indigenous perspectives. The
National Inquiry’s decolonizing approach also acknowledges the rightful power and
place of Indigenous women and girls.4

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Decolonizing approaches involve recognizing inherent rights through the principle that Indige-
nous Peoples have the right to govern themselves in relation to matters that are internal to their
communities; integral to their unique cultures, identities, traditions, languages, and institutions;
and with respect to their special relationship to their resources, which many witnesses described
as their relatives.
Our approach honours and respects Indigenous values, philosophies, and knowledge systems. It
is a strengths-based approach, focusing on the resilience and expertise of individuals and com-
munities themselves.
Inclusion of Families and Survivors
The implementation of the Calls for Justice must include the perspectives and participation of
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people with lived experience, including the
families of the missing and murdered and survivors of violence. The definition of “family” is not
limited to a nuclear family. “Family” must be understood to include all forms of familial kinship,
including but not limited to biological families, chosen families, and families of the heart.5
We centre their contributions throughout the report, because we know that this inclusion is key to
healing and to understanding the strength and resilience that lie at the heart of each person, each
family, and each community from whom we heard. We maintain the need for this approach to the
implementation of all Calls for Justice, ensuring that the specific measures taken fully engage
these perspectives and this expertise.
Self-Determined and Indigenous-Led Solutions and Services
Services and solutions must be led by Indigenous governments, organizations, and people.
This is based on the self-determination and self-governance of Indigenous Peoples, as defined
per articles 3 and 4 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(UNDRIP):
Article 3: “Indigenous Peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that
right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social
and cultural development.”

Article 4: “Indigenous Peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the

right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local
affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions.”

Though defined by these articles, self-determination actually represents an inherent right that
exists independent of any statute or legislation. The colonial mindset by which Indigenous
leaders ask for permission and the state gives permission has to end. Further, the exclusion of
Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA people, Elders, and children from the exercise of
Indigenous self-determination must end.

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Where Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous governments have to work together to create
solutions and deliver services, it must be in true partnership that respects Indigenous self-
determination in all matters. Within this, we maintain that solutions should stem from Indigenous
communities and Nations, and that these solutions must be prioritized and sustainably and
equitably resourced.
Recognizing Distinctions
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people come from diverse First Nations, Métis,
and Inuit communities. The Calls for Justice must be interpreted and implemented in an equitable
and non-discriminatory way, addressing the needs of distinct Indigenous Peoples, and taking into
account factors that make them distinct. These include, but are not limited to:
• Self-identification
3 First Nation
3 Inuit
3 Métis

• Geographical- or regional-specific information

3 North, South, East, West
3 Proximity to urban centres, oceans, water, and natural resources
3 Locations of traditional territories and homelands
3 Municipal, provincial, and territorial boundaries

• Residency
3 On-reserve/off-reserve
3 Rural/urban
3 Remote and northern
3 Communities and settlements

• A gendered lens and framework that ensures that impacts on women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA individuals are taken into account. This also includes understanding the
differences and diversity among 2SLGBTQQIA people and understanding that the
needs, within communities of individuals, may not necessarily be the same.

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Cultural Safety
The interpretation and implementation of the Calls for Justice must include the necessity for
cultural safety. Cultural safety goes beyond the idea of cultural “appropriateness” and demands
the incorporation of services and processes that empower Indigenous Peoples. The creation of
cultural safety requires, at a minimum, the inclusion of Indigenous languages, laws and proto-
cols, governance, spirituality, and religion.
Trauma-Informed Approach
Incorporating knowledge of trauma into all policies, procedures, and practices of solutions and
services is crucial to the implementation of the Calls for Justice. It is fundamental to recognizing
the impacts of trauma and to responding appropriately to signs of trauma. Interpretation and im-
plementation of the Calls for Justice must include funding to ensure all necessary steps to create
a trauma-informed approach and to deliver trauma-informed services are viable.
The interpretation and implementation of our Calls for Justice must take into account all of these
approaches and principles, because they are interconnected and inseparable. All Calls for Justice
are aimed at ending genocide, tackling root causes of violence, and improving the quality of life
of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This is the only way forward.

Sarah Birmingham is the mother of Mary Ann Birmingham, killed in 1986. When she remembers her daughter,
she always remembers her smiling. Now she's participating in the #SacredMMIWG education and
awareness campaign to make change. Credit: Nadya Kwandibens

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Overarching Findings
While we have included findings specific to particular themes, issues and communities through
the second section of this report, we maintain that there are many truths that we heard that make
it clear how these areas are connected and are inseparable, where the actions or inactions of
particular groups, institutions, and governments have served to promote violence and perpetuate
genocide.
Overarching findings include:

R The significant, persistent, and deliberate pattern of systemic racial and gendered human
rights and Indigenous rights violations and abuses – perpetuated historically and main-
tained today by the Canadian state, designed to displace Indigenous Peoples from their
land, social structures, and governance and to eradicate their existence as Nations,
communities, families, and individuals – is the cause of the disappearances, murders, and
violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and is
genocide. This colonialism, discrimination, and genocide explains the high rates of
violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
An absolute paradigm shift is required to dismantle colonialism within Canadian
society, and from all levels of government and public institutions. Ideologies and
instruments of colonialism, racism, and misogyny, past and present, must be rejected.

R Canada has signed and ratified many international declarations and treaties that affect
Indigenous women’s, girls’, and 2SLGBTQQIA people’s rights, protection, security, and
safety. Canada has failed to meaningfully implement the provisions of these legal instru-
ments, including PPCG, ICESCR, ICCPR, UNCRC, CEDAW, and UNDRIP.
Further, the Canadian state has enacted domestic laws, including but not limited to
section 35 of the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and human rights
legislation, to ensure the legal protection of human rights and Indigenous rights. All
governments, including Indigenous governments, have an obligation to uphold and protect
the Indigenous and human rights of all Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people as outlined in these laws. Canada has failed to protect these rights and to
acknowledge and remedy the human rights violations and abuses that have been consis-
tently perpetrated against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
There is no accessible and reliable mechanism within the Canadian state for Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people to seek recourse and remedies for the violations
of their domestic and international human rights and Indigenous rights. The Canadian legal
system fails to hold the state and state actors accountable for their failure to meet domestic
and international human rights and Indigenous rights obligations.

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R The Canadian state has displaced Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA people from their
traditional roles in governance and leadership and continues to violate their political rights.
This has been done through concerted efforts to destroy and replace Indigenous governance
systems with colonial and patriarchal governance models, such as the Indian Act, and
through the imposition of laws of general application throughout Canada. Indigenous
governments or bands as established under the Indian Act or through local municipal gov-
ernments do not have the full trust of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
Indigenous bands and councils and community leadership who have authority through
colonial law are generally seen as not representing all of the interests of Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

R We recognize self-determination and self-governance as fundamental Indigenous and

human rights and a best practice. Indigenous self-determination and self-governance in all
areas of Indigenous society are required to properly serve and protect Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This is particularly true in the delivery of services.
Efforts by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people to be self-determining
face significant barriers. Many Indigenous women’s advocacy organizations and grassroots
organizations engaging in essential work to support survivors of violence and families of
missing or lost loved ones, and working toward restoring safety, are underfunded and
undersupported by current funding formulas and systems.
Temporary and deficit-based approaches do not increase capacity for self-determination or
self-governance, and fail to adequately provide protection and safety, as well as substantive
equality. Short-term or project-based funding models in service areas are not sustainable,
and represent a violation of inherent rights to self-governance and a failure to provide
funding on a needs-based approach, equitably, substantively, and stably.

Clifford Crowchild honours the

memory of his mother, Jacqueline
Crazybull, killed in 2007. The
#SacredMMIWG awareness
campaign was developed by Eagle
Vision and shot by renowned
Anishinaabe photographer Nadya
Kwandibens. Credit: Nadya
Kwandibens

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Calls For Justice For All Governments

The National Inquiry heard many truths connected with the deliberate actions and inactions of all
levels of government. In addition, the evidence makes clear that changing the structures and the
systems that sustain violence in daily encounters is not only necessary to combat violence, but
is an essential legal obligation of all governments in Canada. We target many of our Calls for
Justice at governments for this reason, and identify how governments can work to honour
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and to protect their human and Indigenous
rights, in the thematic areas examined within this report.

Human and Indigenous Rights and Governmental Obligations

1.1 We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous govern-
ments (hereinafter “all governments”), in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, to
develop and implement a National Action Plan to address violence against Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, as recommended in our Interim Report and in
support of existing recommendations by other bodies of inquiry and other reports.6 As
part of the National Action Plan, we call upon all governments to ensure that equitable
access to basic rights such as employment, housing, education, safety, and health care is
recognized as a fundamental means of protecting Indigenous and human rights, re-
sourced and supported as rights-based programs founded on substantive equality. All
programs must be no-barrier, and must apply regardless of Status or location.
Governments should:
i Table and implement a National Action Plan that is flexible and distinctions-based,
and that includes regionally specific plans with devoted funding and timetables for
implementation that are rooted in the local cultures and communities of diverse
Indigenous identities, with measurable goals and necessary resources dedicated to
capacity building, sustainability, and long-term solutions.
ii Make publicly available on an annual basis reports of ongoing actions and develop-
ments in measurable goals related to the National Action Plan.

1.2 We call upon all governments, with the full participation of Indigenous women, girls,
and 2SLGBTQQIA people, to immediately implement and fully comply with all
relevant rights instruments, including but not limited to:
i ICCPR, ICESCR, UNCRC, CEDAW, and ICERD, as well as all optional protocols to
these instruments, including the 3rd Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

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ii American Convention on Human Rights: specifically, that Canada ratify the American
Convention on Human Rights and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women.
iii All the recommendations of the 2015 UN CEDAW Inquiry Report and cooperation
with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on all
follow-up procedures.
iv All recommendations made by international human rights bodies, including treaty-
monitoring bodies, on causes and recommendations to address violence against all,
but specifically Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA individuals.
v UNDRIP, including recognition, protection, and support of Indigenous self-gover-
nance and self-determination, as defined by UNDRIP and by Indigenous Peoples,
including that these rights are guaranteed equally to women and men, as rights
protected under section 35 of the Constitution. This requires respecting and making
space for Indigenous self-determination and self-governance, and the free, prior, and
informed consent of Indigenous Peoples to all decision-making processes that affect
them, eliminating gender discrimination in the Indian Act, and amending the Consti-
tution to bring it into conformity with UNDRIP.

1.3 We call upon all governments, in meeting human and Indigenous rights obligations, to
pursue prioritization and resourcing of the measures required to eliminate the social,
economic, cultural, and political marginalization of Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people when developing budgets and determining government activities
and priorities.

1.4 We call upon all governments, and in particular Indigenous governments and Indigenous
representative organizations, to take urgent and special measures to ensure that Indige-
nous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people are represented in governance and that
their political rights are respected and upheld. We call upon all governments to equitably
support and promote the role of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in
governance and leadership. These efforts must include the development of policies and
procedures to protect Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people against
sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and racism within political life.

1.5 We call upon all governments to immediately take all necessary measures to prevent,
investigate, punish, and compensate for violence against Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people.

1.6 We call upon all governments to eliminate jurisdictional gaps and neglect that result in
the denial of services, or improperly regulated and delivered services, that address the
social, economic, political, and cultural marginalization of, and violence against,
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

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Vanessa Brooks’s sister, Tanya

Brooks, was killed in 2009. As part
of the #SacredMMIWG portrait
series, she remembers how her life
was with Tanya in it: peaceful,
serene, her sacred space.
Credit: Nadya Kwandibens

1.7 We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in partnership with
Indigenous Peoples, to establish a National Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsper-
son, with authority in all jurisdictions, and to establish a National Indigenous and
Human Rights Tribunal. The ombudsperson and tribunal must be independent of
governments and have the authority to receive complaints from Indigenous individuals
as well as Indigenous communities in relation to Indigenous and human rights viola-
tions, and to conduct thorough and independent evaluations of government services for
First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people and communities to determine compliance with
human and Indigenous rights laws.
The ombudsperson and the tribunal must be given sufficient resources to fulfill their
mandates and must be permanent.

1.8 We call upon all governments to create specific and long-term funding, available to
Indigenous communities and organizations, to create, deliver, and disseminate preven-
tion programs, education, and awareness campaigns designed for Indigenous communi-
ties and families related to violence prevention and combatting lateral violence. Core
and sustainable funding, as opposed to program funding, must be provided to national
and regional Indigenous women’s and 2SLGBTQQIA people’s organizations.

1.9 We call upon all governments to develop laws, policies, and public education campaigns
to challenge the acceptance and normalization of violence.
1.10 We call upon the federal government to create an independent mechanism to report on
the implementation of the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice to Parliament, annually.

1.11 We call upon the federal government – specifically, Library and Archives Canada and
the Privy Council Office – to maintain and to make easily accessible the National
Inquiry’s public record and website.

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Calls for Justice for All Governments: Culture

2.1 We call upon all governments to acknowledge, recognize, and protect the rights of
Indigenous Peoples to their cultures and languages as inherent rights, and constitution-
ally protected as such under section 35 of the Constitution.

2.2 We call upon all governments to recognize Indigenous languages as official languages,
with the same status, recognition, and protection provided to French and English. This
includes the directives that:
i Federal, provincial, and territorial governments must legislate Indigenous languages
in the respective territory as official languages.
ii All governments must make funds available to Indigenous Peoples to support the
work required to revitalize and restore Indigenous cultures and languages.

2.3 We call upon all governments to ensure that all Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people are provided with safe, no-barrier, permanent, and meaningful
access to their cultures and languages in order to restore, reclaim, and revitalize their
cultures and identities. These are rights held by all segments of Indigenous communities,
from young children to Elders. The programs and services that provide such access should
not be tied exclusively to government-run cultural or educational institutions. All govern-
ments must further ensure that the rights of Indigenous children to retain and be educated
in their Indigenous language are upheld and protected. All governments must ensure
access to immersion programs for children from preschool into post-secondary education.

2.4 We call upon all governments to provide the necessary resources and permanent funds
required to preserve knowledge by digitizing interviews with Knowledge Keepers and
language speakers. We further call upon all governments to support grassroots and com-
munity-led Indigenous language and cultural programs that restore identity, place, and
belonging within First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities through permanent,
no-barrier funding and resources. Special measures must include supports to restore and
revitalize identity, place, and belonging for Indigenous Peoples and communities who
have been isolated from their Nations due to colonial violence, including 2SLGBTQQIA
people and women who have been denied Status.

2.5 We call upon all governments, in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, to create a
permanent empowerment fund devoted to supporting Indigenous-led initiatives for
Indigenous individuals, families, and communities to access cultural knowledge,
as an important and strength-based way to support cultural rights and to uphold self-
determined services. This empowerment fund should include the support of land-based
educational programs that can assist in foundational cultural learning and awareness.
This empowerment fund will also assist in the revitalization of distinct cultural practices
as expressed by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, with eligibility
criteria and decision making directly in their hands.

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2.6 We call upon all governments to educate their citizens about, and to confront and
eliminate, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. To accomplish this, the federal
government, in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and provincial and territorial
governments, must develop and implement an Anti-Racism and Anti-Sexism National
Action Plan to end racist and sexualized stereotypes of Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people. The plan must target the general public as well as public services.

2.7 We call upon all governments to adequately fund and support Indigenous-led initiatives
to improve the representation of Indigenous Peoples in media and pop culture.

Calls for Justice for All Governments: Health and Wellness

3.1 We call upon all governments to ensure that the rights to health and wellness of Indige-
nous Peoples, and specifically of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people,
are recognized and protected on an equitable basis.

3.2 We call upon all governments to provide adequate, stable, equitable, and ongoing
funding for Indigenous-centred and community-based health and wellness services that
are accessible and culturally appropriate, and meet the health and wellness needs of
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The lack of health and wellness
services within Indigenous communities continues to force Indigenous women, girls,
and 2SLGBTQQIA people to relocate in order to access care. Governments must ensure
that health and wellness services are available and accessible within Indigenous commu-
nities and wherever Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people reside.

3.3 We call upon all governments to fully support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communi-
ties to call on Elders, Grandmothers, and other Knowledge Keepers to establish commu-
nity-based trauma-informed programs for survivors of trauma and violence.

3.4 We call upon all governments to ensure that all Indigenous communities receive immedi-
ate and necessary resources, including funding and support, for the establishment of
sustainable, permanent, no-barrier, preventative, accessible, holistic, wraparound serv-
ices, including mobile trauma and addictions recovery teams. We further direct that
trauma and addictions treatment programs be paired with other essential services such as
mental health services and sexual exploitation and trafficking services as they relate to
each individual case of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people.

3.5 We call upon all governments to establish culturally competent and responsive crisis
response teams in all communities and regions, to meet the immediate needs of an
Indigenous person, family, and/or community after a traumatic event (murder, accident,
violent event, etc.), alongside ongoing support.

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3.6 We call upon all governments to ensure substantive equality in the funding of services
for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, as well as substantive equality
for Indigenous-run health services. Further, governments must ensure that jurisdictional
disputes do not result in the denial of rights and services. This includes mandated
permanent funding of health services for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people on a continual basis, regardless of jurisdictional lines, geographical location,
and Status affiliation or lack thereof.

3.7 We call upon all governments to provide continual and accessible healing programs
and support for all children of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people and their family members. Specifically, we call for the permanent
establishment of a fund akin to the Aboriginal Healing
Foundation and related funding. These funds and their
administration must be independent from government
and must be distinctions-based. There must be accessi-
ble and equitable allocation of specific monies within
the fund for Inuit, Métis, and First Nations Peoples.

Rinelle Harper is a survivor and advocate who refused to let

people ignore the issue of violence against Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. She says: “I want people to
know that change starts with us.” Credit: Nadya Kwandibens

Calls for Justice for All Governments: Human Security

4.1 We call upon all governments to uphold the social and economic rights of Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people by ensuring that Indigenous Peoples have
services and infrastructure that meet their social and economic needs. All governments
must immediately ensure that Indigenous Peoples have access to safe housing, clean
drinking water, and adequate food.

4.2 We call upon all governments to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determina-
tion in the pursuit of economic social development. All governments must support and
resource economic and social progress and development on an equitable basis, as these
measures are required to uphold the human dignity, life, liberty, and security of Indige-
nous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. All governments must support and

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resource community-based supports and solutions designed to improve social and

economic security, led by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This
support must come with long-term, sustainable funding designed to meet the needs and
objectives as defined by Indigenous Peoples and communities.

4.3 We call upon all governments to support programs and services for Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in the sex industry to promote their safety and security.
These programs must be designed and delivered in partnership with people who have
lived experience in the sex industry. We call for stable and long-term funding for these
programs and services.

4.4 We call upon all governments to provide supports and resources for educational, train-
ing, and employment opportunities for all Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people. These programs must be available within all Indigenous communities.

4.5 We call upon all governments to establish a guaranteed annual livable income for all
Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples, to meet all their social and economic needs.
This income must take into account diverse needs, realities, and geographic locations.

4.6 We call upon all governments to immediately commence the construction of new
housing and the provision of repairs for existing housing to meet the housing needs of
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This construction and provision
of repairs must ensure that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people have
access to housing that is safe, appropriate to geographic and cultural needs, and avail-
able wherever they reside, whether in urban, rural, remote, or Indigenous communities.

4.7 We call upon all governments to support the establishment and long-term sustainable
funding of Indigenous-led low-barrier shelters, safe spaces, transition homes, second-
stage housing, and services for Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people
who are homeless, near homeless, dealing with food insecurity, or in poverty, and who
are fleeing violence or have been subjected to sexualized violence and exploitation. All
governments must ensure that shelters, transitional housing, second-stage housing, and
services are appropriate to cultural needs, and available wherever Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people reside.

4.8 We call upon all governments to ensure that adequate plans and funding are put into
place for safe and affordable transit and transportation services and infrastructure for
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people living in remote or rural communi-
ties. Transportation should be sufficient and readily available to Indigenous communities,
and in towns and cities located in all of the provinces and territories in Canada. These
plans and funding should take into consideration:
• ways to increase safe public transit;
• ways to address the lack of commercial transit available; and
• special accommodations for fly-in, northern, and remote communities.

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Calls for Justice for All Governments: Justice

5.1 We call upon all governments to immediately implement the recommendations in
relation to the Canadian justice system in: Bridging the Cultural Divide: A Report on
Aboriginal People and Criminal Justice in Canada, Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples (1996); and the Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba: Public
Inquiry into the Administration of Justice and Aboriginal People (1991).

5.2 We call upon the federal government to review and amend the Criminal Code to
eliminate definitions of offences that minimize the culpability of the offender.

5.3 We call upon the federal government to review and reform the law about sexualized
violence and intimate partner violence, utilizing the perspectives of feminist and
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

5.4 We call upon all governments to immediately and dramatically transform Indigenous
policing from its current state as a mere delegation to an exercise in self-governance and
self-determination over policing. To do this, the federal government’s First Nations
Policing Program must be replaced with a new legislative and funding framework, con-
sistent with international and domestic policing best practices and standards, that must
be developed by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments in partnership with
Indigenous Peoples. This legislative and funding framework must, at a minimum, meet
the following considerations:
i Indigenous police services must be funded to a level that is equitable with all other
non-Indigenous police services in this country. Substantive equality requires that
more resources or funding be provided to close the gap in existing resources, and that
required staffing, training, and equipment are in place to ensure that Indigenous po-
lice services are culturally appropriate and effective police services.
ii There must be civilian oversight bodies with jurisdiction to audit Indigenous police
services and to investigate claims of police misconduct, including incidents of rape
and other sexual assaults, within those services. These oversight bodies must report
publicly at least annually.

5.5 We call upon all governments to fund the provision of policing services within Indige-
nous communities in northern and remote areas in a manner that ensures that those serv-
ices meet the safety and justice needs of the communities and that the quality of policing
services is equitable to that provided to non-Indigenous Canadians. This must include
but is not limited to the following measures:
i With the growing reliance on information management systems, particularly in the
area of major and interjurisdictional criminal investigations, remote communities
must be ensured access to reliable high-speed Internet as a right.

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ii Major crime units and major case management must be more accessible to remote
and northern communities on a faster basis than the service is being delivered now.
iii Capacity must be developed in investigative tools and techniques for the investiga-
tion of sexualized violence, including but not limited to tools for the collection of
physical evidence, such as sexual assault kits, and specialized and trauma-informed
questioning techniques.
iv Crime-prevention funding and programming must reflect community needs.

5.6 We call upon provincial and territorial governments to develop an enhanced, holistic,
comprehensive approach for the provision of support to Indigenous victims of crime and
families and friends of Indigenous murdered or missing persons. This includes but is not
limited to the following measures:
i Guaranteed access to financial support and meaningful and appropriate trauma care
must be provided for victims of crime and traumatic incidents, regardless of whether
they report directly to the police, if the perpetrator is charged, or if there is a conviction.
ii Adequate and reliable culturally relevant and accessible victim services must be
provided to family members and survivors of crime, and funding must be provided
to Indigenous and community-led organizations that deliver victim services and
healing supports.
iii Legislated paid leave and disability benefits must be provided for victims of crime or
traumatic events.
iv Guaranteed access to independent legal services must be provided throughout court
processes. As soon as an Indigenous woman, girl, or 2SLGBTQQIA person decides
to report an offence, before speaking to the police, they must have guaranteed access
to legal counsel at no cost.
v Victim services must be independent from prosecution services and police services.

5.7 We call upon federal and provincial governments to establish robust and well-funded
Indigenous civilian police oversight bodies (or branches within established reputable
civilian oversight bodies within a jurisdiction) in all jurisdictions, which must include
representation of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, inclusive of
diverse Indigenous cultural backgrounds, with the power to:
i Observe and oversee investigations in relation to police negligence or misconduct,
including but not limited to rape and other sexual offences.
ii Observe and oversee investigations of cases involving Indigenous Peoples.
iii Publicly report on police progress in addressing findings and recommendations at
least annually.

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5.8 We call upon all provincial and territorial governments to enact missing persons
legislation.

5.9 We call upon all governments to ensure that protection orders are available, accessible,
promptly issued, and effectively serviced and resourced to protect the safety of
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

5.10 We call upon all governments to recruit and retain more Indigenous justices of the
peace, and to expand their jurisdictions to match that of the Nunavut Justice of the
Peace.

5.11 We call upon all governments to increase accessibility to meaningful and culturally
appropriate justice practices by expanding restorative justice programs and Indigenous
Peoples’ courts.

5.12 We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments to increase Indigenous
representation in all Canadian courts, including within the Supreme Court of Canada.

5.13 We call upon all provincial and territorial governments to expand and adequately resource
legal aid programs in order to ensure that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people have access to justice and meaningful participation in the justice system. Indige-
nous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people must have guaranteed access to legal
services in order to defend and assert their human rights and Indigenous rights.

5.14 We call upon federal, provincial and territorial governments to thoroughly evaluate the
impact of mandatory minimum sentences as it relates to the sentencing and over-incar-
ceration of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people and to take appropriate
action to address their over-incarceration.

5.15 We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments and all actors in the justice
system to consider Gladue reports as a right and to resource them appropriately, and to
create national standards for Gladue reports, including strength-based reporting.

5.16 We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments to provide community-
based and Indigenous-specific options for sentencing.

5.17 We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments to thoroughly evaluate the
impacts of Gladue principles and section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code on sentencing
equity as it relates to violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people.

5.18 We call upon the federal government to consider violence against Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people as an aggravating factor at sentencing, and to amend
the Criminal Code accordingly, with the passage and enactment of Bill S-215.

5.19 We call upon the federal government to include cases where there is a pattern of inti-
mate partner violence and abuse as murder in the first degree under section 222 of the
Criminal Code.
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5.20 We call upon the federal government to implement the Indigenous-specific provisions of
the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (SC 1992, c.20), sections 79 to 84.1.

5.21 We call upon the federal government to fully implement the recommendations in the
reports of the Office of the Correctional Investigator and those contained in the Auditor
General of Canada (Preparing Indigenous Offenders for Release, Fall 2016); the Calls
to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015); the report of
the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, Indigenous People in
the Federal Correctional System (June 2018); the report of the Standing Committee on
the Status of Women, A Call to Action: Reconciliation with Indigenous Women in the
Federal Justice and Corrections Systems (June 2018); and the Commission of Inquiry
into certain events at the Prison for Women in Kingston (1996, Arbour Report) in order
to reduce the gross overrepresentation of Indigenous women and girls in the criminal
justice system.

5.22 We call upon the federal government to return women’s corrections to the key principles
set out in Creating Choices (1990).

5.23 We call upon the federal government to create a Deputy Commissioner for Indigenous
Corrections to ensure corporate attention to, and accountability regarding, Indigenous
issues.

5.24 We call upon the federal government to amend data collection and intake-screening
processes to gather distinctions-based and intersectional data about Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

5.25 We call upon all governments to resource research on men who commit violence against
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

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Calls for Justice: Industries, Institutions, Services,

and Partnerships
As this report has demonstrated, so much of the violence shared in the truths of those who testi-
fied began with an encounter between a person and an institution or a service that could have
ultimately contributed to wellness, if it had occurred differently. In this section of our Calls for
Justice, we identify important industries, institutions and services that are featured in testimony
throughout this report. We include the idea of partnership, because so many of these services and
institutions operated in partnership with governments at all levels; these Calls, therefore, while
aimed at service providers, must be interpreted with an insistence on proper resourcing and
interjurisdictional cooperation, in order to ensure safety for Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people.

Calls for Media and Social Influencers:

6.1 We call upon all media, news corporations and outlets, and, in particular, government-
funded corporations and outlets; media unions, associations, and guilds; academic insti-
tutions teaching journalism or media courses; governments that fund such corporations,
outlets, and academic institutions; and journalists, reporters, bloggers, film producers,
writers, musicians, music producers, and, more generally, people working in the enter-
tainment industry to take decolonizing approaches to their work and publications in
order to educate all Canadians about Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people. More specifically, this includes the following:
i Ensure authentic and appropriate representation of Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people, inclusive of diverse Indigenous cultural backgrounds, in
order to address negative and discriminatory stereotypes.

Winnipeg Police Chief Danny

Smyth participates in the National
Inquiry’s #SacredMMIWG art
project/portrait series. He and many
others continue to bring light to the
issue of missing and murdered
Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people.
Credit: Nadya Kwandibens

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ii Support Indigenous people sharing their stories, from their perspectives, free of bias,
discrimination, and false assumptions, and in a trauma-informed and culturally
sensitive way.
iii Increase the number of Indigenous people in broadcasting, television, and radio, and
in journalist, reporter, producer, and executive positions in the entertainment industry,
including, and not limited to, by:
• providing educational and training opportunities aimed at Indigenous inclusion;
and
• providing scholarships and grants aimed at Indigenous inclusion in media,
film, and music industry-related fields of study.
iv Take proactive steps to break down the stereotypes that hypersexualize and demean
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and to end practices that per-
petuate myths that Indigenous women are more sexually available and “less worthy”
than non-Indigenous women because of their race or background.

Calls for Health and Wellness Service Providers:

7.1 We call upon all governments and health service providers to recognize that Indigenous
Peoples – First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, including 2SLGBTQQIA people – are the
experts in caring for and healing themselves, and that health and wellness services are
most effective when they are designed and delivered by the Indigenous Peoples they are
supposed to serve, in a manner consistent with and grounded in the practices, world
views, cultures, languages, and values of the diverse Inuit, Métis, and First Nations
communities they serve.
7.2 We call upon all governments and health service providers to ensure that health and
wellness services for Indigenous Peoples include supports for healing from all forms of
unresolved trauma, including intergenerational, multigenerational, and complex trauma.
Health and wellness programs addressing trauma should be Indigenous-led, or in part-
nership with Indigenous communities, and should not be limited in time or approaches.
7.3 We call upon all governments and health service providers to support Indigenous-led
prevention initiatives in the areas of health and community awareness, including, but not
limited to programming:
• for Indigenous men and boys
• related to suicide prevention strategies for youth and adults
• related to sexual trafficking awareness and no-barrier exiting
• specific to safe and healthy relationships
• specific to mental health awareness
• related to 2SLGBTQQIA issues and sex positivity

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7.4 We call upon all governments and health service providers to provide necessary
resources, including funding, to support the revitalization of Indigenous health, well-
ness, and child and Elder care practices. For healing, this includes teachings that are
land-based and about harvesting and the use of Indigenous medicines for both ceremony
and health issues. This may also include: matriarchal teachings on midwifery and post-
natal care for both woman and child; early childhood health care; palliative care; Elder
care and care homes to keep Elders in their home communities as valued Knowledge
Keepers; and other measures. Specific programs may include but are not limited to
correctional facilities, healing centres, hospitals, and rehabilitation centres.

7.5 We call upon governments, institutions, organizations, and essential and non-essential
service providers to support and provide permanent and necessary resources for special-
ized intervention, healing and treatment programs, and services and initiatives offered in
Indigenous languages.

7.6 We call upon institutions and health service providers to ensure that all persons involved
in the provision of health services to Indigenous Peoples receive ongoing training,
education, and awareness in areas including, but not limited to:
• the history of colonialism in the oppression and genocide of Inuit,
Métis, and First Nations Peoples;
• anti-bias and anti-racism;
• local language and culture; and
• local health and healing practices.

7.7 We call upon all governments, educational institutions, and health and wellness profes-
sional bodies to encourage, support, and equitably fund Indigenous people to train and
work in the area of health and wellness.

7.8 We call upon all governments and health service providers to create effective and well-
funded opportunities, and to provide socio-economic incentives, to encourage Indige-
nous people to work within the health and wellness field and within their communities.
This includes taking positive action to recruit, hire, train, and retain long-term staff and
local Indigenous community members for health and wellness services offered in all
Indigenous communities.

7.9 We call upon all health service providers to develop and implement awareness and
education programs for Indigenous children and youth on the issue of grooming for
exploitation and sexual exploitation.

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Calls for Transportation Service Providers and the Hospitality Industry:

8.1 We call upon all transportation service providers and the hospitality industry to under-
take training to identify and respond to sexual exploitation and human trafficking, as
well as the development and implementation of reporting policies and practices.

Calls for Police Services:

9.1 We call upon all police services and justice system actors to acknowledge that the histor-
ical and current relationship between Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people and the justice system has been largely defined by colonialism, racism, bias,
discrimination, and fundamental cultural and societal differences. We further call upon
all police services and justice system actors to acknowledge that, going forward, this
relationship must be based on respect and understanding, and must be led by, and in
partnerships with, Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

9.2 We call upon all actors in the justice system, including police services, to build respect-
ful working relationships with Indigenous Peoples by knowing, understanding, and
respecting the people they are serving. Initiatives and actions should include, but are
not limited to, the following measures:
i Review and revise all policies, practices, and procedures to ensure service delivery
that is culturally appropriate and reflects no bias or racism toward Indigenous
Peoples, including victims and survivors of violence.
ii Establish engagement and partnerships with Indigenous Peoples, communities, and
leadership, including women, Elders, youth, and 2SLGBTQQIA people from the
respective territories and who are resident within a police service’s jurisdiction.
iii Ensure appropriate Indigenous representation, including Indigenous women, girls,
and 2SLGBTQQIA people, on police services boards and oversight authorities.
iv Undertake training and education of all staff and officers so that they understand and
implement culturally appropriate and trauma-informed practices, especially when
dealing with families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people.

9.3 We call upon all governments to fund an increase in recruitment of Indigenous Peoples
to all police services, and for all police services to include representation of Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, inclusive of diverse Indigenous cultural
backgrounds, within their ranks. This includes measures such as the following:
i Achieve representative First Nations, Inuit, and Métis diversity and gender diversity
within all police services through intensive and specialized recruitment across Canada.

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ii Ensure mandatory Indigenous language capacity within police services.

iii Ensure that screening of recruits includes testing for racial, gender, gender identity,
and sexual orientation bias.
iv Include the Indigenous community in the recruitment and hiring committees/process.
v In training recruits, include: history of police in the oppression and genocide of In-
digenous Peoples; anti-racism and anti-bias training; and culture and language train-
ing. All training must be distinctions-based and relevant to the land and people being
served; training must not be pan-Indigenous.
vi Retain Indigenous officers through relevant employment supports, and offer incen-
tives to Indigenous officers to meet their unique needs as Indigenous officers serving
Indigenous communities, to ensure retention and overall health and wellness of the
service.
vii End the practice of limited-duration posts in all police services, and instead imple-
ment a policy regarding remote and rural communities focused on building and sus-
taining a relationship with the local community and cultures. This relationship must
be led by, and in partnership with, the Indigenous Peoples living in those remote and
rural communities.

9.4 We call upon non-Indigenous police services to ensure they have the capacity and re-
sources to serve and protect Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. We
further call upon all non-Indigenous police services to establish specialized Indigenous
policing units within their services located in cities and regions with Indigenous
populations.
i Specialized Indigenous policing units are to be staffed with experienced and well-
trained Indigenous investigators, who will be the primary investigative teams and
officers overseeing the investigation of cases involving Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people.
ii Specialized Indigenous policing units are to lead the services’ efforts in community
liaison work, community relationship building, and community crime-prevention
programs within and for Indigenous communities.
iii Specialized Indigenous policing units, within non-Indigenous police services, are to
be funded adequately by governments.

9.5 We call upon all police services for the standardization of protocols for policies and
practices that ensure that all cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls,
and 2SLGBTQQIA people are thoroughly investigated. This includes the following
measures:

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i Establish a communication protocol with Indigenous communities to inform them of

policies, practices, and programs that make the communities safe.
ii Improve communication between police and families of missing and murdered
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people from the first report, with
regular and ongoing communication throughout the investigation.
iii Improve coordination across government departments and between jurisdictions and
Indigenous communities and police services.
iv Recognize that the high turnover among officers assigned to a missing and murdered
Indigenous woman’s, girl’s, or 2SLGBTQQIA person’s file may negatively impact
both progress on the investigation and relationships with family members; police
services must have robust protocols to mitigate these impacts.
v Create a national strategy, through the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, to
ensure consistency in reporting mechanisms for reporting missing Indigenous
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. This could be developed in conjunction
with implementation of a national database.
vi Establish standardized response times to reports of missing Indigenous persons and
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people experiencing violence, and conduct a regu-
lar audit of response times to monitor and provide feedback for improvement.
vii Lead the provincial and territorial governments to establish a nationwide emergency
number.

9.6 We call upon all police services to establish an independent, special investigation unit
for the investigation of incidents of failures to investigate, police misconduct, and all
forms of discriminatory practices and mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples within their
police service. This special investigation unit must be transparent in practice and report
at least annually to Indigenous communities, leadership, and people in their jurisdiction.

9.7 We call upon all police services to partner with front-line organizations that work in
service delivery, safety, and harm reduction for Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people to expand and strengthen police services delivery.

9.8 We call upon all police services to establish and engage with a civilian Indigenous advi-
sory committee for each police service or police division, and to establish and engage
with a local civilian Indigenous advisory committee to advise the detachment operating
within the Indigenous community.

9.9 We call upon all levels of government and all police services for the establishment of a
national task force, comprised of an independent, highly qualified, and specialized team
of investigators, to review and, if required, to reinvestigate each case of all unresolved

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files of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people from
across Canada. Further, this task force must disclose to families and to survivors all non-
privileged information and findings.

9.10 We call upon all police services to voluntarily produce all unresolved cases of missing
or murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people to the national
task force.

9.11 We call upon all police services to develop and implement guidelines for the policing of
the sex industry in consultation with women engaged in the sex industry, and to create a
specific complaints mechanism about police for those in the sex industry.

Calls for Attorneys and Law Societies:

10.1 We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, and Canadian law
societies and bar associations, for mandatory intensive and periodic training of Crown
attorneys, defence lawyers, court staff, and all who participate in the criminal justice
system, in the area of Indigenous cultures and histories, including distinctions-based
training. This includes, but is not limited to, the following measures:
i All courtroom officers, staff, judiciary, and employees in the judicial system must
take cultural competency training that is designed and led in partnership with local
Indigenous communities.
ii Law societies working with Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people
must establish and enforce cultural competency standards.
iii All courts must have a staff position for an Indigenous courtroom liaison worker that
is adequately funded and resourced to ensure Indigenous people in the court system
know their rights and are connected to appropriate services.

Calls for Educators:

11.1 We call upon all elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions and education
authorities to educate and provide awareness to the public about missing and murdered
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and about the issues and root
causes of violence they experience. All curriculum development and programming
should be done in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, especially Indigenous women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Such education and awareness must include historical
and current truths about the genocide against Indigenous Peoples through state laws,
policies, and colonial practices. It should include, but not be limited to, teaching Indige-
nous history, law, and practices from Indigenous perspectives and the use of Their
Voices Will Guide Us with children and youth.

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11.2 We call upon all educational service providers to develop and implement awareness and
education programs for Indigenous children and youth on the issue of grooming for
exploitation and sexual exploitation.

Calls for Social Workers and Those Implicated in Child Welfare:

12.1 We call upon all federal, provincial, and territorial governments to recognize Indigenous
self-determination and inherent jurisdiction over child welfare. Indigenous governments
and leaders have a positive obligation to assert jurisdiction in this area. We further assert
that it is the responsibility of Indigenous governments to take a role in intervening, ad-
vocating, and supporting their members impacted by the child welfare system, even
when not exercising jurisdiction to provide services through Indigenous agencies.

12.2 We call upon on all governments, including Indigenous governments, to transform cur-
rent child welfare systems fundamentally so that Indigenous communities have control
over the design and delivery of services for their families and children. These services
must be adequately funded and resourced to ensure better support for families and
communities to keep children in their family homes.

12.3 We call upon all governments and Indigenous organizations to develop and apply a defi-
nition of “best interests of the child” based on distinct Indigenous perspectives, world
views, needs, and priorities, including the perspective of Indigenous children and youth.
The primary focus and objective of all child and family services agencies must be up-
holding and protecting the rights of the child through ensuring the health and well-being
of children, their families, and communities, and family unification and reunification.

12.4 We call upon all governments to prohibit the apprehension of children on the basis of
poverty and cultural bias. All governments must resolve issues of poverty, inadequate
and substandard housing, and lack of financial support for families, and increase food
security to ensure that Indigenous families can succeed.

12.5 We call upon all levels of government for financial supports and resources to be pro-
vided so that family or community members of children of missing and murdered
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people are capable of caring for the chil-
dren left behind. Further, all governments must ensure the availability and accessibility
of specialized care, such as grief, loss, trauma, and other required services, for children
left behind who are in care due to the murder or disappearance of their caregiver.

12.6 We call upon all governments and child welfare services to ensure that, in cases where
apprehension is not avoidable, child welfare services prioritize and ensure that a family
member or members, or a close community member, assumes care of Indigenous chil-
dren. The caregivers should be eligible for financial supports equal to an amount that
might otherwise be paid to a foster family, and will not have other government financial

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support or benefits removed or reduced by virtue of receiving additional financial sup-

ports for the purpose of caring for the child. This is particularly the case for children
who lose their mothers to violence or to institutionalization and are left behind, needing
family and belonging to heal.

12.7 We call upon all governments to ensure the availability and accessibility of distinctions-
based and culturally safe culture and language programs for Indigenous children in the
care of child welfare.

12.8 We call upon provincial and territorial governments and child welfare services for an
immediate end to the practice of targeting and apprehending infants (hospital alerts or
birth alerts) from Indigenous mothers right after they give birth.

12.9 We call for the establishment of a Child and Youth Advocate in each jurisdiction with a
specialized unit with the mandate of Indigenous children and youth. These units must be
established within a period of one year of this report. We call upon the federal govern-
ment to establish a National Child and Youth Commissioner who would also serve as a
special measure to strengthen the framework of accountability for the rights of Indige-
nous children in Canada. This commissioner would act as a national counterpart to the
child advocate offices that exist in nearly all provinces and territories.

12.10 We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to immediately adopt
the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 2017 CHRT 14 standards regarding the implemen-
tation of Jordan’s Principle in relation to all First Nations (Status and non-Status), Métis,
and Inuit children. We call on governments to modify funding formulas for the provision
of services on a needs basis, and to prioritize family support, reunification, and preven-
tion of harms. Funding levels must represent the principle of substantive equity.

12.11 We call upon all levels of government and child welfare services for a reform of laws
and obligations with respect to youth “aging out” of the system, including ensuring a
complete network of support from childhood into adulthood, based on capacity and
needs, which includes opportunities for education, housing, and related supports. This
includes the provision of free post-secondary education for all children in care in
Canada.

12.12 We call upon all child and family services agencies to engage in recruitment efforts to
hire and promote Indigenous staff, as well as to promote the intensive and ongoing
training of social workers and child welfare staff in the following areas:
• history of the child welfare system in the oppression and genocide of Indigenous
Peoples
• anti-racism and anti-bias training
• local culture and language training
• sexual exploitation and trafficking training to recognize signs and develop specialized
responses

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12.13 We call upon all governments and child welfare agencies to fully implement the
Spirit Bear Plan.7

12.14 We call upon all child welfare agencies to establish more rigorous requirements for
safety, harm-prevention, and needs-based services within group or care homes, as well
as within foster situations, to prevent the recruitment of children in care into the sex
industry. We also insist that governments provide appropriate care and services, over the
long term, for children who have been exploited or trafficked while in care.

12.15 We call upon child welfare agencies and all governments to fully investigate deaths of
Indigenous youth in care.

Calls for Extractive and Development Industries:

13.1 We call upon all resource-extraction and development industries to consider the safety
and security of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, as well as their
equitable benefit from development, at all stages of project planning, assessment,
implementation, management, and monitoring.
13.2 We call upon all governments and bodies mandated to evaluate, approve, and/or monitor
development projects to complete gender-based socio-economic impact assessments on
all proposed projects as part of their decision making and ongoing monitoring of proj-
ects. Project proposals must include provisions and plans to mitigate risks and impacts
identified in the impact assessments prior to being approved.
13.3 We call upon all parties involved in the negotiations of impact-benefit agreements re-
lated to resource-extraction and development projects to include provisions that address
the impacts of projects on the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people. Provisions must also be included to ensure that Indigenous
women and 2SLGBTQQIA people equitably benefit from the projects.
13.4 We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to fund further inquiries
and studies in order to better understand the relationship between resource extraction
and other development projects and violence against Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people. At a minimum, we support the call of Indigenous women and
leaders for a public inquiry into the sexual violence and racism at hydroelectric projects
in northern Manitoba.
13.5 We call upon resource-extraction and development industries and all governments and
service providers to anticipate and recognize increased demand on social infrastructure
because of development projects and resource extraction, and for mitigation measures to
be identified as part of the planning and approval process. Social infrastructure must be
expanded and service capacity built to meet the anticipated needs of the host communi-
ties in advance of the start of projects. This includes but is not limited to ensuring that
policing, social services, and health services are adequately staffed and resourced.

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Calls for Correctional Service Canada:

14.1 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to take urgent action to establish facilities
described under sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to
ensure that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people have options for
decarceration. Such facilities must be strategically located to allow for localized
placements and mother-and-child programming.

14.2 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to ensure that facilities established under
sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act receive funding par-
ity with Correctional Service Canada-operated facilities. The agreements made under
these sections must transfer authority, capacity, resources, and support to the contracting
community organization.

14.3 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to immediately rescind the maximum secu-
rity classification that disproportionately limits federally sentenced Indigenous women
classified at that level from accessing services, supports, and programs required to
facilitate their safe and timely reintegration.

14.4 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to evaluate, update, and develop security
classification scales and tools that are sensitive to the nuances of Indigenous back-
grounds and realities.

14.5 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to apply Gladue factors in all decision
making concerning Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA people and in a manner that
meets their needs and rehabilitation.

14.6 We call upon Correctional Service Canada and provincial and territorial services to
provide intensive and comprehensive mental health, addictions, and trauma services for
incarcerated Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, ensuring that the term
of care is needs-based and not tied to the duration of incarceration. These plans and
services must follow the individuals as they reintegrate into the community.

14.7 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to prohibit transfer of federally incarcerated
women in need of mental health care to all-male treatment centres.

14.8 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to ensure its correctional facilities and
programs recognize the distinct needs of Indigenous offenders when designing and
implementing programming for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women. Correctional
Service Canada must use culturally safe, distinctions-based, and trauma-informed
models of care, adapted to the needs of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people.

14.9 We call upon Correctional Service Canada, in order to support reintegration, to increase
opportunities for meaningful vocational training, secondary school graduation, and post-
secondary education.

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14.10 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to increase and enhance the role and partici-
pation of Elders in decision making for all aspects of planning for Indigenous women
and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

14.11 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to expand mother-and-child programming

and to establish placement options described in sections 81 and 84 of the Corrections
and Conditional Release Act to ensure that mothers and their children are not separated.

14.12 We call upon Correctional Service Canada and provincial and territorial correctional
services to provide programming for men and boys that confronts and ends violence
against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

14.13 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to eliminate the practice of strip-searches.

Marlene Jack, sister of Doreen

Jack, missing since 1989. Of the
missing, she says: “I just want to
bring them home. Find them and
bring them home, where they
belong.” Credit: Nadya
Kwandibens

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Calls for Justice for All Canadians

As this report has shown, and within every encounter, each person has a role to play in order to
combat violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Beyond those
Calls aimed at governments or at specific industries or service providers, we encourage every
Canadian to consider how they can give life to these Calls for Justice.
We call on all Canadians to:

15.1 Denounce and speak out against violence against Indigenous women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people.

15.2 Decolonize by learning the true history of Canada and Indigenous history in your local
area. Learn about and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ history, cultures, pride, and diver-
sity, acknowledging the land you live on and its importance to local Indigenous
communities, both historically and today.

15.3 Develop knowledge and read the Final Report. Listen to the truths shared, and acknowl-
edge the burden of these human and Indigenous rights violations, and how they impact
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people today.

15.4 Using what you have learned and some of the resources suggested, become a strong ally.
Being a strong ally involves more than just tolerance; it means actively working to break
down barriers and to support others in every relationship and encounter in which you
participate.

15.5 Confront and speak out against racism, sexism, ignorance, homophobia, and transpho-
bia, and teach or encourage others to do the same, wherever it occurs: in your home, in
your workplace, or in social settings.

15.6 Protect, support, and promote the safety of women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people by
acknowledging and respecting the value of every person and every community, as well
as the right of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people to generate their
own, self-determined solutions.

15.7 Create time and space for relationships based on respect as human beings, supporting
and embracing differences with kindness, love, and respect. Learn about Indigenous
principles of relationship specific to those Nations or communities in your local area and
work, and put them into practice in all of your relationships with Indigenous Peoples.

15.8 Help hold all governments accountable to act on the Calls for Justice, and to implement
them according to the important principles we set out.

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Suggested Resources for Learning:

National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Our Women
and Girls Are Sacred: The Interim Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and
Murdered Women and Girls. http://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/publications/.
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Their Voices Will Guide Us: Student and Youth Engagement Guide.
http://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/publications/.
Transcripts, testimonies, and public statements offered during the Truth-Gathering
Process, available at www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/transcripts/ and http://www.mmiwg-
ffada.ca/part-ii-and-part-iii-knowledge-keeper-expert-and-institutional-hearing-transcripts/.
In addition, please consult our bibliography for a list of all sources used in this report.

Suggested Resources for Allyship:

Amnesty International. “10 Ways to Be a Genuine Ally to Indigenous Communities.”
https://www.amnesty.org.au/10-ways-to-be-an-ally-to-indigenous-communities/.
Dr. Lynn Gehl. “Ally Bill of Responsibilities.”
http://www.lynngehl.com/uploads/5/0/0/4/5004954/ally_bill_of_responsibilities_poster.pdf.
Indigenous Perspectives Society. “How to Be an Ally to Indigenous People.”
https://ipsociety.ca/news/page/7/.
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network. “Indigenous Ally Toolkit.”
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/86d28ccd43d4be0cfc11c71a1/files/102bf040-e221-4953-a9ef-
9f0c5efc3458/Ally_email.pdf.

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Lorne Cardinal, from Squamish,

BC, reminds us that it’s not over –
there are still missing and murdered
women in this country, and still
work to be done. Credit: Nadya
Kwandibens

Calls for Justice: Distinctions-Based Calls

As we have maintained throughout the National Inquiry, and within this report, while many
Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people share experiences of violence in common,
the distinctions among these communities are important in understanding some of the specific
ways, beyond the Calls for Justice already articulated, in which their rights to safety can be up-
held by all governments, institutions and service providers. While the time limitations imposed
upon the National Inquiry have not permitted an in-depth analysis based on regional or local
specificity, we extend these Calls for Justice in relation to particular Indigenous communities –
Inuit, Métis and First Nations as well as to Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA people – whose distinctive
needs must be addressed.

Inuit-Specific Calls for Justice:

Principles and guidelines for interpretation and implementation
Distinctions-Based Approach
Inuit, Métis, and First Nations are distinct peoples. Implementation of all recommendations in
this Final Report and actions taken to ensure safety and social, economic, political, and cultural
health and prosperity of Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people must be done in a manner
that is distinctions-based, recognizing and reflecting the distinct needs and governance structures
of Inuit and reflective of the distinct relationship between Inuit and the Crown. They must also
respect and appreciate the internal diversity within Inuit communities, including the diverse
history, languages, dialects, and spiritual and religious beliefs.

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Decision Making through Inuit Self-Determination

All actions taken to ensure the safety and well-being of Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people must include the participation of Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people and those
with lived experience. Further, they must recognize and implement Inuit self-determination. All
actions must be Inuit-led, rooted in Inuit laws, culture, language, traditions, and societal values.
Implementation efforts will succeed only through the recognition and respect of Inuit knowledge,
wisdom, and expertise.
Improving the safety and the social, economic, and cultural health and prosperity of Inuit
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people can be achieved only through the sustained, whole-
some, and transparent collaborative action of all governments (federal, provincial, and territorial)
in full partnership with Inuit. Inuit society is artificially compartmentalized and divided through
colonial geopolitical boundaries. Therefore, federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions must
work with Inuit self-determination mechanisms to ensure appropriate decision making regarding
intervention programs and services. Further, all governments must not use jurisdiction as an
excuse to impede actions required to eliminating the social, economic, political, and cultural
inequality and infrastructure gaps that are resulting in increased violence against Inuit women,
girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.
Substantive Equality
State recognition, protection, and compliance with the human rights and Indigenous rights of
Inuit are a legal imperative. Efforts by all governments are required to achieve substantive equal-
ity for Inuit. There must be true equality in outcomes. Nothing less than substantive equality is
required to address the historical disadvantages, intergenerational trauma, and discrimination
experienced by Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in order to ensure their social,
economic, political, and cultural prosperity. In order to obtain substantive equality, all the spe-
cific needs of Inuit must be met in a culturally appropriate way and include equitable, sustainable
and long-term resourcing and funding.

Calls for Justice for Inuit

Testimony shared by Inuit witnesses, experts, and Elders, and submissions by Inuit representa-
tive organizations, along with existing reports and research, demonstrated that Inuit have unique
and distinct experiences of colonial oppression and violence. Further, witnesses emphasized
distinct areas of concern and priority areas for Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people
that require distinct recommendations.

16.1 We call upon all governments to honour all socio-economic commitments as defined in
land claims agreements and self-government agreements between Inuit and the Crown.
These commitments must be upheld and implemented. Articles 23 and 24 of the
Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and commitments by governments to provide for the
housing and economic needs of Inuit, must be fully complied with and implemented.

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16.2 We call upon all governments to create laws and services to ensure the protection and
revitalization of Inuit culture and language. All Inuit, including those living outside Inuit
Nunangat, must have equitable access to culture and language programs. It is essential
that Elders are included in the development and delivery of these programs.

16.3 We call upon all governments with jurisdiction in Inuit Nunangat to recognize Inuktut as
the founding language, and it must be given official language status through language
laws. Inuktut must be afforded the same recognition and protection and promotion as
English and French within Inuit Nunangat, and all governments and agencies providing
services to Inuit must ensure access to services in Inuktut, and invest in the capacity to
be able to do so. Furthermore, all government and agency service providers must be
culturally competent and educated in Inuit culture, laws, values, and history, also well as
the history of colonial violence perpetuated by the Canadian state and government
agents against Inuit.

16.4 Given that the intergenerational transfer of Inuit knowledge, values, and language is a
right that must be upheld, we call upon all governments to fund and support the recording
of Inuit knowledge about culture, laws, values, spirituality, and history prior to and since
the start of colonization. Further, this knowledge must be accessible and taught to all
Inuit, by Inuit. It is imperative that educational institutions prioritize the teaching of this
knowledge to Inuit children and youth within all areas of the educational curriculum.

16.5 Given that reliable high-speed Internet services and telecommunications are necessary
for Inuit to access government services and to engage in the Canadian economic, cul-
tural, and political life, we call upon all governments with jurisdiction in Inuit Nunangat
to invest the infrastructure to ensure all Inuit have access to high-speed Internet.

16.6 We call upon all governments and Inuit organizations to work collaboratively to ensure
that population numbers for Inuit outside of the Inuit homeland are captured in a disag-
gregated manner, and that their rights as Inuit are upheld. These numbers are urgently
needed to identify the growing, social, economic, political, and cultural needs of
urban Inuit.

16.7 We call upon all governments to ensure the availability of effective, culturally appropri-
ate, and accessible health and wellness services within each Inuit community. The
design and delivery of these services must be inclusive of Elders and people with lived
experience. Closing the service and infrastructure gaps in the following areas is urgently
needed, and requires action by all governments. Required measures include but are not
limited to:
i The establishment and funding of birthing centres in each Inuit community, as well as
the training of Inuit midwives in both Inuit and contemporary birthing techniques.

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ii The establishment and funding of accessible and holistic community wellness, health,
and mental health services in each Inuit community. These services must be Inuit-led
and operate in accordance with Inuit health and wellness values, approaches, and
methods.
iii The establishment and funding of trauma and addictions treatment and healing
options in each Inuit community.

16.8 We call upon all governments to invest in the recruitment and capacity building of Inuit
within the medical, health, and wellness service fields. Training and competency in both
contemporary and Inuit medical, health, and wellness practices and methodologies are
essential for effective services in these fields.

16.9 We call upon the Government of Canada, in partnership with Inuit, to establish and
resource an Inuit Healing and Wellness Fund to support grassroots and community-led
programs. This fund must be permanently resourced and must be administered by Inuit
and independent from government.

16.10 We call upon all governments to develop policies and programs to include healing and
health programs within educational systems. These programs must be Inuit-led and must
provide the resources to teach Inuit children Inuit-appropriate socio-emotional coping
skills, pride, and capacity.

16.11 Given that healing occurs through the expression of art and culture, we call upon all
governments within Inuit Nunangat to invest in Inuit artistic expression in all its forms
through the establishment of infrastructure and by ensuring sustainable funds are avail-
able and accessible for Inuit artists.

16.12 We call upon all governments and service providers to ensure that Inuit men and boys
are provided services that are gender- and Inuit-specific to address historic and ongoing
trauma they are experiencing. These programs must be Inuit-led and -run, and must be
well resourced and accessible.

16.13 We call upon all governments to take all measures required to implement the National
Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy with Inuit nationally and regionally, through Inuit
Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK).

16.14 We call upon all federal, provincial, and territorial governments to review and amend
laws in relation to child and family services to ensure they uphold the rights of Inuit chil-
dren and families and conform to Inuit laws and values. Inuit parents and guardians must
be provided access to Inuit-specific parenting and caregiving teachings and services.

16.15 In light of the multijurisdictional nature of child and family services as they currently
operate for Inuit in Canada, we call upon the federal government, in partnership with
Inuit, to establish and fund an Inuit Child and Youth Advocate with jurisdiction over all

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Inuit children in care. In the absence of a federally mandated Inuit Child and Youth
Advocate, we call on all provinces and territories with Inuit children in their care to each
establish Inuit-specific child and youth advocates.

16.16 We call upon all government agencies providing child and family services to Inuit chil-
dren to enumerate and report on the number of Inuit children in their care. This data
must be disaggregated and the reports must be shared with Inuit organizations and Inuit
child and youth advocates.

16.17 We call upon all governments to prioritize supporting Inuit families and communities to
meet the needs of Inuit children, recognizing that apprehension must occur only when
absolutely required to protect a child. Placement of Inuit children with extended family
and in Inuit homes must be prioritized and resourced. Placement outside of their com-
munities and outside their homelands must be restricted.

16.18 We call upon all governments to respect the rights of Inuit children and people in care,
including those who are placed in care outside of their Inuit homelands. All govern-
ments must ensure that children and people in care have access to their families and kin-
ship systems and have meaningful access to their culture and language and to culturally
relevant services. All child and family services agencies must work with Inuit communi-
ties within their jurisdiction to meet their obligations to Inuit children in their care.
We call upon all governments to immediately invest in safe, affordable, and culturally
appropriate housing within Inuit communities and for Inuit outside of their homelands,
given the links between the housing crisis and violence, poor health (including tubercu-
losis) and suicide. Immediate and directed measures are required to end the crisis.

16.19 We call upon all governments to develop and fund safe houses, shelters, transition
houses, and second-stage housing for Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people
fleeing violence. These houses and shelters are required in all Inuit communities and in
urban centres with large Inuit populations. Shelters must not require full occupancy to
remain open and to receive funding. Further, they must be independent from child and
family services agencies, as women may not seek shelter due to fear of agency involve-
ment. This action includes the establishment and funding of shelters and safe spaces for
families, children, and youth, including Inuit who identify as 2SLGBTQQIA, who are
facing socio-economic crises in all Inuit communities and in urban centres with large
Inuit populations.

16.20 We call upon all governments to support the establishment of programs and services
designed to financially support and promote Inuit hunting and harvesting in all Inuit
communities. All governments with jurisdiction in Inuit Nunangat must immediately
increase minimum wage rates and increase social assistance rates to meet the needs of
Inuit and to match the higher cost of living in Inuit communities. A guaranteed annual
livable income model, recognizing the right to income security, must be developed and
implemented.

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16.21 We call upon all governments to ensure equitable access to high-quality educational
opportunities and outcomes from early childhood education to post-secondary education
within Inuit communities. Further, all governments must invest in providing Inuit
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people with accessible and equitable economic
opportunities.

16.22 We call upon all governments to fund and to support culturally and age-appropriate pro-
grams for Inuit children and youth to learn about developing interpersonal relationships.
These programs could include, for example, training in developing healthy relationships
and personal well-being and traditional parenting skills. Furthermore, Inuit children and
youth must be taught how to identify violence through the provision of age-appropriate
educational programs like the Good Touch/Bad Touch program offered in Nunavik.

16.23 We call upon all governments to work with Inuit to provide public awareness and educa-
tion to combat the normalization of domestic violence and sexualized violence against
Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people; to educate men and boys about the
unacceptability of violence against Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people; and
to raise awareness and education about the human rights and Indigenous rights of Inuit.

16.24 We call upon all governments to fund and to support programs for Inuit children and
youth to teach them how to respond to threats and identify exploitation. This is particu-
larly the case with respect to the threats of drugs and drug trafficking as well as sexual
exploitation and human trafficking. This awareness and education work must be cultur-
ally and age-appropriate and involve all members of the community, including
2SLGBTQQIA Inuit.

16.25 We call upon all educators to ensure that the education system, from early childhood
to post-secondary, reflects Inuit culture, language, and history. The impacts and history
of colonialism and its legacy and effects must also be taught. Successful educational
achievements are more likely to be attained and be more meaningful for Inuit when they
reflect their socio-economic, political, and cultural reality and needs. Further, we call
upon all governments with jurisdiction over education within the Inuit homeland to
amend laws, policies, and practices to ensure that the education system reflects Inuit
culture, language, and history.

16.26 We call upon all governments to establish more post-secondary options within Inuit
Nunangat to build capacity and engagement in Inuit self-determination in research and
academia. We call on all governments to invest in the establishment of an accredited
university within Inuit Nunangat.

16.27 We call upon all governments to ensure that in all areas of service delivery – including
but not limited to policing, the criminal justice system, education, health, and social
services – there be ongoing and comprehensive Inuit-specific cultural competency train-
ing for public servants. There must also be ongoing and comprehensive training in such

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areas as trauma care, cultural safety training, anti-racism training, and education with
respect to the historical and ongoing colonialism to which Inuit have been and are
subjected.

16.28 Given that the failure to invest in resources required for treatment and rehabilitation has
resulted in the failure of section 718(e) of the Criminal Code and the Gladue principles
to meet their intended objectives, we call upon all governments to invest in Inuit-specific
treatment and rehabilitation services to address the root causes of violent behaviour.
This must include but is not limited to culturally appropriate and accessible mental
health services, trauma and addictions services, and access to culture and language for
Inuit. Justice system responses to violence must ensure and promote the safety and secu-
rity of all Inuit, and especially that of Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

16.29 We call upon all governments and service providers, in full partnership with Inuit, to
design and provide wraparound, accessible, and culturally appropriate victim services.
These services must be available and accessible to all Inuit and in all Inuit communities.

16.30 We call upon Correctional Service Canada and provincial and territorial corrections
services to recognize and adopt an Inuit Nunangat model of policy, program, and service
development and delivery. This is required to ensure that Inuit in correctional facilities
get the Inuit-specific treatment and rehabilitation programs and services they need. Fur-
ther, it will ensure that Inuit women can remain within their Inuit homelands and are
able to maintain ties with their children and families. Correctional Service Canada and
provincial and territorial correctional services must ensure that effective, needs-based,
and culturally and linguistically appropriate correctional services are made available for
Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in custody. Inuit men and boys in custody
must also receive specialized programs and services to address their treatment and reha-
bilitation needs and to address the root causes of violent behaviour. We call upon Cor-
rectional Service Canada to support and equitably fund the establishment of facilities
and spaces as described in section 81 and section 84 of the Corrections and Conditional
Release Act, within all Inuit regions.

16.31 We call upon Correctional Service Canada and provincial and territorial correctional
services to amend their intake and data-collection policies and practices to ensure that
distinctions-based information about Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people is
accurately captured and monitored. All correctional services must report annually to
Inuit representative organizations on the number of Inuit women within correctional
services’ care and custody.

16.32 We call upon police services, in particular the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),
to ensure there is Inuit representation among sworn officers and civilian staff within
Inuit communities. Inuit are entitled to receive police services in Inuktut and in a cultur-
ally competent and appropriate manner. The RCMP must ensure they have the capacity

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to uphold this right. Within the Nunavut Territory, and in accordance with Article 23 of
the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the RCMP has obligations to recruit, train, and
retain Inuit. The RCMP must take immediate and directed measures to ensure the
number of Inuit within the RCMP in Nunavut, and throughout the Inuit homelands, is
proportionally representative.

16.33 We call upon all governments to invest in capacity building, recruitment, and training
to achieve proportional representation of Inuit throughout public service in Inuit home-
lands.

16.34 Within the Nunavut Territory, we call upon the federal and territorial governments to
fully implement the principles and objectives of Article 23 of the Nunavut Land Claims
Agreement. Proportional representation is an imperative in the arenas of public services
and, in particular, the child welfare system, social services, the criminal justice system,
police services, the courts, and corrections throughout Inuit Nunangat.

16.35 We call upon the federal government and the Province of Quebec to ensure the intent
and objectives of the policing provisions of the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement
are fully implemented, including Inuit representation, participation, and control over
policing services within Nunavik. The federal government and the government of
Quebec must ensure the Kativik Regional Police Force (KRPF) is resourced and pro-
vided with the legal capacity to provide Nunavik Inuit with effective and substantively
equitable policing services. Urgent investments are required to ensure that the KRPF
has the infrastructure and human resource capacity to meet its obligations to provide
competent, Inuit-specific policing services.

16.36 We call upon all governments to ensure there are police services in all Inuit communities.

From Salluit, Nunavik, Elisapie

Isaac is an Inuk singer/songwriter,
mother, filmmaker and producer.
She reminds us that lost loved ones
are “Taken, Not Forgotten.”
Credit: Nadya Kwandibens

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16.37 We call upon all governments within Inuit Nunangat to amend laws, policies, and
practices to reflect and recognize Inuit definitions of “family,” “kinship,” and “customs”
to respect Inuit family structures.

16.38 We call upon all service providers working with Inuit to amend policies and practices to
facilitate multi-agency interventions, particularly in cases of domestic violence, sexual-
ized violence, and poverty. Further, in response to domestic violence, early intervention
and prevention programs and services must be prioritized.

16.39 We call upon all governments to support and fund the establishment of culturally appro-
priate and effective child advocacy centres like the Umingmak Centre, the first child
advocacy centre in Nunavut, throughout the Inuit homeland.

16.40 We call upon all governments to focus on the well-being of children and to develop
responses to adverse childhood experiences that are culturally appropriate and evidence-
based. This must include but is not limited to services such as intervention and
counselling for children who have been sexually and physically abused.

16.41 We call upon governments and Inuit representative organizations to work with Inuit
women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people to identify barriers and to promote their equal
representation within governance, and work to support and advance their social,
economic, cultural, and political rights. Inuit women, Elders, youth, children, and
2SLGBTQQIA people must be given space within governance systems in accordance
with their civil and political rights.

16.42 We call upon the federal government to ensure the long-term, sustainable, and equitable
funding of Inuit women’s, youths’, and 2SLGBTQQIA people’s groups. Funding must
meet the capacity needs and respect Inuit self-determination, and must not be tied to the
priorities and agenda of federal, provincial, or territorial governments.

16.43 We call upon all governments and service providers within the Inuit homelands to en-
sure there are robust oversight mechanisms established to ensure services are delivered
in a manner that is compliant with the human rights and Indigenous rights of Inuit.
These mechanisms must be accessible and provide for meaningful recourse.

16.44 We call upon all governments to ensure the collection of disaggregated data in relation
to Inuit to monitor and report on progress and the effectiveness of laws, policies, and
services designed to uphold the social, economic, political, and cultural rights and well-
being of Inuit women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Monitoring and data collection
must recognize Inuit self-determination and must be conducted in partnership with Inuit.
Within any and all mechanisms established to oversee and monitor the implementation
of the National Inquiry’s recommendations, we call upon all governments to ensure the
equitable and meaningful involvement of Inuit governments and representative organi-
zations, including those of Inuit women, girls, and and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

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16.45 We call upon the federal government to acknowledge the findings of the Qikiqtani Truth
Commission and to work to implement the recommendations therein in partnership with
Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the Inuit of the Qikiqtaaluk region.

16.46 Many people continue to look for information and the final resting place of their lost
loved one. The federal government, in partnership with Inuit, has established the
Nanilavut project. We recognize the significance of the project as an important step in
healing and Inuit self-determination in the healing and reconciliation process. We call
upon the federal government to support the work of the Nanilavut project on a long-term
basis, with sustained funding so that it can continue to serve Inuit families as they look
for answers to the questions of what happened to their loved ones. We further insist that
it must provide for the option of repatriation of the remains of lost loved ones once they
are located.

Métis-Specific Calls for Justice:

The Calls for Justice in this report must be interpreted and implemented in a distinctions-based
manner, taking into account the unique history, culture and reality of Métis communities and
people. This includes the way that Métis people and their issues have been ignored by levels of
government, which has resulted in barriers to safety for Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people. The diversity of the experiences of Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, both
among themselves, and as between other Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people,
must be fully recognized and understood.
All actions taken to ensure the safety and well-being of Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people must include their participation, including those with lived experience. In addition, the
recognition and protection of, and compliance with, the human rights and Indigenous rights of
Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people on a substantively equal basis is a legal
imperative.
Métis witnesses who testified at the National Inquiry, and Parties with Standing’s closing sub-
missions, emphasized the need for greater awareness of Métis issues and distinctive realities, and
practical supports for Métis families. They also focused on guiding principles such as: Métis
self-determination, and the need for culturally-specific solutions; respect for human rights; pre-
vention in relation to violence and child welfare, and substantively equal governmental support
for Métis children and families; and, inclusion of all Métis perspectives in decision making,
including 2SLGBTQQIA people and youth.

17.1 We call upon the federal government to uphold its constitutional responsibility to Métis
people and to non-Status people in the provision of all programs and services that fall
under its responsibility.

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17.2 We call upon the federal government to pursue the collection and dissemination of
disaggregated data concerning violence against Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA
people, including barriers they face in accessing their rights to safety, informed by Métis
knowledge and experiences. We also call upon the federal government to support and
fund research that highlights distinctive Métis experiences, including the gathering of
more stories specific to Métis perspectives on violence.

17.3 We call upon all governments to ensure equitable representation of Métis voices in
policy development, funding, and service delivery, and to include Métis voices and per-
spectives in decision-making, including Métis 2SLGBTQQIA people and youth, and to
implement self-determined and culturally specific solutions for Métis people.

17.4 We call upon all governments to fund and support Métis-specific programs and services
that meet the needs of Métis people in an equitable manner, and dedicated Métis advo-
cacy bodies and institutions, including but not limited to Métis health authorities and
Métis child welfare agencies.

17.5 We call upon all governments to eliminate barriers to accessing programming and
services for Métis, including but not limited to barriers facing Métis who do not reside
in their home province.

17.6 We call upon all governments to pursue the implementation of a distinctions-based

approach that takes into account the unique history of Métis communities and people,
including the way that many issues have been largely ignored by levels of government
and now present barriers to safety.

17.7 We call upon all governments to fund and to support culturally appropriate programs
and services for Métis people living in urban centres, including those that respect the
internal diversity of Métis communities with regards to spirituality, gender identity, and
cultural identity.

17.8 We call upon all governments, in partnership with Métis communities, organizations,
and individuals, to design mandatory, ongoing cultural competency training for public
servants (including staff working in policing, justice, education, health care, social work,
and government) in areas such as trauma-informed care, cultural safety training, anti-
racism training, and understanding of Métis culture and history.

17.9 We call upon all governments to provide safe transportation options, particularly in
rural, remote, and northern communities, including “safe rides” programs, and to moni-
tor high recruitment areas where Métis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA individuals
may be more likely to be targeted.

17.10 We call upon all governments to respect Métis rights and individuals’ self-identification
as Métis.

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17.11 We call upon all governments to support and fund dialogue and relationships between
Métis and First Nations communities.

17.12 We call upon police services to build partnerships with Métis communities, organiza-
tions, and people to ensure culturally safe access to police services.

17.13 We call upon police services to engage in education about the unique history and needs
of Métis communities.

17.14 We call upon police services to establish better communication with Métis communities
and populations through representative advisory boards that involve Métis communities
and address their needs.

17.15 We call upon all governments to fund the expansion of community-based security
models that include Métis perspectives and people, such as local peacekeeper officers or
programs such as the Bear Clan Patrol.

17.16 We call upon all governments to provide support for self-determined and culturally
specific needs-based child welfare services for Métis families that are focused on pre-
vention and maintenance of family unity. These services will also focus on: avoiding the
need for foster care; restoring family unity and providing support for parents trying to
reunite with children; healing for parents; and developing survivor-led programs to
improve family safety. These services include culturally grounded parenting education
and interventions that support the whole family, such as substance abuse treatment
programs that accommodate parents with children and that are specifically suited to
Métis needs and realities. We also call upon all governments to provide long-term stable
funding for wraparound services and exceptional programs aimed at keeping Métis
families together.

17.17 We call upon all governments to provide more funding and support for Métis child
welfare agencies and for child placements in Métis homes.

17.18 We call upon all governments to establish and maintain funding for cultural program-
ming for Métis children in foster care, especially when they are placed in non-
Indigenous or non-Métis families.

17.19 We call upon all governments to address Métis unemployment and poverty as a way to
prevent child apprehension.

17.20 We call upon all governments to fund and support programs for Métis women, girls, and
2SLGBTQQIA people, including more access to traditional healing programs, treatment
centres for youth, family support and violence prevention funding and initiatives for
Métis, and the creation of no-barrier safe spaces, including spaces for Métis mothers
and families in need.

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17.21 We call upon the federal government to recognize and fulfill its obligations to the Métis
people in all areas, especially in health, and further call upon all governments for serv-
ices such as those under FNIHB to be provided to Métis and non-Status First Nations
Peoples in an equitable manner consistent with substantive human rights standards.

17.22 We call upon all governments to respect and to uphold the full implementation of
Jordan’s Principle with reference to the Métis.

17.23 We call upon all governments to provide Métis-specific programs and services that
address emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual dimensions of well-being, including
coordinated or co-located services to offer holistic wraparound care, as well as increased
mental health and healing and cultural supports.

17.24 We call upon all governments and educators to fund and establish Métis-led programs
and initiatives to address a lack of knowledge about the Métis people and culture within
Canadian society, including education and advocacy that highlights the positive history
and achievements of Métis people and increases the visibility, understanding, and
appreciation of Métis people.

17.25 We call upon all governments to fund programs and initiatives that create greater access
to cultural knowledge and foster a positive sense of cultural identity among Métis com-
munities. These include initiatives that facilitate connections with family, land, commu-
nity, and culture; culturally specific programming for Métis 2SLGBTQQIA people and
youth; events that bring Métis Elders, Knowledge Keepers and youth together; and
mentorship programs that celebrate and highlight Métis role models.

Sharon Johnson is sister to Sandra

Johnson, killed in 1992. Every year
she organizes a Valentine’s Day
Memorial Walk in Thunder Bay to
honour and remember those who
are no longer with us. Credit: Nadya
Kwandibens

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17.26 We call upon all governments to fund and support cultural programming that helps to
revitalize the practise of Métis culture, including integrating Métis history and Métis
languages into elementary and secondary school curricula, and programs and initiatives
to help Métis people explore their family heritage and identity and reconnect with
the land.

17.27 We call upon all governments to pursue the development of restorative justice and reha-
bilitation programs, including within correctional facilities, specific to Métis needs and
cultural realities, to help address root causes of violence and reduce recidivism, and to
support healing for victims, offenders, and their families and communities.

17.28 We call upon all governments to provide increased victim support services specific to
Métis needs to help Métis victims and families navigate the legal system and to support
their healing and well-being throughout the process of seeking justice.

17.29 We call upon all actors within the justice system to engage in education and training
regarding the history and contemporary realities of Métis experiences.

2SLGBTQQIA-Specific Calls for Justice:

Witnesses who testified at the National Inquiry emphasized the need for greater awareness
of 2SLGBTQQIA issues, including the important history and contemporary place of
2SLGBTQQIA people within communities and ceremony, and practical supports and safe
places for 2SLGBTQQIA people. Several priority areas were identified, including policing,
education, justice, socio-economic priorities, health and healing, and child welfare. Witnesses
also focused on guiding principles such as self-determined and culturally-specific solutions for
2SLGBTQQIA people, respect for human rights, prevention in relation to violence and child
welfare, and inclusion of all perspectives in decision making, including youth.
Submissions made to the National Inquiry, specific to 2SLGBTQQIA peoples, reflected the need
for a distinctions-based approach that takes into account the unique challenges to safety for
2SLGBTQQIA individuals and groups, including youth.
18.1 We call upon all governments and service providers to fund and support greater aware-
ness of 2SLGBTQQIA issues, and to implement programs, services, and practical sup-
ports for 2SLGBTQQIA people that include distinctions-based approaches that take into
account the unique challenges to safety for 2SLGBTQQIA individuals and groups.

18.2 We call upon all governments and service providers to be inclusive of all perspectives in
decision making, including those of 2SLGBTQQIA people and youth.

18.3 We call upon all governments, service providers, and those involved in research to
change the way data is collected about 2SLGBTQQIA people to better reflect the pres-
ence of individuals and communities, and to improve the inclusion of 2SLGBTQQIA
people in research, including 2SLGBTQQIA-led research.

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18.4 We call upon all governments, service providers, and those involved in research to
modify data collection methods to:
i Increase accurate, comprehensive statistical data on 2SLGBTQQIA individuals, espe-
cially to record the experiences of trans-identified individuals and individuals with
non-binary gender identities.
ii Eliminate “either-or” gender options and include gender-inclusive, gender-neutral, or
non-binary options – for example, an “X-option” – on reporting gender in all con-
texts, such as application and intake forms, surveys, Status cards, census data and
other data collection.
iii Increase precision in data collection to recognize and capture the diversity of
2SLGBTQQIA communities: for example, the experiences of Two-Spirit women/
lesbians, and differentiations between Two-Spirit and trans-identified individuals and
between trans-masculine and trans-feminine experiences.

18.5 We call upon all governments and service providers to ensure that all programs and
services have 2SLGBTQQIA front-line staff and management, that 2SLGBTQQIA peo-
ple are provided with culturally specific support services, and that programs and spaces
are co-designed to meet the needs of 2SLGBTQQIA clients in their communities.

18.6 We call upon all governments and service providers to fund and support youth pro-
grams, including mentorship, leadership, and support services that are broadly
accessible and reach out to 2SLGBTQQIA individuals.

18.7 We call upon all governments and service providers to increase support for existing
successful grassroots initiatives, including consistent core funding.

18.8 We call upon all governments and service providers to support networking and
community building for 2SLGBTQQIA people who may be living in different urban
centres (and rural and remote areas), and to increase opportunities for 2SLGBTQQIA
networking, collaboration, and peer support through a national organization, regional
organizations, advocacy body, and/or a task force dedicated to advancing action to
support the well-being of Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA persons in Canada.

18.9 We call upon First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leadership and advocacy bodies to equitably
include 2SLGBTQQIA people, and for national Indigenous organizations to have a
2SLGBTQQIA council or similar initiative.

18.10 We call upon all governments and service providers to provide safe and dedicated
ceremony and cultural places and spaces for 2SLGBTQQIA youth and adults, and to
advocate for 2SLGBTQQIA inclusion in all cultural spaces and ceremonies. These
2SLGBTQQIA-inclusive spaces must be visibly indicated as appropriate.

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18.11 We call upon all governments, service providers, industry, and institutions to
accommodate non-binary gender identities in program and service design, and offer
gender-neutral washrooms and change rooms in facilities.

18.12 We call upon all police services to better investigate crimes against 2SLGBTQQIA
people, and ensure accountability for investigations and handling of cases involving
2SLGBTQQIA people.

18.13 We call upon all police services to engage in education regarding 2SLGBTQQIA people
and experiences to address discrimination, especially homophobia and transphobia, in
policing.

18.14 We call upon all police services to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of
2SLGBTQQIA people in the sex industry.

18.15 We call upon all governments, educators, and those involved in research to support and
conduct research and knowledge gathering on pre-colonial knowledge and teachings
about the place, roles, and responsibilities of 2SLGBTQQIA people within their
respective communities, to support belonging, safety, and well-being.

18.16 We call upon all governments and educators to fund and support specific Knowledge
Keeper gatherings on the topic of reclaiming and re-establishing space and community
for 2SLGBTQQIA people.

18.17 We call upon all governments, service providers, and educators to fund and support the
re-education of communities and individuals who have learned to reject 2SLGBTQQIA
people, or who deny their important history and contemporary place within communities
and in ceremony, and to address transphobia and homophobia in communities (for ex-
ample, with anti-transphobia and anti-homophobia programs), to ensure cultural access
for 2SLGBTQQIA people.

18.18 We call upon all governments and service providers to educate service providers on the
realities of 2SLGBTQQIA people and their distinctive needs, and to provide mandatory
cultural competency training for all social service providers, including Indigenous
studies, cultural awareness training, trauma-informed care, anti-oppression training, and
training on 2SLGBTQQIA inclusion within an Indigenous context (including an under-
standing of 2SLGBTQQIA identities and Indigenous understandings of gender and
sexual orientation). 2SLGBTQQIA people must be involved in the design and delivery
of this training.

18.19 We call upon all governments, service providers, and educators to educate the public on
the history of non-gender binary people in Indigenous societies, and to use media, in-
cluding social media, as a way to build awareness and understanding of 2SLGBTQQIA
issues.

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18.20 We call upon provincial and territorial governments and schools to ensure that students
are educated about gender and sexual identity, including 2SLGBTQQIA identities, in
schools.

18.21 We call upon federal and provincial correctional services to engage in campaigns to
build awareness of the dangers of misgendering in correctional systems and facilities
and to ensure that the rights of trans people are protected.

18.22 We call upon federal and provincial correctional services to provide dedicated
2SLGBTQQIA support services and cultural supports.

18.23 We call upon coroners and others involved in the investigation of missing and murdered
Indigenous trans-identified individuals and individuals with non-binary gender identities
to use gender-neutral or non-binary options, such as an X-marker, for coroners’ reports
and for reporting information related to the crimes, as appropriate.

18.24 We call upon all governments to address homelessness, poverty, and other socio-
economic barriers to equitable and substantive rights for 2SLGBTQQIA people.

18.25 We call upon all governments to build safe spaces for people who need help and who are
homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, which includes access to safe, dedicated
2SLGBTQQIA shelters and housing, dedicated beds in shelters for trans and non-binary
individuals, and 2SLGBTQQIA-specific support services for 2SLGBTQQIA individuals
in housing and shelter spaces.

18.26 We call upon health service providers to educate their members about the realities and
needs of 2SLGBTQQIA people, and to recognize substantive human rights dimensions
to health services for 2SLGBTQQIA people.

18.27 We call upon health service providers to provide mental health supports for
2SLGBTQQIA people, including wraparound services that take into account particular
barriers to safety for 2SLGBTQQIA people.

18.28 We call upon all governments to fund and support, and service providers to deliver,
expanded, dedicated health services for 2SLGBTQQIA individuals including health
centres, substance use treatment programs, and mental health services and resources.

18.29 We call upon all governments and health service providers to create roles for Indigenous
care workers who would hold the same authority as community mental health nurses
and social workers in terms of advocating for 2SLGBTQQIA clients and testifying in
court as recognized professionals.

18.30 We call upon federal, provincial, and territorial governments and health service
providers to reduce wait times for sex-reassignment surgery.

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18.31 We call upon all governments and health service providers to provide education for
youth about 2SLGBTQQIA health.

18.32 We call upon child welfare agencies to engage in education regarding the realities and
perspectives of 2SLGBTQQIA youth; to provide 2SLGBTQQIA competency training
to parents and caregivers, especially to parents of trans children and in communities
outside of urban centres; and to engage in and provide education for parents, foster
families, and other youth service providers regarding the particular barriers to safety
for 2SLGBTQQIA youth.

1 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Interim Report.
2 Ibid.

3 Canadian Human Rights Commission, “Submission by the Canadian Human Rights Commission to the
Government of Canada Pre-Inquiry Design Process.”
4 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Interim Report, 22.
5 National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Interim Report.
6 Ibid.

7 Available at https://fncaringsociety.com/spirit-bear-plan

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