231 Calls for Justice

Image in header: Installation by Jessica Slater and survivors and families of MMIWG during the Vancouver Community Hearing of the National Inquiry

They are legal imperatives and not optional. They represent important ways to end the genocide and to transform systemic and societal values that have worked to maintain colonial violence.

(PDF) 213 Calls for Justice (extracted from final report)Download

CALLS 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.

Calls for Human and Indigenous Rights and Governmental Obligations

1.1 We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous governments (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. 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, resourced 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:

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.
Make publicly available on an annual basis reports of ongoing actions and developments in measurable goals related to the National Action Plan.

***SERIES CHANGE***, photo by Heather Fryer, makeup artist Deonna Fetzko

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:

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).
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.
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.
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.
UNDRIP, including recognition, protection, and support of Indigenous self-governance 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 Constitution 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 Indigenous 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.

1.7 We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, to establish a National Indigenous and Human Rights Ombudsperson, 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 violations, 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 prevention programs, education, and awareness campaigns designed for Indigenous communities 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 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 constitutionally 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:

Federal, provincial, and territorial governments must legislate Indigenous languages in the respective territory as official languages.
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 governments 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. Wefurther call upon all governments to support grassroots and community-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.

2.6 We call upon all governments to educate their citizens about, and to confront and eliminate, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Toaccomplish 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.

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Calls for Governments: Health and Wellness

3.1 We call upon all governments to ensure that the rights to health and wellness of Indigenous 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 communities and wherever Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people reside.

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

3.4 We call upon all governments to ensure that all Indigenous communities receive immediate and necessary resources, including funding and support, for the establishment of sustainable, permanent, no-barrier, preventative, accessible, holistic, wraparound services, including mobile trauma and addictions recovery teams. Wefurther 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.

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.

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Calls for 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-determination 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 Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. All governments must support and 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, training, 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 communities. 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 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, consistent 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:

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 police services are culturally appropriate and effective police services.
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 Indigenous communities in northern and remote areas in a manner that ensures that those services 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:

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.
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.
Capacity must be developed in investigative tools and techniques for the investigation 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.
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:

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.
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.
Legislated paid leave and disability benefits must be provided for victims of crime or traumatic events.
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.
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:

Observe and oversee investigations in relation to police negligence or misconduct, including but not limited to rape and other sexual offences.
Observe and oversee investigations of cases involving Indigenous Peoples.
Publicly report on police progress in addressing findings and recommendations at least annually.

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. Indigenous 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-incarceration 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 intimate partner violence and abuse as murder in the first degree under section 222 of the Criminal Code.

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 theCommission 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 INDUSTRIES, INSTITUTIONS, SERVICES AND PARTNERSHIPS

As this report has demonstrated, so much of the violence shared in the truths of those who testified 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. Weinclude 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 institutions 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 entertainment 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:

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.
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.
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.
Take proactive steps to break down the stereotypes that hypersexualize and demean Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, and to end practices that perpetuate myths that Indigenous women are more sexually available and “less worthy” than non-Indigenous women because of their race or background.

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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 partnership 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

7.4 We call upon all governments and health service providers to provide necessary resources, including funding, to support the revitalization of Indigenous health, wellness, 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 postnatal 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 specialized 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 professional 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 Indigenous 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 forTransportation Service Providers and the Hospitality Industry

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

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Calls for Police Services

9.1 We call upon all police services and justice system actors to acknowledge that the historical 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. Wefurther 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 respectful 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:

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.
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.
Ensure appropriate Indigenous representation, including Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, on police services boards and oversight authorities.
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:

Achieve representative First Nations, Inuit, and Métis diversity and gender diversity within all police services through intensive and specialized recruitment across Canada.
Ensure mandatory Indigenous language capacity within police services.
Ensure that screening of recruits includes testing for racial, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation bias.
Include the Indigenous community in the recruitment and hiring committees/process.
In training recruits, include: history of police in the oppression and genocide of Indigenous Peoples; anti-racism and anti-bias training; and culture and language training. All training must be distinctions-based and relevant to the land and people being served; training must not be pan-Indigenous.
Retain Indigenous officers through relevant employment supports, and offer incentives 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.
End the practice of limited-duration posts in all police services, and instead implement a policy regarding remote and rural communities focused on building and sustaining 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 resources 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.

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.
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.
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:

Establish a communication protocol with Indigenous communities to inform them of policies, practices, and programs that make the communities safe.
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.
Improve coordination across government departments and between jurisdictions and Indigenous communities and police services.
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.
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.
Establish standardized response times to reports of missing Indigenous persons and women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people experiencing violence, and conduct a regular audit of response times to monitor and provide feedback for improvement.
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 advisory 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 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.

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Calls forAttorneys 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:

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.
Law societies working with Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people must establish and enforce cultural competency standards.
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.

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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 Indigenous history, law, and practices from Indigenous perspectives and the use of Their Voices Will Guide Us with children and youth.

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.

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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. Wefurther assert that it is the responsibility of Indigenous governments to take a role in intervening, advocating, 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 current 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 definition 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 upholding 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 provided so that family or community members of children of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people are capable of caring for the children 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 children. 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 support or benefits removed or reduced by virtue of receiving additional financial supports 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 government 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 Indigenous 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 implementation 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 prevention 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 IndigenousPeoples
anti-racism and anti-bias training
local culture and language training
sexual exploitation and trafficking training to recognize signs and develop specializedresponses

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. Wealso 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.

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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 projects. 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 related 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 communities 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 parity 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 security 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 backgrounds 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 postsecondary education.

14.10 We call upon Correctional Service Canada to increase and enhance the role and participation 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 theCorrections 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.

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Calls 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.

THE RIVER RUNS RED, by Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn (1951-2018) — . ***THE RIVER RUNS RED***, by Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn (1951-2018)

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 diversity, acknowledging the land you live on and its importance to local Indigenous communities, both historically and today.

Calls for Justice Article 15.2 — . ***SHE LIGHTS THE WAY***, by Mi’kmaq artist Pauline Young

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

Calls for Justice Article 15.3 — . ***MISSING***, by Diné & Chicana painter & muralist Nanibah “Nani” Chacon

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.

Calls for Justice Article 15.4 — . Mural art in Montreal by artists Fanny Aisha, Guko and Monk-E

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

Calls for Justice Article 15.5 — . Stephanie Cooney, Reflections Photography

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.

Calls for Justice Article 15.6 — . ***EVERY ONE***, Indigenous artist Cannupa Hanska Luger

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.

Calls for Justice Article 15.7 — . Alaskan Indigenous artist Amber Webb

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.

Calls for Justice Article 15.8 — . **IGNORANCE**, from the series *Ripples of Loss*, by Ojibway Albertan artist Terry McCue

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.
Their Voices Will Guide Us: Student and Youth Engagement Guide.
Transcripts, testimonies, and public statements offered during the Truth-Gathering Process.
In addition, please consult our bibliography for a list of all sources used in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls final report.

Suggested Resources for Allyship:

Amnesty International. “10 Ways to Be a Genuine Ally to Indigenous Communities.”
Dr. Lynn Gehl. “Ally Bill of Responsibilities.”
Indigenous Perspectives Society. “How to Be an Ally to Indigenous People.” .
Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network. “Indigenous Ally Toolkit.”

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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 upheld 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.

Principles and guidelines for interpretation and implementation

Distinctions-Based Approach

Inuit, Métis, and First Nations are distinct peoples. Implementation of all recommendations in thisFinal 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.

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, wholesome, 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 equality 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 specific needs of Inuit must be met in a culturally appropriate way and include equitable, sustainable and long-term resourcing and funding.

Inuit-Specific Calls for Justice

Testimony shared by Inuit witnesses, experts, and Elders, and submissions by Inuit representative 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.

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, cultural, 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 disaggregated 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 appropriate, 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:

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.
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.
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 available 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 children 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 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 children 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 communities 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 governments must ensure that children and people in care have access to their families and kinship 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 communities 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 tuberculosis) 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 involvement. 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.

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 programs 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 education 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 particularly 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 culturally 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 training for public servants. There must also be ongoing and comprehensive training in such 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 security 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. Further, 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 rehabilitation needs and to address the root causes of violent behaviour. We call upon Correctional Service Canada to support and equitably fund the establishment of facilities and spaces as described in section 81 and section 84 of theCorrections 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 culturally competent and appropriate manner. The RCMP must ensure they have the capacity 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 homelands.

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 provided 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.

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, sexualized 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 appropriate 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 ensure 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 wellbeing 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 organizations, including those of Inuit women, girls, and and 2SLGBTQQIA people.

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. Werecognize 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. Wefurther insist that it must provide for the option of repatriation of the remains of lost loved ones once they are located.

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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 submissions, 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; prevention 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.

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. Wealso 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 perspectives 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 advocacy 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 monitor 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.

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, organizations, 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 prevention 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. Wealso 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 programming 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.

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 services 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 communities. These include initiatives that facilitate connections with family, land, community, 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.

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 rehabilitation 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.

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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 awareness of 2SLGBTQQIA issues, and to implement programs, services, and practical supports 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 presence of individuals and communities, and to improve the inclusion of 2SLGBTQQIA people in research, including 2SLGBTQQIA-led research.

18.4 We call upon all governments, service providers, and those involved in research to modify data collection methods to:

Increase accurate, comprehensive statistical data on 2SLGBTQQIA individuals, especially to record the experiences of trans-identified individuals and individuals with non-binary gender identities.
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 contexts, such as application and intake forms, surveys, Status cards, census data and other data collection.
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 people 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 programs, 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.

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 example, 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 understanding 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, including social media, as a way to build awareness and understanding of 2SLGBTQQIA issues.

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 socioeconomic 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.

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.

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Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls 231 Calls for Justice