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October 30, 2015
Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne
Premier of Ontario
Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Further to the attached correspondence of yesterday, please find enclosed hard-copies of the reports identified from the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Inter‑American Commission.
As you review the reports, I would like to draw particular attention to the most crucial rulings of the reports, namely, that the social and economic marginalization of indigenous women and girls is a root cause of the violence; it makes them more vulnerable to violence and less able to escape it. Both expert bodies have found that Canada’s failure to fulfill the social, economic, and cultural rights of indigenous women violates their rights to equality and puts their rights to life and security at risk. While the reports are clearly concerned about inadequate police response after the violence has occurred, they are also concerned about the responsibility of governments in Canada to take the necessary measures to prevent the violence through addressing the social and economic disadvantage of indigenous women and the current impacts of historical discrimination.
Yours sincerely,
Ruth Goba Hon.BA, LLB
Interim Chief Commissioner
Encls.
cc/
Hon. Madeleine Meilleur, Attorney General of Ontario
Hon. Tracy MacCharles, Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues
Hon. David Zimmer, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs
Kimberly Murray, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Aboriginal Justice Division
Ontario Native Women’s Association
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Metis Nation of Ontario
Chief Isadore Day, Chiefs of Ontario