I’m sitting here in New York preparing for a panel discussion on Canada’s Shame, which is our nation’s failure to recognize and respond to the crisis that is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. This discussion is part of a three-day event called the Women in the World Summit, created and hosted by Tina Brown and the New York Times to bring women and their allies together to discuss global issues affecting women, and therefore, all of us.
My hope for the book was that it would not only discuss the details of our failed investigation, but that it would serve as a blueprint for ensuring similar mistakes would not be made in future. To be able to take this conversation to a broader level is something I had always envisioned when I wrote the book.
I’ve been fortunate to speak to a variety of groups recently; from law students to Indigenous organizations to writers’ festivals to police departments and I anticipate continuing this work. Drawing attention to the classism, racism, and sexism that permeate this issue; the police incompetence and indifference when investigating these crimes; and to the larger rape culture we exist within is something we all can do.
I look forward to sitting with our moderator John Hockenberry; family members Michele Pineault and Melina Laboucan-Massimo; and the Hon. Carolyn Bennett, Canadian Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, as we discuss Canada’s Shame and what we can do to end this tragedy once and for all.