The Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) is committed to working with Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) to ensure the recommendations of the Broken Trust report, released today, are fully implemented. The report acknowledges something we already know – Indigenous women and girls confront racism every day and that racism ends in violence and injustice.
The independent review examined 37 sudden death investigations conducted by the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS). Gerry McNeilly, Independent Review Director, recommends that nine of those cases be re-investigated. Four of the nine cases put forward to be re-opened, involve the deaths of Indigenous women.
The findings detail investigators failed to protect and treat Indigenous people without discrimination on an unacceptable number of occasions. In the most forceful action taken to date to address the “crisis of confidence” between the TBPS and the Indigenous community, the report made 44 recommendations.
“Gerry McNeilly has laid out a detailed path on how to address systemic discrimination within the TBPS and how we can move forward together to ensure a safer community for everyone. We welcome the opportunity to work with the TBPS to provide support and collaborate on implementation of the recommendations,” said ONWA Executive Director, Cora Lee McGuire-Cyrette.
For more information, please contact:
Andre Morriseau, Communications Manager Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) Phone: (647) 970-7661