The arrest of a man accused of killing four women, all believed to be Indigenous, shows vulnerable women and girls are subject to the dangerous outcomes if governments don't work together to end gender and race-based violence, Indigenous advocates say.
Posted: Dec. 2, 2022 1:10PMCrown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller arrives to a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. He says the federal government is trailing in its responsibility to protect Indigenous women and girls, despite allocating money toward the issue.
“The political will of all levels of government is required to end this ongoing genocide,” the National Family and Survivors Circle said in a statement Friday. Skibick was taken into custody and charged May 18 with first-degree murder in the death of Rebecca Contois, 24. Her partial remains were found in a garbage bin near an apartment building and police later found the rest of her remains in a Winnipeg landfill.
“They explain why the government cannot just hold an inquiry and say job done. The inquiry was just the first step. Now it is time for serious action.” Grand Chief Cathy Merrick with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs echoed calls for the federal and provincial governments to work with police to implement the national inquiry’s recommendations aimed at tackling root causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls.
Contois lived in Winnipeg and was a member of the O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River. Harris and Myran also lived in Winnipeg and were both members of Long Plain First Nation.
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More charges laid in serial killing of Indigenous women in WinnipegThe man charged with killing Recca Contois has been arrested in connection to three other murders. Read more.
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Winnipeg police announce charges in alleged serial killings of four Indigenous womenJeremy Skibicki was charged in May with first-degree murder in the death of Rebecca Cantois; police have announced three additional murder charges
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Ottawa trailing in protection of Indigenous women and girls: federal minister'They feel their voices do not matter or their lives do not matter. Our women deserve more,' says advocate
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