The Liberal government is launching the first phase of a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women, the justice minister said Tuesday.
Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during a news conference in Ottawa. She said the first phase will include consultations with affected families in the national capital region to hear their input on the design and goals of the inquiry.
Over the next two months, the government will also hear from other families across the country, aboriginal community organizations and frontline workers to seek their input, she said.
Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett said the initial phase is a "design phase," and will lead to the second phase, which will be the actual inquiry itself. She added that she hopes the inquiry will begin next spring.
As the inquiry advances, Canadians will be also be able to follow its progress, and engage in the discussion on a website and via social media, she said.
Bennett said the government is committed to creating the best possible design for the inquiry, and eventually finding "concrete action" that will stop "this national tragedy."
"We will get this right for the spirits and the memory of those we have lost," she said, as she wrapped up her remarks.
During question period in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Bennett said the government intends to let victims鈥� families help shape the inquiry.
鈥淓ven in this pre-inquiry phase, the design phase, we want to hear from the families and make sure that the design of the inquiry will meet their needs and that families will be involved throughout the inquiry,鈥� Bennett said.
In an appearance on CTV's Power Play later on Tuesday, Wilson-Raybould said that the governments wants to "chart a path for true reconciliation," which requires engaging with the families of victims, as well as speaking to national indigenous organizations.
"Families are looking to tell their stories, looking to seek justice around the murder and missing indigenous women and girl," she said.
"And also to look more broadly in terms of the root causes of why this situation exists in the first place, looking at what we can do collectively do to address issues of poverty, the legacy of the colonial experience and marginalization."
The Liberals have pledged to spend $40 million on the inquiry, which they initially projected to last two years. During the news conference, Bennett said the projected budget is a "placeholder鈥� until more details of the inquiry are determined.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the inquiry is a "top priority" of the Liberal government.
"We have made this inquiry a priority for our government because those touched by this national tragedy have waited long enough," he said during a meeting of aboriginal chiefs and leaders. "The victims deserve justice; their families an opportunity to heal and to be heard."
Calls for a national inquiry have been growing since a 2014 RCMP review found that 1,181 indigenous women had been murdered or gone missing since 1980 -- 164 missing and 1,017 homicide victims.
One of those who have been touched by the issue is Bernadette Smith, whose sister, Claudette, went missing in Winnipeg in 2008.
Smith told CTV's Power Play that her sister, a mother of four, "loved her family" and had a "contagious smile."
"She loved life. She had dreams and goals, her kids loved her and now they're growing up the last seven years without their mother," she said.
Smith said that the government's announcement Tuesday was a positive step forward.
"It really gave hope to me, and other families I've spoken to as well 鈥� that something is actually going to be done, that their voices are going to be heard and their loved ones aren鈥檛 going to be forgotten," she said.
Smith said that she had "zero faith" in the former prime minister Stephen Harper's government to address the issue.
On Monday, Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose said that her party supports the study, and believes the "most important thing is to hear the voices of the women and families."
Her comments are in stark contrast to Harper's, who consistently rejected calls for an inquiry. Instead, in September 2014, the Conservatives unveiled several measures to address violence against aboriginal women and girls, including funding for shelters, increased support for police investigations and the creation of a missing persons index.
In his remarks on Tuesday morning, Trudeau also outlined several other priorities the Liberals plan to address to build a 鈥渘ew鈥� relationship with First Nations communities. These include investment in education funding and lifting the two per cent funding cap for First Nations programs, he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
