When Gladys Radek walks the Highway of Tears, she says she can feel the spirits of women who are missing or have been murdered walking beside her.
Dozens have vanished or been killed along the notorious stretch of Highway 16 in central B.C.. On Thursday, Radek will honour the 12th anniversary of the disappearance of her niece, Tamara Lynn Chipman, by walking the route once again.
香蕉视频直播淵ou can feel the pain of the families when they香蕉视频直播檙e walking with you,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 really, really hard to describe.香蕉视频直播�
The annual journey, made by Radek and others who have lost loved ones, will span five days this year and cover 350 kilometres between Prince Rupert and Smithers. Vehicles will accompany the walkers who will cover sections of the route in a relay fashion.
Commissioners of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls are set to join the walk on Sept. 25 before community hearings are held from Sept. 26 to 28 in Smithers. This is the second set of hearings held to date by the inquiry, after it visited Whitehorse in May.
Since then, the inquiry香蕉视频直播檚 executive director, Michele Moreau, and one of its commissioners, Marilyn Poitras, have quit and the Native Women香蕉视频直播檚 Association of Ontario has pulled its support. The inquiry has faced growing calls for resignations and a restart.
Asked whether commissioners feel added pressure to ensure these hearings are successful, Chief Commissioner Marion Buller said they feel that obligation regardless.
香蕉视频直播淭hey have to be (successful), not only for our purposes, but more so for the families who come forward and share their stories with us. It香蕉视频直播檚 the success from their perspective that香蕉视频直播檚 the most important aspect for us,香蕉视频直播� she said.
香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e always under scrutiny. Always. And we always will be,香蕉视频直播� she added. 香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 always open to constructive, informed criticism, as are the other commissioners. It香蕉视频直播檚 part of our work.香蕉视频直播�
The federal government launched the inquiry last year to examine the systemic issues behind the high number of Indigenous women who have been killed or disappeared over the last four decades in Canada. It is expected to take two years and cost almost $54 million.
READ MORE:
VIDEO:
Buller said the commission will ask for more money and time but it is still conducting an internal analysis before making the request.
About 25 people, including family members and survivors of violence, are expected to testify publicly or privately at the Dze L K香蕉视频直播橝nt Friendship Centre next week. A statement-taker will be available for anyone who wishes to speak, with no pre-registration needed, said Buller.
Radek will testify about Chipman, who disappeared while hitchhiking in Prince Rupert on Sept. 21, 2005. The 22-year-old was a beautiful, charming free spirit who had a young son, she recalled.
Critics of the inquiry don香蕉视频直播檛 understand how much ground it has to cover, said Radek, who sits on its national family advisory circle.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 not as simple as two years of work. These people, these commissioners and the staff that they have working right now, they are uncovering the stones that should have been turned a long time ago,香蕉视频直播� she said.
People living along the Highway of Tears had to wait years for the provincial government to carry out a key recommendation of the B.C. inquiry into missing and murdered women, said Terry Tegee, tribal chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council.
The recommendation 香蕉视频直播� reliable public transit along the route 香蕉视频直播� was finally implemented earlier this year. But the experience has led Teegee to call for the federal inquiry to have more teeth. Like the missing inquiry in B.C., the recommendations from the national inquiry will be non-binding.
Teegee also said he香蕉视频直播檚 concerned that people in small communities that still lack transit won香蕉视频直播檛 be able to participate in the Smithers hearings.
Buller said staff have visited nearby towns in recent weeks to reach out to families and it is able to help cover travel costs including mileage and meals, she said.
The hearings will be the first of nine this fall, with other stops in Winnipeg, Halifax, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Saskatoon, Sask., Maliotenam, Que., Thunder Bay, Ont., and Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.
Laura Kane, The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
