New Commemoration Fund to support Indigenous families and communities to honour the lives and legacies of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S individuals.
February 7, 2019 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Department for Women and Gender Equality
No relationship is more important to Canada than the relationship with Indigenous peoples. We cannot move forward and eliminate gender-based violence without acknowledging the past.
That's why today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister for Women and Gender Equality, announced that the Government of Canada has launched the Commemoration Fund for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, including LGTBQ2S individuals. Public commemoration is a powerful way to help honour truths, support healing, create awareness, and advance reconciliation.
The Commemoration Fund responds to recommendations from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Interim Report. In its Interim Report, the National Inquiry highlighted the need to fund commemoration activities to help honour the lives and legacies of Indigenous women and girls and LGBTQ2S individuals.
The Government of Canada is investing $10 million over two years, which will provide funding for Indigenous governments and organizations, including Indigenous women's and Two-Spirit organizations, to work with families and communities to develop and implement commemorative initiatives across the country. The activities and events that the Commemoration Fund supports will contribute to healing, help increase public awareness, and help honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ2S individuals.
The Department for Women and Gender Equality (formerly Status of Women Canada) has a longstanding relationship with Indigenous organizations and will continue to work with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada to make meaningful progress to address and eliminate gender-based violence.
