Today, Ministers Alty, Gull-Masty, Chartrand, and Valdez issued the following statement:
"On Sisters in Spirit Day, we honour and remember all the Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people who have gone missing or been murdered. We stand with the survivors, families, and communities whose advocacy, leadership and determination continue to drive action and accountability, and we recommit ourselves to ending this violence.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People. Over the past five years, we have made progress in the areas of community safety, culture and language, health and wellness, justice and policing, shelters and housing.
The Government of Canada has been working with partners over the last year to advance this critical work and support Indigenous-led solutions that contribute to systemic change and improve outcomes. This includes $300,000 for Giganawenimaanaanig to help advance the next steps on a Red Dress Alert pilot in Manitoba, and $2.6 million for the National Family and Survivors Circle to continue their work centring survivors and families in the implementation of the Calls for Justice, and over $978 million in federal investments to support 46 existing shelters, enhance violence prevention activities and establish 92 new emergency and second-stage shelters, such as the Satuivik project in Pivurnituq, Quebec, a shelter and transitional housing dedicated to supporting women and children who are experiencing violence. We also continued to work together with leaders at the National Indigenous-Federal-Provincial-Territorial Meeting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People.
