Ottawa Faces Renewed Push to Prioritize MMIWG2S+ Voices
Ottawa is once again in the spotlight as advocates across the country renew their calls for the federal government to move from words to action on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S+). A London, Ontario woman is now helping spearhead that push — urging decision-makers in the capital to stop sidelining Indigenous voices in the policy process and start centring them.
The MMIWG2S+ crisis has been described by Canada's own National Inquiry as a genocide — a finding delivered in 2019 alongside 231 Calls for Justice. Six years later, advocates say implementation has been frustratingly slow, and Indigenous women continue to go missing and be killed at rates far higher than non-Indigenous women. The frustration has reached a boiling point for many community members, who say the federal government must do more than release reports and host roundtables.
Why London Is Looking at Ottawa
While the advocate is based in London, her fight is directed squarely at Ottawa — where federal policy decisions are made and where, she argues, the real change must come from. The call isn't just for more funding or new task forces, but for Indigenous-led oversight, community consultation that carries real weight, and accountability mechanisms with teeth.
This kind of inter-city advocacy reflects a broader pattern in Indigenous rights movements across Canada: local and regional voices banding together to hold the federal capital accountable. Ottawa, as the seat of Parliament and home to federal ministries, is both the target of these demands and, advocates hope, the place where those demands can finally be heard.
The Federal Government's Track Record
Critics have long pointed to gaps between Ottawa's promises and on-the-ground realities. The National Action Plan on MMIWG2S+, released in 2021, was meant to coordinate federal, provincial, and territorial responses — but Indigenous organizations have repeatedly flagged that meaningful progress has been piecemeal and underfunded.
For advocates like the London woman leading this campaign, the ask is straightforward: MMIWG2S+ families and survivors should be in the room when decisions are made — not consulted after the fact, but genuinely included from the start. Tokenism, they say, isn't advocacy. It's a delay tactic.
What Meaningful Prioritization Looks Like
Advocates have pointed to several concrete steps Ottawa could take:
- Dedicated federal funding for Indigenous-led data collection on missing and murdered persons
- Regular, mandatory progress reports on the Calls for Justice with Indigenous oversight
- Formal seats at the table for MMIWG2S+ organizations in relevant policy discussions
- Investments in prevention, including safe housing, mental health services, and economic supports for Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people
The goal, advocates stress, is a future where no new names are added to an already devastating list.
Ottawa Must Listen
For a city that houses both Parliament and the public servants who implement national policy, Ottawa carries a particular responsibility. Advocates say the city — and the government it hosts — has the power to change the trajectory of this crisis. The question, as it has been for years, is whether it will choose to use it.
Source: CTV News via Google News Ottawa
