Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz isn't convinced an inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women would serve any purpose.
“I don’t. Personally, I don’t, and a lot of Canadians don’t either,” said Ritz to reporters following a luncheon address at the Tropical Inn Monday.
“They want to see action, based on the reports that are already out there, based on the fact that over 90 per cent of these are solved, they want to see us come forward with legislation as a federal government that make people feel safe, regardless of who they are and where they’re from.”
Safety was the prime concern noted by Ritz. “We want to make sure that everyone feels safe, that they have the ability to be educated, to grow the economy, to go into business, to do whatever they want and feel safe doing.”
The issue has received some recent prominence from last week’s Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Saskatoon.
There, delegates overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution calling for an “inquiry or round table” into missing or murdered Indigenous women.
Among the resolution’s backers at that convention was North Battleford Councillor Ray Fox, who is running for the Liberals against Ritz in Battlefords-Lloydminster the next federal election.
Federal New Democrats have being vocal in calling for an inquiry as well. But in his scrum with reporters Ritz stood firm in support of the Conservatives’ position.
Another inquiry, Ritz said, would “take tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars, a couple of years and there would be lawsuits countered back and forth as to what the results are.
“At the end of the day we see that as a stalling tactic. We’re looking for action today, and we’re looking for opposition parties to actually support that action rather than voting against it as they’ve been doing.”
Ritz pointed to legislation at the federal and provincial levels and changes he says are already happening.
“At the end of the day we want to make sure that that ‘action’ makes people feel safe, the ones that are at risk right now,” said Ritz.
“There’s also a certain amount of personal responsibility required as well, but at the end of the day we’re already making some significant changes when it comes to justice issues and the ability to charge these people. Education is a big chunk of it, so that you have that knowledge going in.’
