
Winnipeg, July 11, 2012: Churchill MP Niki Ashton speaking at a rally in support of provincial and national inquiries into missing and murdered aboriginal woman in Canada. Photo: Paul S. Graham
Speaking at a rally calling for provincial and national inquiries into missing and murdered aboriginal women, Churchhill MP Niki Ashton criticized the federal government for having “. . . cut the programs that would help to be part of the solution.”
Citing cuts to the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the loss of funding for several programs, including Sisters in Spirit, the National Aboriginal Health Organization, the Women’s Health Network, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and the First Nations Statistical Institute, Ashton said, “We need action and we need to find out what’s going on. We need an inquiry that will look into the underlying causes of why aboriginal women face so much violence.”
The crowd roared its agreement when Ashton declared: “My message to Stephen Harper is: Mr. Harper — if you’re not part of the solution, YOU are part of the problem.”
Here is a video of her address.
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