Coalition Requests Males Be Included in the Inquiry Into Murdered Indigenous Women, Calls for Government Response

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - October 06, 2016) - Indigenous organizations across Canada have joined the men's issues charity Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) in a coalition demanding that the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls be expanded to include boys and men.

The coalition, known as the Necktie Campaign, has submitted a formal request to The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, which can be found at the link below. The Necktie Campaign was founded by Lydia Daniels, a member of the Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, whose son Colten Pratt has been missing since 2014.

A public event, Expand the Inquiry!, will take place in Vancouver on Saturday, October 8th, 6:30PM - 9:30PM PDT, featuring UBC Professor of Political Science Adam Jones, who has launched a petition calling for a gender-inclusive Inquiry, and BC Indigenous leader and author Chief Ernie Crey. The event will take place at Simon Fraser University's Harbour Centre at 515 West Hastings Street.

Necktie Campaign events have been hosted across Canada in 2016 and have been supported by the Mi'kmaw Native Centre in Halifax, as well as Kevin Daniels, Interim National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Grand Chief Thomas Square and Grand Chief Roger Fleury.

Statistics Canada data on murdered Indigenous peoples over a 29 year period (1982-2011) show that over 70% of murdered Indigenous Canadians were men and boys.

"The federal government has committed to evidence-based public policies," said Justin Trottier, CAFE Executive Director. "We cannot get at the root cause of violence and find effective solutions if we ignore two thirds of the available data."

CAFE is proud to join leaders from the Indigenous community as we build a growing consensus on the need for a gender-inclusive Inquiry.

For a copy of the letter to The Honourable Carolyn Bennett visit: http://equalitycanada.com/necktie-campaign/

The Canadian Association for Equality is committed to achieving equality for all Canadians, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family status, race, ethnicity, creed, age or disability.