National Inquiry to Reschedule Montreal Expert Hearing

(September 14, 2017) VANCOUVER BC- The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls will reschedule the Montreal Expert Hearing that was planned for October 2-5, 2017. This is a response to feedback received from families, parties with standing and National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs) after the Expert Panel Hearings held in Winnipeg, MB.

The Commissioners were told that more time is needed for parties to prepare for the hearings- and that further engagement is required between the National Inquiry, experts, and stakeholders. This schedule change is vital to the overall Truth Gathering Process because the topic of human rights is one of the key pillars for the Commissioners to gather and evaluate evidence that will be used to develop final recommendations.

Instead of holding the expert panel in October, the National Inquiry will hold a preparatory session to help gather a variety of perspectives regarding the National Inquiry’s Human Rights Framework. An expert panel on human rights will take place in Montreal at a later date.

The intent of this schedule change is to ensure that all interested participants can contribute to the Expert Panel Hearings. This change also honours the families’ first approach, by providing appropriate opportunities for families and survivors to provide feedback during this phase of the Truth Gathering Process.

The advice received from individuals and organizations will ensure the future expert hearing on Human Rights will be informative to the National Inquiry, and all Canadians, as well as be inclusive to family members and survivors. Overall, this rescheduling and the dynamic approach going forward will advance the role of expert testimony in achieving the mandate of the National Inquiry.

The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls continuously engages with families, NIOs, grass roots organizations, governments and parties with standing, amongst other groups, about its work.