gatewaynews
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
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Change needed — from page 3 They include new ideas such as establishing a national Indigenous and human rights ombudsperson and tribunal, prohibiting putting children into foster care on the basis of poverty or cultural bias, and creating a guaranteed annual livable income for all Canadians. Also included are suggestions to change the justice system, such as revising the Criminal Code to prevent offenders from minimizing their culpability, improving access to rehabilitation and reintegration programs in federal prisons, and increasing Indigenous representation in Canadian courts. The national report also recommended creating affordable transit to remote communities to reduce dependence on hitchhiking, something that both Oppal and the Highway of Tears report had already established as a priority. Funding for such transit service was a long time in coming, and Wilson said the bus service now connecting communities along Highway 16 is well-used by residents, but needs to be expanded to improve safety, in part because there is no cellphone service along many sections of the route. — see ‘I DON’T, page 6
CP photo
Chief Commissioner of the National Inquiry of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Marion Buller addresses a conference on the topic at UBC in Vancouver on June 10.