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Unifor extends its deepest condolences to the families of murdered women Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
All likely killed by the same person in a devastating act of ideological hate, their deaths are a tragic example of the sexist and racist violence that is fed by far-right rhetoric and white supremacy.
Unifor stands united with the families in their call for the authorities to undertake every necessary action to recover the bodies of the women—women who were sisters, daughters, mothers, and loved ones to so many. It is not too much to ask.
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization has evidence that the suspected serial killer has expressed anti-Indigenous views online. Accordingly, the murders should be considered a hate crime by Crown attorneys.
Unifor renews its call for local, provincial, and federal governments to take action to prevent violence against Indigenous women and girls. Governments were given a clear template for action in the 2019 report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, but the official response has been deeply inadequate. The Native Women’s Association of Canada says the federal government’s action plan lacks “any devoted funding, timelines, or measurable goals.”
Winnipeg families are no strangers to inadequate responses from local authorities. Many have had to privately fund and staff efforts to drag the Red River for bodies of missing loved ones because the city will not conduct searches themselves.
