YORK STUDENTS PETITION TORONTO CITY COUNCIL: Students Demand City Council Voice Support for National Public Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Students at York University have initiated a petition calling on Toronto City Council to speak out and voice their support for a National Public Inquiry on Violence against Indigenous Women. We are collecting signatures at events on campus over the next two weeks. The petition will be submitted to City Councillor Mihevc, who has agreed to table it.

Support for a national public inquiry into this matter is growing. Thus far, groups calling for a public inquiry include: the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the Assembly of First Nations, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Liberal Party of Canada Parliamentary Caucus, the New Democratic Party National Caucus, and the Green Party of Canada Leader and MP for Saanich--Gulf Islands Elizabeth May.

The issue of public national inquiry is clearly outside of the jurisdiction of Toronto City Council. However, the Toronto City Council has a moral responsibility to speak out on this issue. According to research conducted by No More Silence (NMS) and The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) a significant number of indigenous women have died violent and premature deaths in the city of Toronto.