Support for families of missing women in Saskatchewan

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Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

December 7th, 2011 - Families of missing Aboriginal women in Saskatchewan will be getting more support.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice's Families of Missing Persons Project is getting $329,000 in federal funds to create three specialized Missing Persons Liaison positions in the Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert Police Services' Victim Services Units.

"Although these services will be made available to everyone, their primary focus will be the families of missing Aboriginal women. According to the final report of the Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons, a disproportionate number of Saskatchewan's missing persons are Aboriginal. Of these, most are female." (Sask Gov't News Release)

The new positions will also provide training and consultation on handling missing persons cases to the additional 15 police-based victim services programs across Saskatchewan.

The remainder of the funding will be used to develop counselling and specialized support groups for families of missing persons.

Funding for this project is part of a larger effort by the federal government to address the alarming number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, particularly in Canada's western provinces.

Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Canada explained: "When the Government of Canada committed to taking concrete steps to address the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women last year, our goal was to improve law enforcement and justice system responses to missing persons cases. . .
Providing support for family members of missing persons is a pressing concern that warrants co-ordinated attention from all levels of government, and we are pleased to provide funding for this Government of Saskatchewan project."

Also of interest . . . http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/MissingPersons