The Ontario Provincial Police’s much-anticipated report on murdered and missing women shows a high clearance rate for cases in their jurisdiction.
But the Ontario Native Women's Association says while the report is a step in the right direction, many cases in the province are missing, highlighting a problem with jurisdictional issues.
"I don't think it's a full inclusive picture over what's going on in the province," interim executive director Cora-Lee McGuire-Cyrette said.
McGuire Cyrette said another issue with the report is how an Indigenous person is defined.
"They say the words but who are they including in there and more importantly who are they excluding?" she said.
According to the report just eight of 54 murdered women cases between 1964 and 2014 remain unsolved, and 85.2 per cent clearance rate.
Five of those killings occurred in Northwestern Ontario. Grassy Narrows First Nation’s Susan Assin was last seen on June 17, 1974, after visiting friends and family in Kenora.
Jane Bernard and Doreen Hardy were last seen getting into a dark-coloured vehicle on Cumberland Street in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) on Aug. 27, 1966, while 19-year-old Evaline Cameron’s body was found behind a residence in Whitedog First Nation, some 72 kilometres northwest of Kenora, on Oct. 19, 1995.
Judy Quill’s body was found in a wooded area in Pikangikum First Nation on March 22, 2009Of the 126 indigenous men killed between 1978 and 2014, only one case remains open, the 2008 death of 83-year-old James Strang, killed inside his residence at Pikangikum First Nation.
McGuire-Cyrette said she's hoping that the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women will provide a more comprehensive approach, looking at systemic issues.
The report goes on to say the OPP only has eight missing indigenous women cases on the books, five times fewer the number of missing men.
