APTN Investigates
The National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls has spent almost $5.2 million as of March 23, 2017 according to an Inquiry spokesperson.
The sum represents about 10 percent of the total $53.8 million dollar budget announced by the Liberal government in August 2016.
Approximately $3.6 million has gone towards travel for both employees and families to attend meetings and includes professional services such as corporate, legal, interpretation, translation and communication services.
“They lumped the amount that went to families with other expenses,” said Francyne Joe, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), “It would be nice to know what the total
budget will be for the whole Inquiry.”
Of the almost $5.2 million, $1.5 million has been spent on salaries for the Inquiry staff. There are 33 staff members listed on the Inquiry’s website with one job posting.
APTN Investigates asked the Inquiry for a breakdown of their salaries but at press time, there was no information.
She said it’s too early to tell if the Inquiry is on track with their spending but her organization’s focus is to make sure families are taken care of.
“They should be properly fed, properly housed,” she said. “They should be ready for this very emotional topic they are going to be sharing with the commissioners.”
Regional advisory meetings began in Whitehorse on April 11 -13th, 2017 but further meetings across the country were postponed shortly afterwards.
“What I have gathered from the meeting in Whitehorse, it was far from being family first approach.” she said. “There wasn’t much time put aside for families to share their stories.“
