Manitoba sets day aside to recognize MMIW
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Office of MLA Nahanni Fontaine
Winnipeg's St. Johns representative Nahanni Fontaine first proposed having a day to remember MMIWG.
WINNIPEG, MB-Manitoba could become the first Canadian province to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) by setting aside an official day. Bill 221 or "The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Honoring and Awareness Day Act" passed in the Manitoba Legislature on May 25. It came into effect at the end of the legislative session on June 1.
The bill was introduced by Winnipeg's NDP St. Johns representative Nahanni Fontaine and states that every year October 4 will be set aside as the official day to honor and bring attention to Manitoba's missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and raise awareness of violence perpetrated against Indigenous women and girls.
Over 1,200 Indigenous women and girls have been reported missing and/or murdered in Canada since 1980. October is the traditional day for MMIW vigils in Canada.
Fontaine said that an official day "will bring greater recognition of the crisis of violence against Indigenous women and girls. It is one small step toward honoring those whose lives were tragically lost, and it recognizes the deep and ongoing anguish felt by the surviving family members of these women and girls."
