OTTAWA \u2013 The chief commissioner for the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women knows the world is watching her team \u2013 and she wants to assure Canadians much is happening behind the scenes even if it doesn\u2019t seem like it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are moving at great speed but we are also being careful about what we are doing,\u201d Marion Buller said in an interview with The Canadian Press.<\/p>\n
Buller\u2019s remarks come after the Native Women\u2019s Association of Canada commented earlier this week on a lack of \u201cvisible progress\u201d on the inquiry \u2013 a process budgeted to cost $53.8 million and take two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily members, loved ones have been waiting for decades to be heard,\u201d NWAC\u2019s president Francyne Joe said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize that it’s a big task to start a national inquiry but the lack of communication has been disappointing and worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of the problem, Buller said, was in the way the inquiry was announced this summer, leading people to \u201cmistakenly believe\u201d sessions would start immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s unfortunate that happened,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose expectations were built inappropriately and unfortunately. However, when you look at the start times… for other inquiries and other commissions, we are actually doing very, very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The five commissioners are now in the process of hiring staff and have named an executive director: Michele Moreau, the executive director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.<\/p>\n
The inquiry headquarters will open in Vancouver next week, Buller added, noting this will likely serve as a temporary space because there are plans to move on to reserve land in Metro Vancouver.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where we belong,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Buller, the first female First Nations judge in British Columbia, also said the commissioners are giving a lot of thought to the hearings because they will involve speaking with \u201creal people\u201d who are hurting.<\/p>\n
She said she can assure the families they are carefully putting together a process that will achieve the goal of doing no harm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are borrowing from the medical profession but we really want to ensure that our process supports the families before, during and after the time that they spend with us telling us their stories,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, we want to make sure we are culturally appropriate because indigenous cultures across Canada are radically different from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Families will be given options on how to participate in the inquiry process, she noted, including the chance to speak publicly at community gatherings or in private sessions.<\/p>\n
The hearings are not expected to start until early 2017, with an interim report due in November of next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no doubt that the whole world is watching but I work with a wonderful team of commissioners and we share the load,\u201d Buller said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are all mindful of public scrutiny… We\u2019ve had inquiries from people all over the world so we are very much aware of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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