TORONTO — First Nations Chiefs in Ontario are launching an online fundraising campaign to pay for their own public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Ontario regional Chief Isadore Day says he doesn't want to wait any longer for the federal government to agree to call a public inquiry, and notes the fundraising campaign will help focus on the need for a national probe.
Premier Kathleen Wynne will deliver the keynote address at the formal launch of the "Who Is She" campaign, which will feature photos of missing aboriginal women and messages from their families.
Wynne says it's laudable that the Chiefs are starting the campaign in Ontario, but she will continue to push for a national inquiry.
The RCMP reported there were more than 1,200 First Nations' women in Canada who were murdered or disappeared between 1980 and 2014, with many victims being killed by men they lived with or knew.
The Conservative government has consistently refused to call a public inquiry into the missing and murdered women, saying more study isn't needed because over 80 per cent of the killings are solved by police.
Both the Liberals and New Democrats have promised to call a public inquiry if they win the Oct. 19 federal election.
