A ceremonial fire is lit at the beginning of the National Inquiry of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Richmond, B.C., on April, 4, 2018.The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women is fighting in court for access to two RCMP files the national police force is refusing to hand over.
As part of its mandate, the inquiry established a forensic document-review team to confidentially review police and institutional files, seeking to identify systemic barriers or other weaknesses related to the protection of Indigenous women and girls. The ultimate aim was to make recommendations about the underlying causes of disappearances, deaths and acts of violence.
An RCMP investigator with knowledge of each file was interviewed by an inquiry lawyer in front of one of the inquiry’s four commissioners. After the interviews, lawyers for each side made submissions. The sitting commissioner then ruled on whether public interest privilege had been established.The interviews took place Jan. 10 before commissioner Brian Eyolfson and the next day in front of chief commissioner Marion Buller.
Buller ordered the Mounties to produce the remaining eight files to inquiry counsel, finding no public-interest privilege. She later amended the order – with the consent of both parties – for six of the eight files to be handed over no later than March 28.Federal lawyers objected to their disclosure by filing certificates with the Federal Court under the Canada Evidence Act, which allows for a hearing to decide whether secrecy will prevail.
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