Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Vice Chief Kimberley Jonathan says the federal action plan to address the issue of violence against Aboriginal women may have come too late.
Jonathan says it will take six months to establish the plan — and in that time, many more Aboriginal women will fall victim to violence.
The federal government released the details of its plan to address the issue yesterday.
Kellie Leitch, the minister for the status of women, says the plan consists of a range of measures to address the problem.
They include the development of more community safety plans both off and on reserves and projects to break intergenerational cycles of violence and abuse.
The plan also proposes projects to empower Aboriginal women and girls to denounce and prevent violence.
Aside from the time issue, Jonathan also says the action plan falls short on addressing sociological factors leading to racialized and sexualized violence against Indigenous women in Canada.
The FSIN, other First Nations groups, Canada’s premiers and Opposition politicians have called for the government to implement a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
The government has continually refused to call an inquiry.