A group of independent Liberal senators is hoping legal action could force the Harper government to call a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women.
Senator Serge Joyal has prepared a legal document that could be used by anyone who wants to launch a federal court case.
Saskatchewan Senator Lillian Dyck is also involved in trying to find someone who will take the federal government to court.
She says if such a lawsuit were successful, the government would have no legal choice but to launch a national inquiry.
“Senator Joyal prepared the legal argument for a court challenge which would more than likely succeed,” she says. “And if that court challenge succeeds, the federal government would be forced and one of the things they could be ordered to do is actually initiate a national commission of inquiry.”
Dyck says while such a court case could take years to resolve, its initiation would likely start the ball rolling on some specific strategies on how to deal with violence against Indigenous women.
“While that is starting, you can also then, in preparation for that, start to develop concrete, specific action plans. In the meantime, it isn’t just the national commission of inquiry, it’s also having action plans.”
She also says the independent Liberal senators have reached out to their Conservative Party colleagues to get on board with the issue but with little effect so far.
The Harper government has remained steadfast in its refusal to call a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women.