'It hurts': First Nations leader says little change for women's safety since Pickton murders
CTV
An Indigenous leader in British Columbia says little has changed since the crimes of serial killer Robert Pickton, as community members reflect on news that he is in life-threatening condition after being attacked in prison.
An Indigenous leader in British Columbia says little has changed since the crimes of serial killer Robert Pickton, as community members reflect on news that he is in life-threatening condition after being attacked in prison.
Chief Marilyn Slett with the Heiltsuk Tribal Council in Bella Bella, B.C., says discussion about Pickton after the assault at a Quebec prison on Sunday has revived painful memories for the Indigenous community.
Slett, who is also secretary-treasurer at the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, says Indigenous women still face a barrier of systemic racism when it comes to personal safety and access to the justice system when they are victims of crimes.
Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2007 after being charged with the murders of 26 women, many of them Indigenous.
Correctional Service Canada confirmed Tuesday that Pickton was the inmate injured in a "major assault" at the maximum security Port-Cartier Institution, about 480 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.
Slett says governments can do better, pointing to the $15 million in federal funding allocated to a three-year program targeting auto theft, compared to $1.3 million for a pilot alert system when an Indigenous woman or girl goes missing.
"It hurts to see that, in terms of resources that the Canadian government is putting towards our women and our girls and two-spirited people," Slett said. "So progress is very small.
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