THE PUBLIC will be able to attend community forums here with the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry as announced today.
There will be seven community forums open to the public and three will be in the Terrace area.
The Kitsumkalum Community Forum will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Kitsumkalum Hall.
A Gitanyow Community Forum takes place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 13 att eh Gitanyow Independent School.
And a Nisga'a Community Forum takes place from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Nisga'a Community Room at the Nisga'a Lisims Government Terrace Local.
The forums will give the public an opportunity to provide input to the commission on issues within its mandate to help inform the commission's report and recommendations for the effective initiation and conduct of investigations of missing and murdered women.
It will also allow the commission to take into account the situation in specific communities.
Interested organizations and members of the communities are invited to participate.
Those interested in participating in one of the forums should register with the commission by e-mail, telephone or in writing by September 8.
Written submissions must be received by the Commission by November 30.
Please visit the Commission’s website – www.missingwomeninquiry.ca – and go to the page “Ways to Participate” for more information, including a list of frequently asked questions regarding the northern B.C. community forums.
The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the British Columbia provincial government last year to inquire into the conduct of police investigations of women reported missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside between January 23, 1997 and February 5, 2002.
The Commission’s terms of reference also allow it to gather information and make recommendations on the conduct of investigations of missing women and suspected multiple murders throughout the province.
In addition, the Commission will examine the decision by the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch on January 27, 1998 to stop legal proceedings against Robert William Pickton on charges of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and aggravated assault.