Christina Spicer  |  September 24, 2020

Category: Legal News

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Distressed woman with head in arms regarding the missing indigenous women class action lawsuit seeking certification

A class action lawsuit alleging systematic negligence by the RCMP when it came to cases of missing Indigenous women is being considered for certification this week by a Regina Federal Court.

Families of Missing Say RCMP Ignored Them

The class action lawsuit Canada claims that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was negligent when it came to handling cases of missing Indigenous women. Reportedly, sixty families of the women say that they received little to no help from the police agency when they reported their family member missing.

The missing Indigenous women class action lawsuit claims that the RCMP failed to properly investigate the cases. The complaint alleges these failures stem from systemic negligence within the agency rooted in colonialism.

“We know the huge difference of risks between Indigenous women and girls and other women and girls,” the lawyer spearheading the class action lawsuit told reporters.

Lead plaintiff, Dianne BigEagle, filed the class action lawsuit in 2018 after over a decade looking for her daughter Danita who disappeared in 2007. According to the Regina Leader-Post, Danita went missing when she was 22. She was a mother and her mother, Dianne, says that she would have never left her children intentionally.

Dianne told reporters that when she went to the RCMP for help finding her daughter, she received none. According to the missing Indigenous women class action lawsuit, Dianne met with RCMP officers over 50 times about her daughter’s case, but the officers disregarded her. She alleges that they didn’t even take notes during their meetings.

“They never did nothing for us,” Dianne told CBC News reporters. “All they do is talk and then all of a sudden they show a picture of Danita and other family members. What is that going to do? What are they going to help us like? Like really help us? Come and search or at least tell us we don’t know where she is or we can’t help you. I think I’d rather hear that than be ignored.”

The lawyer representing Dianne told reporters that Danita’s case is far from the only one that was ignored by the RCMP.

“We have a whole series of individuals who’ve sworn affidavits of their personal experience about what happened in their dealings with the police,” the lawyer said, according to Global News Canada.

Feds Say Class Action Certification is Unwarranted

The next step is for a court to “certify” the proposed class action lawsuit Canada. The certification hearing will be held in Regina and is expected to last five days.RCMP officer at a taped off scene regarding the missing indigenous women class action lawsuit seeking certification

CBC News reports that the federal government opposes certification of the missing Indigenous women class action lawsuit. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs told CBC reporters that this move surprised him.

“It’s really inappropriate for the government to oppose certification,” the lawyer reportedly commented before the certification hearing.

For its part, the federal government is reportedly opposing certification not because of the claims, but for legal reasons.

“It is unprecedented in its breadth, is inconsistent with previous rulings surrounding private duty of care, and contains cases where the RCMP is not the police of jurisdiction,” the Public Safety Minister reportedly said of the proposed class action.

RCMP Gets Failing Grade

In 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls reportedly compiled over 200 “calls for justice” after reviewing the RCMP’s response to cases of missing Indigenous women. One year later, the Native Women’s Association of Canada gave the RCMP a failing grade when it came to the agency’s response.

The lawyer representing the plaintiffs told CBC News that he agrees with the criticism.

“This is a circumstance where they haven’t done anything. The government said that they accepted the inquiry report, but nothing has happened,” reportedly said the lawyer.

The missing Indigenous women class action lawsuit is seeking $600 million in regular and punitive damages. Dianne told reporters that it is about more than money, she wants future generations of Indigenous girls and women to have a better world.

“I want to do it for her children, for one thing,” BigEagle said, according to the Regina Leader-Post. “I finally have somebody that believes that something did happen to her and somebody has to be held accountable … Maybe we’ll have a good outcome here. But I’m not going to stop until they do something about it.”

What do you think of the missing Indigenous women class action lawsuit claims? Tell us in the comment section below!

The plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Tony Merchant of the Merchant Law Group.

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