Pallister and NDP spar over role of Indigenous women adviser
The governing Progressive Conservatives haven't appointed a special adviser on Indigenous women's issues because, they say, there's no evidence the previous adviser did any work.
Premier Brian Pallister said in June he asked MLA Nahanni Fontaine to provide a record of the meetings or research she conducted while serving as the special adviser to the previous NDP cabinet.
Fontaine served in the role for more than five years and Pallister said numerous requests for documentation related to her role have gone unanswered.
"I have no evidence she did the work," Pallister said. "Zero, nothing, nada, zilch."
The Opposition NDP strongly deny Pallister's claims and say discussion of Fontaine's work can be found in Hansard logs.
On June 17, 2016, Fontaine said in the legislative assembly her role as a special adviser was "multifaceted" and she developed a strategy on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
"I can share with the first minister the myriad of work that we did," said Fontaine at the time.
The St. Johns representative said the mural at Portage Avenue under the CP Rail line was one outcome of her work and she helped organize a summit that brought together police to discuss missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
At CBC The Current's forum on missing and murdered Indigenous women on Wednesday, Fontaine spoke about how advocacy helped lead to the creation of Project Devote, a joint team comprised of Manitoba RCMP and Winnipeg police investigators that focuses on missing and murdered exploited persons cases.
She also said she organized a Christmas party for families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, who, she said, often have a difficult time celebrating the holidays after losing a loved one.
In June, Fontaine said she worked "almost 24/7" establishing relationships with the families of victims and helping them navigate government departments.
Pallister said he has yet to see proof Fontaine produced any tangible results.
"I'm waiting for evidence so we can measure the effectiveness of the work," Pallister said.
"If you care about the issue, where's the sharing of information you gained in all that time, that you were paid to produce?" he asked.
MLA for Fort Rouge Wab Kinew came to the defence of his NDP colleague Friday.
He said back in June, Fontaine did share what she did while serving as the special adviser and accused the government of never following up with her.
Fontaine a national leader: Kinew
Kinew accused the Tories of using the attack on Fontaine's record as a deflection to draw attention away from their "inaction" on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
"He chose to attack Nahanni Fontaine, a woman — an Indigenous woman — who is nationally recognized as a leader who has worked for years on this issue," Kinew said.
"She has helped to put this issue on the national radar."
Kinew went on to say Fontaine's role as a point person made government less intimidating and services more accessible for victims' families.
"Especially for people who might be coming from positions of social disadvantage," said Kinew.
In the Manitoba Legislature Friday, Fontaine called on the Pallister government to reinstate the special advocate position to help support families through the process of the national inquiry on missing and murdered women.
She said the move would show that Indigenous people are a priority for the premier.
Pallister said in a news conference later that families of victims need more than an "arm around the shoulder."
"We have to go further than that if we're going to get better results."
