14 February - March for Missing and Murdered Women

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For Our Sisters: Toronto's 8th Annual Ceremony for our missing and murdered women

Strawberry Ceremony with Wanda Whitebird begins at 12:30 Police Headquarters 40 College Street at Bay, Toronto
Community Feast catered by NaMeRes at the 519 Church Street Community Centre; 519 Church Street following the rally.

Please: signs and banners about the missing and murdered women only. 

Tokens will be available at the rally.

Raising our Voices to Demand a national public inquiry led by Indigenous grass roots women and supported by a United Nations Investigation into Missing & Murdered Indigenous women in Canada

According to research conducted by the Native Women Association of Canada (NWAC) under the Sisters In Spirit Program, over 600 Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing, most of them over the last 30 years.

Despite clear evidence that this is an ongoing issue, the federal government decided in the fall of 2010 to end funding to Sisters in Spirit. Instead monies in the amount of $10 million have been dedicated to a central RCMP missing person centre. The same institution - who, along with the Vancouver Police Department, failed to properly investigate Robert Pickton in 1997 - was at the centre of a public inquiry in Vancouver. The sham inquiry into the failed Pickton investigation has since been completed with no consequences for any guilty parties and was boycotted by 20 of the 21 groups who were granted standing due to the denial of adequate funding for legal defense.

Pickton, who was convicted for six murders, has admitted to killing 49 women. A total of 18 murders occurred after he was arrested and released for the attempted murder of a sex worker in 1997. This is blood on police hands, yet RCMP officers testifying at the sham inquiry state “there are few things they would change about how they did their work.”

It should come as no surprise that the Committee to End Discrimination Against Women at the United Nations has accepted submissions put forward by advocates of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) as well as the Native Women's Association of Canada and announced their intent to launch an inquiry into Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women.

On February 14th we come together in solidarity with the women who started this vigil over 20 years ago in Vancouver's DTES, and with the marches and rallies that will be taking place across this land. We stand in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners' offices, the courts, and an indifferent federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous peoples. 

Endorsed by Native Women's Resource Centre, Anduhyaun, No More Silence, Ontario Aboriginal HIV Strategy, Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Camp Sis, Sistering, Ontario Federation of Labor, IWD Toronto Committee, Muskrat Magazine, TRCC/MWAR, Gathering Weavers, Christian Peacemaker Teams- Aboriginal Justice Team, Canadian Chiapanecas Justice for Women, Maggies,OCAP, METRAC, Indigenous Sovereignty and Solidarity Network, The Redwood, Aboriginal Student Association at York (ASAY), CUPE local 1281, Women and Gender Studies Institute at U of T (WGSI), International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), International Socialists, Health for All, Toronto New Socialists, NOII, Communist Party of Canada, Centre for Women and Trans at U of T CWTP, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, OPIRG Toronto and Students against Israeli Apartheid U of T, Educators for Peace and Justice (EPJ) & Rank and File Education Workers of Toronto (REWT), Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Rising Tide, United Jewish People’s Order-Toronto and the UJPO Social Justice Committee

GENEROUS FINANCIAL SUPPORT BY:
Sam Ginden Chair in Social Justice and Democracy Ryerson University, Sistering, WGSI

List of Feb 14th Memorial Marches in other communities 

Facebook page here.

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Vancouver: 22nd Annual Women’s Memorial March. Thursday Feb 14th. March starts at noon from Carnegie (Main and Hastings). Facebook page linked here.

Victoria: Stolen Sisters Memorial March. Sunday Feb 17th from 11 am to 2 pm. Our Place Society, 919 Pandora Avenue. Facebook page linked here

Edmonton: Memorial March of Edmonton with Idle No More: Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 6:30pm. 10821-96 Street. Together with Idle No More we memorialize all the women we have lost to violence. The woman are our Centre and deserve respect, to be honoured, and appreciated…they carry our gifts, our future generations! Facebook page linked here.

Toronto: For Our Sisters: Toronto’s 8th Annual Ceremony for our missing and murdered women. Thursday, February 14, 2013 from 12:30pm until 1:30pm. Strawberry Ceremony with Wanda Whitebird begins at 12:30 Police Headquarters 40 College Street at Bay, Toronto Community Feast catered by NaMeRes at the 519 Church Street Community Centre; 519 Church Street following the rally. Raising our Voices to Demand a national public inquiry led by Indigenous grass roots women and supported by a United Nations Investigation into Missing & Murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Facebook page linked here.

Montreal: Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (Missing Justice) invites you and yours to attend, spread the word about, and participate in this year’s Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Women on Thursday February 14th, 6pm at St. Laurent metro. Facebook page linked here.

Ottawa: Families of Sisters in Spirit March. Thursday, February 14, 2013. We will be starting our March to Parliament Hill at 11:45 from the Prime Minister’s office (80 Wellington Street). Families will speak there and then we continue to Parliament Hill where more Families will share their stories. Facebook page linked here.

Oshawa: Honouring the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women. February 14th at 7 pm at Cowan Park on Olive St. We will be meeting at Cowan Park which is on Olive St. We will walk up Olive to Simcoe and down Simcoe to Gibb. We will walk back down to the park. At the park we will light our candles and go from there to honour our Lost Women. Please bring candles. Facebook page linked here.

Regina: Valentine’s Day Memorial for Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Persons. Thursday, February 14 from 11 am till 1 pm at Angel Square (corner of Dewdney Ave. and Montague St.) Please join us on February 14th to remember and honour the memories of Aboriginal men and women who have been taken tragically taken from us or who are still missing from our community. Facebook page linked here.

Sault St Marie: Memorial March For Missing And Murdered Women. Monday, February 4, 2013 from 12:00pm until 2:00pm at Sault Ste Marie Court House Queen St E. We , as a country, need to look at the fact that Indigenous Woman, are the largest percentage of the Missing and Murdered. Facebook page linked here.

Winnipeg: Annual Women’s Memorial March. Thursday, February 14 from 5:30pm until 7:30pm starting outside University of Winnipeg – Bulman Centre. To stand together united as one strong voice, for those who are unable to sound their voice, the women who are missing or have been murdered. We wish to raise awareness and honour the missing or murdered women in support of their families and friends. Facebook page linked here.

Calgary: Calgary’s 5th Annual Women’s Memorial March. February 14, 2013 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Scarboro United Church (134 Scarboro Avenue Southwest). Website linked here.

Kelowna: 2nd Annual Memorial Vigil. February 14, 2013, 12:00 – 2:00 pm. Kelowna City Park (meet at the Sails), A Memorial Vigil to Honour And Create Awareness For All The Missing Indigenous Women In Canada. Facebook page linked here.

Thunder Bay: 5th Annual VALENTINES DAY MEMORIAL MARCH. Thursday, February 14, 2013 from noon-3pm. For Families and Friends of Missing/Murdered Anishinabe & Metis Women. Meet at City Hall, 500 Donald Street East. Begin walking: 1:30 pm from City Hall to the Lakehead Labour Centre. You are welcome to bring your own posters/signs/photos to carry in memory of a sister, grandmother, friend, etc. This memorial walk is a sacred walk to honour and remember our loved ones. Facebook page linked here.