The public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women will need to go to rural and isolated communities when it gets going later this year.
That's what federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett said she's been told as a meeting was held Friday in Prince George to take in suggestions for how the inquiry should be conducted.
"We're hearing the importance of a local approach and the need to go out to the distant communities," Bennett said in a telephone interview during a midday break at the meeting.
"I think we're being reminded that Prince George is still a big city and a long way away from a lot of the people in northern British Columbia."
Bennett said taking the inquiry onto reserves is a possibility and noted many of those who spoke at the meeting did so on behalf of others who were unable to attend because they did not feel comfortable making the trip.
A need for local cultural and spiritual support - including interpreters - and the importance of ceremony was also expressed, Bennett said.
Officials are also hearing "very strongly" a need for the province to be involved, she added, because of its jurisdiction over family and child services and because of cross-jurisdictional responsibilities like policing.
The inquiry needs to be "national" as opposed to only "federal," according to Bennett.
"If it's only a federal one, we can deal only with federal issues," Bennett said. "We will miss a number of the root causes."
B.C. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation John Rustad said the province is working with federal officials and relaying its experience on dealing with the issue through the missing women inquiry headed by Wally Oppal.
Although it was primarily about how police handled the Robert Pickton murders, hearings were held in communities along Highway 16 West, also known as the Highway of Tears.
The province, along with local aboriginal groups, is hosting a three-day gathering in support of the families of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Prince George from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.
"We want to make sure they (federal officials) have that information from us but broader, we want to make sure we're out talking with the families of missing women to make sure that whatever the government ultimately decides to do with inquiries meets the needs and desires of the families we have here in British Columbia," Rustad said.
About 100 people attended the meeting and Bennett characterized the tone as "moving and poignant and just filled with support for one another."
Prince George is one of 16 pre-inquiry design meetings scheduled for communities across Canada. The last one is currently set for Ottawa on Feb. 15.
Summaries of the meetings are also being posted on the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada website. That's also where an online survey taking in comments and suggestions can be found.
