The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry began evidentiary hearings on October 11, 2011. In the months that followed, it would see a mass boycott and protests by initially supportive community groups and marginalized women.
This report describes mistakes made by the government of British Columbia and the Commission in structuring the Inquiry, with the aim of identifying specific lessons for future commissions of inquiry involving marginalized people.
Written by Darcie Bennett and Katrina Pacey from Pivot Legal Society, Kasari Govendar from West Coast LEAF, and David Eby of the BCCLA, the authors of this report have worked with marginalized populations in relation to law and policy for many years. All three of their current non-profit organizations were granted participant status in the Inquiry, but formally withdrew as a result of the inaccessibility of the hearings to sex workers, marginalized women and First Nations organizations and leadership groups.
Blueprint for an Inquiry: Learning from the Failures of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry >>
