New Democrats renew calls for national inquiry into police aboriginal women

OTTAWA – The New Democrats say fresh allegations of abuse by Mounties in northern British Columbia underscore the need for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada.

NDP MP Niki Ashton says that’s the only way to get justice for the women and their families.

The call for an inquiry follows a Human Rights Watch report that accuses RCMP officers of abusing aboriginal women and girls in northern B.C., including one allegation of rape.

The alleged incidents were uncovered as part of a broader investigation into charges of systemic neglect of missing and murdered aboriginal women along B.C.’s Highway 16, nicknamed the “Highway of Tears.”

The core recommendation of the report is that the federal and B.C. governments participate in a national commission of inquiry into the matter — a measure endorsed by the NDP, Liberals and the Assembly of First Nations.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the government has asked the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP to look into the claims raised in the report.