Commissioner Wally Oppal listens to presentations during the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry public forum in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday January 19, 2011.DARRYL DYCK
A new mandate for the Missing Women Commission falls far short of what families, advocates and friends of missing and murdered women in northern B.C. had hoped for, a prominent native spokesman says.
"We were looking for a full inquiry into the highway of tears, a separate inquiry," Terry Teegee, vice-tribal chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, said Monday in an interview.
Police say 18 women have gone missing or been murdered along the northern highway from Prince Rupert to Prince George, dubbed the highway of tears. Most of the women disappeared after hitchhiking along the remote highway. There have been no arrests in any of the cases.
An inquiry is required to find out why so many have gone and police have been unable to solve the cases, Mr. Teegee said. "What is going on? There are just a lot of unanswered questions."
Despite their disappointment, families and advocacy groups along the highway of tears will still participate in the commission, he said. "Right now, it is the only place where some of these families can vent their frustration with what is going on."
Earlier Monday, Attorney-General Barry Penner announced that the commission has been expanded to enable the informal participation of families, community groups and friends of missing and murdered women from northern B.C. and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
The commission was initially set up to focus on the police investigations conducted between Jan. 23, 1997, and Feb. 5, 2002, into women reported missing from the Downtown Eastside. The mandate also included a review of the January, 1998, decision to stay charges against Robert Pickton for the assault of a Downtown Eastside sex-trade worker.
Under the expanded mandate, inquiry commissioner Wally Oppal will also consult with others who will not be required to have legal standing at the hearing. He will hear from people who want to speak about their experiences without lawyers or cross-examination of their remarks, he said.
The commission will not review the police investigation into the highway of tears, Mr. Oppal said Monday in an interview. "There is an ongoing police investigation, so we could not have a hearing commission there."
He added that his findings from the informal process will be part of his final report. "It will help us on the policy side, as to what police should do and how should police react," he said. "There has been much criticism of police reaction of complaints. This will help us make some meaningful recommendations."
Mr. Oppal said he remains focused on the police investigation and will not look into federal, provincial and city policies that, some critics say, contribute to conditions that lead to women becoming vulnerable drug-addicted prostitutes.
"We will not go as far as some people want us to go." Mr. Oppal said. "We will not really get into legalization of prostitution or other social issues.
"Our mandate is fairly narrow - it has to do with missing women and police reaction to complaints of missing women; what police did with the complaints - did they share information with other police departments; why did Crown stay proceedings against [Mr.]Pickton. Those are the things we need to look at."
The decision to hear people without lawyers is expected to reduce the costs of the commission but to have no impact on the deadline for the commission report.
Formal hearings with evidence and cross-examination of witnesses will begin in June in northern B.C. The commission's report is to be completed by Dec. 31.