Manitoba chiefs cry foul over province's stall to sign on with MMIW inquiry

A group of Manitoba chiefs isaccusing the Manitoba government ofplaying politics instead of signing on to the federal government'sinquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Kevin Hart, the Assembly of First Nations' regional chief for Manitoba, said recent comments made by provincial Justice Minister Heather Stefanson are of "deep concern."

Stefanson, speaking toTheCanadianPress earlier this week,said the Manitoba government supports a national inquiry but has concerns over potentialterms of reference inone.

She said it was too early to get into details butsaidthe province might takeissue with how deeply an inquiry would go intothe province's child welfaresystem. The systemwas examined more than a decade ago ina2005 inquiry into the death offive-year-old Phoenix Sinclair.

"We just want to make sure there is not overlap and duplication as far as Manitoba is concerned," she said.

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Hartcalledaninquiry "crucial," and said he was shocked with the province's refusal to sign on, noting he thinks Manitoba is "ground zero" for missing and murdered women.

"I thought that Manitoba would lead the way when it came to this inquiry being announced," Hart told CBC News.

"There's families out there that have been waiting years and years just for some kind of an explanation about what happened to their loved one."

Assembly ofManitobaChiefsGrand ChiefDerekNepinaksaid the issue at handis missing andmurderedwomenbut it'sbeing pushed to the side.

"It's an example of government putting politicalinterestsahead of the safety and challenges facing indigenous women and girls,"Nepinaksaid when reached by phone.

Nepinaksaid he worries the concerns the Manitoba government has raised could end up stalling the start of an inquiry for a long time.

"It's not a good move," he said.

BrokenheadOjibway First NationChief Jim Bear saidhe was alsodisappointedby the government's move.

He saidloved ones with family membersthat aremissingormurderedwant closure.

"We don't want to be caught up in jurisdictional situations where we become political footballs," Bear said.