THEVOICE | 2 Inquest hears of betrayal RCMP UNDER FIRE, continues from page 7 Dziekanski, who didn't speak English, could not find his mother who had been waiting for hours for him in a different part of the arriv- als area. The RCMP officers shot Dziekanski multiple times with a Taser after thinking the man was wielding a weapon. It turned out to be a stapler. Lemaitre, who was the public face of the force as the RCMP’s spokes- man, reported details to the media immediately following Dziekanski’s death. Two days after his initial re- port, Lemaitre, a 28-year veteran of the force, found out there were ma- jor errors in the information he had relayed to the media. “He ran into the [non-commis- sioned officer’s] office right away and told them they had to correct the information,” Montague said. “That was his number one focus.” She said Lemaitre was told he could not correct the misinforma- tion. Montague wiped tears from her eyes during her testimony as she told the court how the RCMP used Lemaitre as a scapegoat to pro- tect the investigation. Lemaitre was transferred to the Langley detach- ment of the RCMP in 2008 and no longer given the high-profile job of speaking for the force. In 2013, Montague launched a civil suit against Tim Shields, anoth- et high-profile media spokesman for the RCMP, the Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Jus- tice in B.C., alleging sexual harass- ment during her time on the force. Shields was criminally charged with sexual assault in 2016 and acquitted in 2017. Tuesday's proceedings began with testimonies from health-care pro- fessionals who said Lemaitre was a dedicated first-responder who suf- fered severe mental illness as a result of several traumatic events both on and off the job. Clinical psychologist Georgia Nemetz, who does critical debrief- ings for several police forces after high-level incidents, diagnosed Le- maitre with PTSD in 2009. Nemetz said more needs to be done by the RCMP to prepare offi- cers for their high-stress occupation. “They should not expect their usu- al coping skills can protect them,” she said, adding that supervisors must have more training. Another witness, Bill Dingwall, a retired RCMP officer who was recently elected the mayor of Pitt Meadows, testified that he investi- gated an allegation of a sexual mis- conduct claim filed against Lemaitre by a reporter back in 2003. The claim was later discounted and Lemaitre received a formal apology. Dingwall said he wasn't aware of the severity of Lemaitre’s psycho- logical issues, but that support pro- grams were already well-established at that time for officers. “Is there room to grow? Clearly there’s a difference of opinion on that,” Dingwall said. In 2016, the federal govern- ment apologized and awarded a $100-million compensation package to a group of several hundred female Mounties who had suffered sexual misconduct on the job. However, several women, like Montague, with claims against in- dividual officers still have cases out- standing. The inquest continues tomorrow. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28,2018 | EDITOR NEIL AMSLER ea Kt co Zee gute dt Natner K A: | Pb Paes ae Atlarge Wall art at the Saa'ust Centre in Vancouver remembers missing ond murdered indigenous women across the country. Indigenous advocates are demanding greater attention and action to what they say has been an ignored tragedy. KELSEA FRANZKE PHOTO Murders “ind unnoticed Submissions to national inquiry demand increased action = By KELSEA FRANZKE nreliable and incomplete data suggesting that 3,000 Indigenous wom- en and girls have gone missing and been murdered across Canada is a gross underestimation, according to one advocate. Chief Kupki7 Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith Band said the lives of women and girls have been ignored for decades and the time for talk- ing and apologies is over. In her closing submissions at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Nov. 26, Wilson said that there’s been a demand for years for action from the government and police to properly investigate the murders and disappearances. “Tt is clear to me that the mur- ders of Indigenous women and girls are not treated with respect and urgency,” said Wilson, a rep- resentative of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. “White girls and women don’t have to worry about their safety like Indigenous women and girls have to in Canada.” at the Saa’ust Centre, says that it is important to educate people on the issues that Indigenous people are facing across the nation. Four days _ _ “For non- of closin . Indigenous submissions “Tt is clear tome people, a lot focusing on are completely human rights, that the murders of unaware of governme nt Indigenous women and the issue, and services, rac- you can no- ism and polic- girls are not treated tice it in the ing are being . media. ere presented to with respect and are women the Com- ”" and girls, as missioners urgency. well as young in Calgary. JUDY WILSON, NESKONLITH CHIEF boys and men, ‘The hearings, Z = who are go- which mark the beginning of the end of the In- quiry, run from Nov. 26 - 30. In Vancouver the Saa'ust Centre, a community space that acts as a safe space for survivors and fami- lies, is live-streaming the submis- sions throughout the week. Eric Anderson, office manager ing missing all the time, but it’s never covered by the media as heavily as it should be,” Anderson said. “I think non- Indigenous people need to step up to the plate in scaling back on rac- ism and educating people on rac- ism, because that’s the root cause.” Mikenze Jordan will be repre- senting the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network presenting sub- missions on Nov. 29. She wants the government to know that their actions and policies are harming women. “J want to let the state know that colonialism and patriarchy are, in a literal sense and in many subtle ways, killing Indigenous women. It needs to stop,” Jordan said. “I know that we have many Indig- enous women warriors who are listening out there, and I hope that they continue to fight and use their ’ ” voices. A number of Vancouver-based organizations will be presenting their final submissions over the next few days including the Van- couver Sex Workers Rights Col- lective, West Coast LEAF, Van- couver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Aboriginal Women’s Action Network and the First Nations Health Council. Women Liberal MP points to federal government s commitments = By KATHRYN TINDALE dvancing gender equal- ity in the business world should be a priority for the federal government, according to a local women’s leadership group. “We see women and men across this country pushing for gender parity in the places that we work,” Marsha D’Angelo said. seek business equality D’Angelo moderated a fireside chat with Marco Mendicino, who visited Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Richmond campus on Tuesday. Mendicino, a Liberal MP from Ontario, was visiting the campus on behalf of the infrastructure and communi- Marco Mendicino ties ministry. LIBERAL MP D’Angelo — FOREGLINTON— LAWRENCE used the visit as an opportunity to discuss women’s roles in busi- ness. Mendicino said that the federal government’s initiatives are part of an ongoing commitment to in- crease inclusion of women in the workplace. “We, as a federal government, introduced Bill C-25 to encourage the private sector to show leader- ship when it comes to including women on board and look for ways to measure success,” Mendi- cino said. “We want to see them at the table. We want to see them on boards. We want to see them starting businesses. We want to see them in STEM.” Mendicino said that Sue Par- ish, CEO of the Digital Technol- ogy Supercluster, is an example of progress already being made. He said Parish is responsible for en- suring the competitive edge while leading the company through the challenges of a global market. ‘The Women’s Leadership Circle exists within the Greater Vancou- ver Board of Trade, and aims to promote women in business and host events featuring their suc- cess. “We're here to support women in our community, our busi- ness community certainly, but in a larger way, through mentor- ing [and] through support,” said Leanne Walsh, a member of the committee. Parveen Sidhu, who is also a member of the committee, said the focus is to engage with women in the community. “It’s the dialogue. It’s sessions like this that empowers people,” Sidhu said.