New MMIWG hearing dates set for Yellowknife and Rankin Inlet

New dates have been announced for community hearings in Yellowknife and Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, as part of the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

In a press release, the organization said hearings will be in Yellowknife Jan. 23 to 25and in Rankin Inlet Feb. 20 to 22 in the new year.

Events in both communities were cancelled earlier this year with little explanation. On Wednesday, inquiry community liaison Looee Okalik told CBCthe delay in Yellowknife was to allow for the formation of the annual ice road between Yellowknife and the nearby First Nations community of Dettah. The ice road reduces driving time between the two communities.

In Rankin Inlet, space was the issue.

"Rankin Inlet was postponed due to the fact there were insufficient rooms available for the hearings," she said.

The inquiry got underway on May 30 in Whitehorse, Yukon, but has often made news for its apparent dysfunction.

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The $53.8 million inquiry was formed in part to examine the systemic causes of violence directed against Indigenous women and girls in Canada who have been murdered on gone missing in numbers which some say could reach 4,000.

A recent informal CBC survey of police forces across the country suggests there is still no way to tell how many Indigenous women and girls go missing in Canada each year.

• Still no way to tell how many Indigenous women and girls go missing in Canada each year

The press release states more details of the visits will be released early in January.

A toll free support line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for families, survivors and community needing support at 1-844-413-6649.