Families of missing and murdered women, girls brave winter conditions during 150-km walk

Families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls from across northern Saskatchewan are walking 150 kilometres in hopes of answers and government action.

Just before noon on Friday, family members of missing and murdered loved ones gathered in Saskatoon where they began their march through winter conditions, hosted by the Native Women's Association of Canada, towardPrince Albert.

"What we're walking for is our northern people," said Pernell Ballantyne, who originally came up with the idea for the walk in 2015 after his sister Monica Lee Burns was murdered in Prince Albert.

This year marks the second time the walk took place. The first was held in 2015.

Collectively participantshope to raise awareness that nearly 100 families haven't had the opportunity to offer statements in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

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Conrad Burns, one of the organizers, explained that many affected northern families couldn't attend the first National Inquiry statement offering due to time and travel expenserestraints.

"There's a lot of loopholes in our current society that these families are falling into," said Burns. "So when a family member goes missing some of the family members feellike they're starting from scratch. They don't know who to turn to or who to talk to."

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Organizers hopethe National Inquiry in northern Saskatchewan will gather a second round of statements in response to their requests.

The walk will take approximately 60 hours to complete, according to Burns.