Browse content similar to Canada's Lost Girls. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find disturbing | 0:00:02 | 0:00:06 | |
Canada has a dark secret... | 0:00:06 | 0:00:07 | |
..the murder and disappearance of thousands of women | 0:00:10 | 0:00:13 | |
from indigenous communities. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
She was abducted, sold to the sex trade. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:18 | |
They said they chopped her up. | 0:00:18 | 0:00:19 | |
I think that somebody did something to her. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
We are all packing. We all have knives. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:25 | |
Then where the fuck are these girls going to? | 0:00:25 | 0:00:28 | |
You'd better not be taking me anywhere I don't want to go. | 0:00:28 | 0:00:31 | |
Why have so many killers escaped justice? | 0:00:31 | 0:00:34 | |
There were other women that had gone missing, | 0:00:34 | 0:00:37 | |
and their remains found within 8km. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:40 | |
Do some Canadians believe indigenous lives to be worth less | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
than a white person? | 0:00:43 | 0:00:45 | |
Some of the worst racists carry a gun, and they carry a badge. | 0:00:45 | 0:00:51 | |
They said that the police were, at best, incompetent, | 0:00:51 | 0:00:55 | |
at worst, blatantly racist. What would you say to that? | 0:00:55 | 0:00:59 | |
This road is known as the Highway of Tears. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
It's believed nearly 40 indigenous women and girls have died | 0:01:31 | 0:01:36 | |
or disappeared on this road. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:38 | |
But they are just a fraction of a much larger problem. | 0:01:40 | 0:01:43 | |
Since 1980, the police say almost 1,200 indigenous women | 0:01:44 | 0:01:49 | |
have gone missing or been murdered right across Canada, | 0:01:49 | 0:01:53 | |
but other organisations estimate it to be as high as 4,000. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:58 | |
One of the youngest is 14-year-old Aielah Auger. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:04 | |
In 2006, she was found mutilated | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
and dismembered by the side of the road in this spot. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:11 | |
I'm here with local indigenous campaigner Brenda Wilson | 0:02:13 | 0:02:17 | |
and retired cop Raymond Chalco. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:19 | |
Can you talk me through what state Aielah's body was found in? | 0:02:21 | 0:02:26 | |
It was horrific. | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
It just seemed to be dumped, left as garbage. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:32 | |
They had to have a closed casket because her body was so torn up | 0:02:32 | 0:02:36 | |
and parts of her body were missing. | 0:02:36 | 0:02:38 | |
Just not something that you want to remember your beautiful little child | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
to have gone through. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:44 | |
Aielah's case, like many across Canada, is unsolved. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:49 | |
And Ray, you're a private investigator. | 0:02:51 | 0:02:53 | |
Just so I'm totally clear, | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
of all the indigenous women that have gone missing on this highway, | 0:02:55 | 0:02:59 | |
have any of the perpetrators been held accountable? | 0:02:59 | 0:03:02 | |
No. None of them have been held accountable. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
-Zero? -Zero. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
The police investigators of the day said that | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
they were, in a lot of cases, convinced that had they been given | 0:03:10 | 0:03:14 | |
the resources that they needed to do a proper investigation | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
they would have been able to solve some of the cases. | 0:03:18 | 0:03:22 | |
But they weren't given those resources by... | 0:03:22 | 0:03:25 | |
..people higher up in the police department. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
Most of the victims were last seen alive trying to hitchhike between | 0:03:38 | 0:03:42 | |
the logging towns | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
and remote indigenous communities known as reserves. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
Why do so many of the girls, Brenda, have to hitchhike? | 0:03:52 | 0:03:56 | |
They are either trying to get to a doctor's appointment, | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
they're going to visit family in other towns or other places, | 0:03:59 | 0:04:03 | |
they could be going there for grocery shopping | 0:04:03 | 0:04:07 | |
because all of that is available here in the city, | 0:04:07 | 0:04:10 | |
but in our remote areas along Highway 16, | 0:04:10 | 0:04:13 | |
all of those services are not available. | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
-So basic necessities, really? -Basic necessities. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:19 | |
And there's no bus services that go off into those remote areas | 0:04:19 | 0:04:24 | |
to bring them back and forth. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:25 | |
Why isn't there any public transportation? | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
It's always stated that there is no funding available, | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
that it's not an issue. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:33 | |
How can they say it's not an issue! | 0:04:33 | 0:04:35 | |
We've really had to push. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:37 | |
How can any sane, rational individual say that this isn't an issue? | 0:04:37 | 0:04:40 | |
Well, it's been said many times from different mouths in the government system. | 0:04:40 | 0:04:44 | |
How many women have to die for it to be an issue? | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
Well, so far there's quite a few on Highway 16 that, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
you know, have lost their lives. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:54 | |
Putting them, you know, having to be in those situations. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:58 | |
Ray believes most of the homicides on the Highway of Tears | 0:05:02 | 0:05:05 | |
are carried out by opportunistic male perpetrators. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:09 | |
This stretch of road is a sexual predator's dream, right? | 0:05:10 | 0:05:14 | |
-Yes. -It's in the middle of nowhere. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:16 | |
That's right and, you know, | 0:05:16 | 0:05:18 | |
you're just at the mercy of whoever happens to come along. | 0:05:18 | 0:05:22 | |
There's a pattern of victims being disposed of | 0:05:27 | 0:05:29 | |
along the remote logging trails. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:32 | |
It's quite atmospheric, to say the least. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
So, Ray, there are presumably hundreds of side roads like this? | 0:05:38 | 0:05:46 | |
Yes. You can see little trails, probably animal trails, | 0:05:46 | 0:05:49 | |
so that if you were wanting to take a body | 0:05:49 | 0:05:52 | |
it's fairly easy to get through most of that brush | 0:05:52 | 0:05:56 | |
and then in 50 feet you're totally out of sight, | 0:05:56 | 0:06:00 | |
so the chances of anybody ever finding the body in there | 0:06:00 | 0:06:04 | |
are just remote to none. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
It highlights how vulnerable these girls are. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:11 | |
-It's just very, very scary. -It's your worst nightmare. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:13 | |
Imagine yourself if you're hitchhiking to Prince George | 0:06:13 | 0:06:16 | |
and I stop and pick you up, and you think everything's fine, | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
and all of the sudden we're here parked, | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
and look at the size of me and look at the size of you, | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
and look at what is around. | 0:06:23 | 0:06:25 | |
Your initial reaction would be to scream or run. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:30 | |
Who on earth is going to hear you or see you? | 0:06:30 | 0:06:32 | |
Exactly. I mean, you'd be terrorised. | 0:06:32 | 0:06:36 | |
This tragedy is not isolated to remote rural parts of Canada alone. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:44 | |
It's much more widespread. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:48 | |
For decades, this dark secret has been overlooked, and even denied, | 0:06:50 | 0:06:54 | |
by some Canadians. | 0:06:54 | 0:06:56 | |
But in the indigenous communities which make up under 5% of | 0:06:57 | 0:07:01 | |
the country's population, it's causing outrage. | 0:07:01 | 0:07:05 | |
THEY SING | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
Why are so many of these young women going missing and being murdered? | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
In search of answers, I've come to the city of Edmonton. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:23 | |
Many indigenous women work the streets here in the sex trade. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:31 | |
This makes them incredibly vulnerable. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
So we're down 118 Ave, here. The girls will call 118 Ave | 0:07:36 | 0:07:41 | |
and 95 Street "death row" because a majority of all the girls that have | 0:07:41 | 0:07:45 | |
gone missing or have been found murdered all worked in this area. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:49 | |
For 20 years, indigenous social worker Kari Thomason has provided | 0:07:49 | 0:07:54 | |
support and rehabilitation for Edmonton's highest-risk sex workers. | 0:07:54 | 0:07:59 | |
Stay safe, honey. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
Kari has over 900 girls logged on her database, | 0:08:01 | 0:08:04 | |
many of whom are homeless and addicted to meth or heroin. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:09 | |
How many of these girls are indigenous | 0:08:09 | 0:08:11 | |
that are out on the streets? | 0:08:11 | 0:08:13 | |
90% are our own people are out here. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
-90? -It's a high percentage. -Yeah. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:20 | |
Because throughout Canada, the indigenous population | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
-make up a tiny percentage. -Yes, absolutely. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:28 | |
But in comparison to how many of the girls are going missing | 0:08:28 | 0:08:31 | |
and being murdered, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
-it's disproportionate. -Absolutely. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
Kari's known some of the girls since they were young. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
We stop and speak to and indigenous woman called Tee, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:43 | |
who is three months pregnant. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:45 | |
What age are you, Tee? | 0:08:46 | 0:08:47 | |
30, yeah? | 0:08:49 | 0:08:51 | |
'Tee got pimped into sex work by her own mother | 0:08:51 | 0:08:54 | |
'when she was still a child.' | 0:08:54 | 0:08:56 | |
How long have you been working on the streets? | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
-Ten years old? -Yeah. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
So this is all you've ever known? | 0:09:05 | 0:09:07 | |
What's it like? | 0:09:09 | 0:09:11 | |
Just knowing the shit that that kid's going through, | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
you know, it sucks. | 0:09:32 | 0:09:34 | |
What's gone on there? | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
Mum was an active addict, and you need that fix, | 0:09:37 | 0:09:41 | |
you need that fix, and sometimes you do some god-awful evil things, | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
and sometimes you sacrifice your child for the dope. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:50 | |
Alarmingly, many of these girls have been trafficked from their reserves | 0:09:55 | 0:09:59 | |
by members of their own community. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
A lot of them get targeted. | 0:10:02 | 0:10:04 | |
-By who? -Sadly, by our own people as well. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:07 | |
So, I mean, you've got little popcorn pimps | 0:10:07 | 0:10:10 | |
going around to the round dances and the powwows, hooking up to girls, | 0:10:10 | 0:10:14 | |
and giving that attention and just | 0:10:14 | 0:10:16 | |
the right amount to be able to lure them away from their families. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:18 | |
You know, give all the, "Oh, we'll just go to the big city," | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
or "we'll go into town for a weekend." | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
-So behave like a boyfriend? -Absolutely. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:26 | |
That's part of the game, sadly. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:28 | |
And the girls confuse that behaviour with love? | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
Most of them have never had that healthy outlook | 0:10:31 | 0:10:35 | |
of what a relationship should look like, right? | 0:10:35 | 0:10:37 | |
When you're surrounded by a lot of abuse or addiction... | 0:10:37 | 0:10:41 | |
That's so interesting, Kari, | 0:10:41 | 0:10:43 | |
that often it's the indigenous man that target their own women. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
Time and again, these women's high-risk lifestyles | 0:10:48 | 0:10:51 | |
are caused by the people who first exploited them. | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
Shelley, do you mind me asking you | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
why you're out on the streets working? | 0:10:57 | 0:10:59 | |
In the last year alone, three of Kari's girls have been murdered. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:23 | |
Shelley herself has had a close call. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
-Have you ever had a bad date? -Yes. -Tell me a bit about that. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:30 | |
Both of them? | 0:11:41 | 0:11:42 | |
-That must be such a wake-up call, Shelley. -It was. | 0:11:58 | 0:12:02 | |
How many of your friends haven't been as lucky as you? | 0:12:15 | 0:12:19 | |
-They're all dead? -Yes. | 0:12:23 | 0:12:24 | |
If you're in this vulnerable position, | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
the likelihood of you going missing skyrockets. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:47 | |
Yes. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
The perpetrators, are they mostly Caucasian, | 0:12:49 | 0:12:51 | |
or are some of them indigenous themselves? | 0:12:51 | 0:12:53 | |
For the bad date ones that we've got, | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
most are committed by non-aboriginal. | 0:12:56 | 0:13:00 | |
We've got a lot that are Caucasian. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
For me, tonight has just been | 0:13:05 | 0:13:08 | |
a complete eye-opener from start to finish. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:10 | |
You know, you hear the statistics | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
and you're fairly familiar in terms of what's going on, | 0:13:15 | 0:13:20 | |
but then you're out on the streets with these girls, | 0:13:20 | 0:13:23 | |
and the sheer desperation and pure hopelessness is just so apparent. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:30 | |
And, for me, it just sounds like these girls... | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
..are up against it, often from the very start. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
And they are being exploited from so many different angles. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:44 | |
Clearly, the sex trade has made these girls more vulnerable to predators, | 0:13:46 | 0:13:50 | |
but why did so many end up on the streets? | 0:13:50 | 0:13:54 | |
Is something going wrong in their communities? | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
Since European colonisation, | 0:13:58 | 0:14:00 | |
Canada's indigenous population has been decimated | 0:14:00 | 0:14:04 | |
and largely marginalised to the remote state-funded reserves. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:09 | |
I want to see one of these reserves for myself, | 0:14:22 | 0:14:26 | |
so I'm flying to the far north of Alberta. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:28 | |
So we're heading down right now to Fort Chipewyan. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
One of the reasons we are having to fly is because, actually, | 0:14:34 | 0:14:38 | |
you can only reach this space by a small aircraft | 0:14:38 | 0:14:42 | |
or a boat for about nine months of the year. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:45 | |
For the other three months you're lucky if you're able to drive, | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
but that's because the water will have frozen over, | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
so there's winter roads, if you like. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
I've never been anywhere like this before in my life. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
I mean, we really are in the middle of nowhere. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
It does feel like that. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:02 | |
Many reserves across Canada suffer from chronic unemployment, | 0:15:14 | 0:15:18 | |
substance abuse and domestic violence. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
The majority of indigenous people believe these social problems | 0:15:25 | 0:15:29 | |
stem from places called residential schools. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:32 | |
Like this one, on the outskirts of Fort Chipewyan. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:36 | |
For over a century, | 0:15:39 | 0:15:40 | |
indigenous children were taken away from their families by | 0:15:40 | 0:15:44 | |
the government and placed in these church-run boarding houses | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
to learn white Christian values. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
These controversial institutions were eventually abolished, | 0:15:50 | 0:15:54 | |
with the last one closing in 1996. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:58 | |
'I'm meeting Steve Courtoreille. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
'He is the reserve's chief, and was a pupil of this residential school.' | 0:16:01 | 0:16:05 | |
It's lovely to meet you. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:07 | |
We're going to have a nose inside this building? | 0:16:07 | 0:16:10 | |
-Is that OK? -Yes, it is, of course. -Awesome. OK. I'll follow you. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:13 | |
Wow! | 0:16:16 | 0:16:18 | |
My goodness! | 0:16:18 | 0:16:21 | |
It doesn't look like a thing has changed. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:23 | |
No, it's pretty much the same as when they left here. | 0:16:23 | 0:16:28 | |
Steve, are you able to explain to me why | 0:16:28 | 0:16:30 | |
the government and the church felt it necessary | 0:16:30 | 0:16:34 | |
for these residential schools? | 0:16:34 | 0:16:36 | |
The purpose is to take, as they called, "savages" | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
and turn us into human beings. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
They had a job to do - it is to take that Indian out of us. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
-To strip you of all your culture? -Yes. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
To force the families to put their children in a residential school, | 0:16:50 | 0:16:54 | |
the families had no choice. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:56 | |
And you, yourself, Steve, you were a pupil at this residential school. | 0:16:56 | 0:17:02 | |
Tell me a bit about that, please. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:04 | |
I was here for ten years. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:06 | |
-At what age? -At a very young age, before my sixth birthday. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:10 | |
There was a lot of abuse that went on. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
Physical, mental, spiritual, emotional. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:16 | |
Every day to be called a savage, | 0:17:16 | 0:17:20 | |
"Good for nothing. You will never amount to nothing." | 0:17:20 | 0:17:24 | |
Those were the continuous comments made to the kids. | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
-Vulnerable kids. -Yes. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:28 | |
-That have been ripped away from their families... -Yes. | 0:17:28 | 0:17:30 | |
-..and forced into this space. -For sure, yes. | 0:17:30 | 0:17:33 | |
Then as I got a little older, then there was sexual abuse that went on. | 0:17:33 | 0:17:37 | |
You're caught in the middle of that fear | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
and knowing that nobody's going to believe you. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
-You've got no-one to go to. -Yes. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:46 | |
Not a single person that you can turn to and say, | 0:17:46 | 0:17:49 | |
-"Actually, I'm being abused sexually here." -Yes. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
The biggest damage that was done was they destroyed the families. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:58 | |
The extended family concept's not there no more in this community. | 0:17:58 | 0:18:02 | |
And there's still so much pain from the residents | 0:18:02 | 0:18:05 | |
who are still alive and well in this community. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:09 | |
Steve, it sounds to me like, you know, the youngsters, | 0:18:09 | 0:18:12 | |
your generation, were struggling then, | 0:18:12 | 0:18:15 | |
-the younger generation here are struggling now. -Yes. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
How much of a part have the residential schools played | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
in what we see today? | 0:18:21 | 0:18:23 | |
Just imagine now... when the children... | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
..the students of that resident school started to become parents. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:33 | |
There's a lot of violence, a lot of family break-ups. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:37 | |
I mean, it's common knowledge that sometimes | 0:18:37 | 0:18:41 | |
the abused becomes the abuser. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
-Yes. Yes. -It is learned behaviour. -It is. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:47 | |
'For Steve, this domestic violence towards women | 0:18:47 | 0:18:50 | |
'is what's forcing them to the cities and into danger.' | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
The woman had no choice but to leave their home. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
They were forced to leave in order to keep their children safe. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:00 | |
And where else do they end up? | 0:19:00 | 0:19:03 | |
In the streets. | 0:19:03 | 0:19:05 | |
Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Calgary, Toronto, wherever. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
-Prostitution. -Yes. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:10 | |
Do you know what, it's just tragically inevitable | 0:19:10 | 0:19:14 | |
that these things are going to happen. | 0:19:14 | 0:19:16 | |
These residential schools are going to have a knock-on effect through | 0:19:16 | 0:19:20 | |
-the generations. -Yes. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:22 | |
Accusations of racism towards the indigenous population | 0:19:37 | 0:19:41 | |
casts a shadow deep into Canada's past. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
But many believe prejudice is still a problem today. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
They are critical of the way the authorities have investigated | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
missing and murdered women's cases. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
In Leduc County, on the outskirts of Edmonton, | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
the remains of five women have been found, all within a six-mile radius. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:07 | |
No-one has been held accountable for their deaths. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:10 | |
One of the victims was 20-year-old single mother Amber Tuccaro, | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
who was taken in 2010. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:18 | |
'I'm meeting a friend of Amber's family, April Eve.' | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
-I'm Stacey. -Hi, nice to meet you. -Yeah, likewise. So nice to meet you. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
I wanted to show you this motel. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:28 | |
It was the last place that Amber Tuccaro had been seen alive. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:32 | |
What happened that night? Do we know? | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
All we know is that Amber had intended to go to Edmonton | 0:20:35 | 0:20:39 | |
and had left here and caught a ride... | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
..into Edmonton. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:45 | |
So the last time Amber was seen alive | 0:20:45 | 0:20:47 | |
-was when she got into a vehicle? -Yes. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:52 | |
'April and Amber's family believe | 0:20:52 | 0:20:54 | |
'the police have mishandled the investigation. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:58 | |
'They claim that right from the start, officers missed the opportunity | 0:20:58 | 0:21:01 | |
'to gather crucial evidence.' | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
Was there any CCTV with the police? | 0:21:05 | 0:21:07 | |
Yes, but it took the police quite some time to even go ahead | 0:21:07 | 0:21:13 | |
and contact the local businesses to get a tape of | 0:21:13 | 0:21:16 | |
the day that Amber had gone missing. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:19 | |
So by the time they did that, they had already recorded over it. | 0:21:19 | 0:21:23 | |
There were so many holes in the investigation from | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
the time that Amber first went missing. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
Totally unacceptable. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:30 | |
That's unbelievable. So there was CCTV available, but they left it...? | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
There could have been, yes. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:37 | |
If they would have acted quickly, who knows? | 0:21:37 | 0:21:40 | |
Still, we are no closer to having any idea who killed her? | 0:21:40 | 0:21:44 | |
No. I mean, we're not getting anything back from the investigators. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:49 | |
The family are often the ones that have to call them to find out, | 0:21:49 | 0:21:53 | |
you know, have there been any leads. | 0:21:53 | 0:21:54 | |
Where is the task force investigating? | 0:21:54 | 0:21:57 | |
You know, where's the community's awareness | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
that in their own back yard here in Leduc | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
there could possibly be a serial predator? | 0:22:04 | 0:22:09 | |
But the criticisms of the police don't stop there. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:13 | |
It wasn't until two years after Amber's disappearance that | 0:22:13 | 0:22:16 | |
the authorities released an astonishing piece of evidence. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:20 | |
A recording of Amber's last phone call from inside | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
the vehicle that picked her up. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
She can be heard talking to the unidentified suspect. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:32 | |
Had this recording been released at the time of Amber's disappearance, | 0:22:55 | 0:22:59 | |
her family believe it could have generated more meaningful leads. | 0:22:59 | 0:23:03 | |
'For Amber's mum Vivian and brother Paul, | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
'the police failings started right from | 0:23:08 | 0:23:11 | |
'the time they reported her missing.' | 0:23:11 | 0:23:13 | |
When do you decide to call the police? | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
I called them on Friday. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
And Amber was missing from Wednesday night. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:23 | |
And they said to me, | 0:23:23 | 0:23:25 | |
"Oh, maybe she's just out partying, | 0:23:25 | 0:23:26 | |
"and she'll call or she'll come back." | 0:23:26 | 0:23:29 | |
And I was like, "I know Amber, I want to report her missing." | 0:23:29 | 0:23:34 | |
Do you feel like the police didn't take you seriously? | 0:23:34 | 0:23:39 | |
They didn't care. It got to the point where I was calling | 0:23:39 | 0:23:44 | |
and I don't know if I filled up their voicemail or whatever | 0:23:44 | 0:23:46 | |
because it would go to switchboard, | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
and the lady in the front would be like, "Vivian, you called already. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
"Leave a message." I was like, | 0:23:52 | 0:23:54 | |
"I did leave a message but no-one is calling me back! | 0:23:54 | 0:23:56 | |
"So I'm going to keep calling." | 0:23:56 | 0:23:59 | |
To me, they didn't give a shit. They didn't care. | 0:23:59 | 0:24:03 | |
It took the police several days to put Amber on | 0:24:03 | 0:24:06 | |
the missing persons list, | 0:24:06 | 0:24:08 | |
during which time vital clues are likely to have been lost. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
I think it has to do with just because my sister was Indian. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:15 | |
That they think, "Oh, we don't have to go as hard, | 0:24:15 | 0:24:18 | |
"or work as hard on the case." Already, she's labelled. | 0:24:18 | 0:24:21 | |
They think because First Nation girls, you know, they drink, | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
they do drugs, they do all this, so do other nationalities. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:28 | |
What makes Indians less important? | 0:24:28 | 0:24:30 | |
So what if she parties? So what if she does whatever she wants to do? | 0:24:30 | 0:24:35 | |
That doesn't make her less of a human being. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:38 | |
She was my baby. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:40 | |
She's my baby. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
SHE CRIES | 0:24:42 | 0:24:44 | |
They just made her out to be a typical stereotype, | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
she's a First Nation or Indian native, | 0:24:47 | 0:24:49 | |
and just feed us a bunch of bullshit. | 0:24:49 | 0:24:52 | |
Amber left behind her son Jacob, who is now being raised by Vivian. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:59 | |
Jacob's growing up now, he's asking questions about his mum. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:03 | |
He wishes his mum was here. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:05 | |
And that's what breaks my heart most. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:09 | |
I mean, needless to say, | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
your heart... | 0:25:20 | 0:25:22 | |
totally breaks for the pair of them. | 0:25:22 | 0:25:25 | |
But I know that it isn't sympathy they are after, | 0:25:27 | 0:25:30 | |
they just want justice. | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
You know, whatever Amber was or wasn't doing, | 0:25:32 | 0:25:35 | |
whatever she was or wasn't involved with, you know, | 0:25:35 | 0:25:39 | |
she was a 20-year-old innocent victim... | 0:25:39 | 0:25:41 | |
..who was brutally murdered, and nobody's sat in jail. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:47 | |
How common is this apparently dismissive police attitude | 0:25:56 | 0:26:00 | |
to crimes against indigenous women? | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
Lorimer Shenher is a detective with the Vancouver Police Department | 0:26:04 | 0:26:08 | |
and was one of the lead investigators | 0:26:08 | 0:26:10 | |
on Canada's most infamous serial killer case - Robert Pickton. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:16 | |
-MAN: -The RCMP descended on Pickton's farm in 2002, | 0:26:16 | 0:26:19 | |
and launched a massive search that uncovered the remains, or DNA, | 0:26:19 | 0:26:22 | |
of 33 women. | 0:26:22 | 0:26:24 | |
Officers first started looking at Pickton | 0:26:24 | 0:26:25 | |
as they investigated reports of missing sex workers. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:28 | |
He has been charged with 27 counts of murder, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
and eventually convicted of six. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
Lorimer believes Pickton could have been caught earlier, | 0:26:33 | 0:26:37 | |
but the police didn't take the matter seriously enough | 0:26:37 | 0:26:39 | |
because most of the women were indigenous. | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
So racism was clearly an issue, live and kicking, | 0:26:43 | 0:26:47 | |
when you were part of the police force? | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
The institutional racism came into play in terms of | 0:26:50 | 0:26:53 | |
people not thinking it was that important | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
to explore why these women were going missing. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
And I could see that in my investigation. | 0:26:58 | 0:26:59 | |
This file just kept getting put on the corner of people's desks, | 0:26:59 | 0:27:02 | |
and I kept checking in with them week after week, month after month, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
only to find out that they really weren't doing anything. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
You know, he killed at least 14 or 15 more women in that time. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
I can't help but think that if them girls, | 0:27:12 | 0:27:14 | |
the majority had have been white women, | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
it would have been dealt with a lot quicker. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:19 | |
It would have. And that was exactly my sense too. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:21 | |
I think that a lot of the families and the women involved | 0:27:21 | 0:27:24 | |
in our investigation, they had very frustrating interactions | 0:27:24 | 0:27:28 | |
with our office staff over the years. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:31 | |
I heard my own secretary saying, you know, | 0:27:31 | 0:27:33 | |
"Speak Canadian. This is Canada. Speak English." | 0:27:33 | 0:27:38 | |
Talking to them like they're deaf and stupid. | 0:27:38 | 0:27:40 | |
And you would get told you're a bad parent. | 0:27:40 | 0:27:42 | |
It was your fault that they were on the street in the first place. | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
That you're an alcoholic or drug user yourself. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
These were things that I heard being said to the family members. | 0:27:48 | 0:27:52 | |
And these are the very people that everybody's supposed to be able to rely on. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:56 | |
-Yeah. -These are the people that are supposed to help the vulnerable | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
and stand up for what's right. | 0:27:59 | 0:28:00 | |
Yes, but it's two-tiered level of service, isn't it? | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
If you're a taxpayer, if you're white, if you're a working person, | 0:28:02 | 0:28:06 | |
if you're not drug addicted, if you're not an alcoholic, | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
then you get this level of service. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:10 | |
But if you're any of those other things, | 0:28:10 | 0:28:12 | |
this is the level of service you can expect. | 0:28:12 | 0:28:14 | |
There are similarities with an ongoing case now, | 0:28:14 | 0:28:18 | |
so I met a lady called Vivian, | 0:28:18 | 0:28:20 | |
she lost a daughter, Amber, initially she picked up the phone, | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
reported her daughter missing. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
She said she felt they were very dismissive, | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
they weren't taking it seriously. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
And apparently, you know, | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
there were just a catalogue of errors from start to finish. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:34 | |
This is a template that you could apply | 0:28:34 | 0:28:36 | |
and you could just drop it down over the top of literally hundreds | 0:28:36 | 0:28:40 | |
of investigations across this country. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
Literally hundreds, and starting right from that phone call. | 0:28:43 | 0:28:46 | |
'I personally feel like it's quite predictable, | 0:28:46 | 0:28:49 | |
'and totally understandable,' | 0:28:49 | 0:28:51 | |
that when you're having these conversations with | 0:28:51 | 0:28:53 | |
the indigenous people they feel completely disillusioned | 0:28:53 | 0:28:58 | |
and really let down by the police. | 0:28:58 | 0:29:00 | |
What you expect less to hear... | 0:29:00 | 0:29:03 | |
is this being confirmed by an individual | 0:29:03 | 0:29:05 | |
who was part of that very force for over two decades. | 0:29:05 | 0:29:08 | |
How prevalent is this racism today in wider Canadian society? | 0:29:15 | 0:29:20 | |
'To try and get a sense of it I've come to 630 CHED, | 0:29:22 | 0:29:25 | |
'a popular talk radio station in Edmonton.' | 0:29:25 | 0:29:29 | |
It's 11:05 here in the studio on this Tuesday morning. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:35 | |
Stacey Dooley, welcome. | 0:29:35 | 0:29:36 | |
Thank you so, so much. I'm delighted to be here. | 0:29:36 | 0:29:39 | |
CHED nation, | 0:29:39 | 0:29:40 | |
you are invited to the table to contribute to this conversation. | 0:29:40 | 0:29:44 | |
Peter, what's on your mind? | 0:29:44 | 0:29:46 | |
'How do we even know that the women are being killed off the reserves? | 0:29:46 | 0:29:51 | |
'They could be killed there, there's so much violence, | 0:29:51 | 0:29:54 | |
'babies getting shot, people getting killed all the time. | 0:29:54 | 0:29:58 | |
'How do we know that they don't just dump the bodies off the reserves | 0:29:58 | 0:30:02 | |
'and blame the white man?' | 0:30:02 | 0:30:04 | |
What I would say is that indigenous women accept | 0:30:04 | 0:30:07 | |
that domestic violence is an issue on the reserves, | 0:30:07 | 0:30:11 | |
so I don't think anyone's arguing with that. | 0:30:11 | 0:30:14 | |
There's every chance that these girls could be being killed by | 0:30:14 | 0:30:17 | |
a white man or by an indigenous man. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:20 | |
Rob has been holding the line. Hi, Rob. | 0:30:20 | 0:30:23 | |
'Hi, guys. I'm of the mind that what's going on on the highway | 0:30:23 | 0:30:27 | |
'is a systemic problem. | 0:30:27 | 0:30:29 | |
'The reserve system needs to be abolished, | 0:30:29 | 0:30:32 | |
'natives need to be included in our society, not segregated from it.' | 0:30:32 | 0:30:36 | |
I appreciate the call, Rob. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:38 | |
On the text line, a listener says, | 0:30:38 | 0:30:40 | |
"It is absolutely mind-boggling to me that I'm 29 years of age, | 0:30:40 | 0:30:45 | |
"and I had never heard anything about residential schools | 0:30:45 | 0:30:49 | |
"until two years ago." | 0:30:49 | 0:30:50 | |
Well, you know, I'm in a similar boat. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:53 | |
I didn't realise that these residential schools | 0:30:53 | 0:30:55 | |
existed here in Canada. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:56 | |
Stacey, let's get back to the phone lines because they are jammed. Rick. | 0:30:56 | 0:31:00 | |
-'Hello, there.' -What's on your mind? | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
'Well, I think they're making too much of this. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
'There's been a lot of educated people come from that residential school. | 0:31:05 | 0:31:08 | |
'I think you do too much on one side and don't tell the whole story.' | 0:31:08 | 0:31:12 | |
So, just so I'm clear, are you... | 0:31:12 | 0:31:15 | |
in favour of the residential schools? | 0:31:15 | 0:31:17 | |
Do you feel they were necessary? | 0:31:17 | 0:31:19 | |
'I think so, yeah, at the time. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:21 | |
'Even right now there are supposed to be seven out of ten Indian kids | 0:31:21 | 0:31:25 | |
'that are in government aid - | 0:31:25 | 0:31:27 | |
'they still can't seem to look after their kids.' | 0:31:27 | 0:31:29 | |
So, essentially, they ripped these kids from their families... | 0:31:29 | 0:31:32 | |
-'I know, yeah.' -They tried to eradicate all of the culture, | 0:31:32 | 0:31:36 | |
all of the traditions, sort of, take the Indian out of them, if you like. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:39 | |
'Well, if it wasn't for them, they wouldn't be living today, you know.' | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
Dennis, you're up next. What's on your mind? | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
'Well, I think when people disappear, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:47 | |
'I guess we don't really investigate enough to find out what has happened. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:51 | |
'And then that just opens more opportunity for bad people | 0:31:51 | 0:31:54 | |
'because they realise, "Hey, nothing's happening, let's go after more." ' | 0:31:54 | 0:31:58 | |
Well, this is exactly it. | 0:31:58 | 0:31:59 | |
And it's entirely possible that there is still a serial killer at loose, | 0:31:59 | 0:32:04 | |
like, around this area. That is just so, so frightening, | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
-and that's hard to comprehend in and accept. -'Exactly.' | 0:32:07 | 0:32:10 | |
I had no doubt that this audience would have a lot to say about this. | 0:32:10 | 0:32:14 | |
-Stacey Dooley, it's been a pleasure. -Likewise. Thank you so, so much. | 0:32:14 | 0:32:17 | |
-Thanks for spending some time with us. -Thank you. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:20 | |
I'm encouraged some of the callers recognised | 0:32:20 | 0:32:23 | |
what indigenous people are up against. | 0:32:23 | 0:32:26 | |
But there's no doubt the judgment against their community exists, | 0:32:26 | 0:32:30 | |
and not just on the end of the phone. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
'A cabbie on one of my journeys has some interesting views.' | 0:32:38 | 0:32:43 | |
What do you make of the indigenous community? | 0:32:43 | 0:32:45 | |
An awful lot of them, they stand there with their hand out. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:49 | |
And the more you give them, the more they want. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:52 | |
-They have no self-worth. -Right. | 0:32:52 | 0:32:55 | |
If you have to get out of bed every morning and go to a job, | 0:32:55 | 0:32:59 | |
it gives you a sense of purpose. | 0:32:59 | 0:33:02 | |
The only purpose they have is | 0:33:02 | 0:33:03 | |
where they can get their next hit or their next bottle. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:07 | |
Yeah. Why do you think some of them might have these issues | 0:33:07 | 0:33:12 | |
in terms of alcoholism, drug addiction? | 0:33:12 | 0:33:15 | |
Because they have nothing else to do. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:17 | |
Do you think some of them might be trying to self-medicate | 0:33:17 | 0:33:21 | |
because of what they've been through? | 0:33:21 | 0:33:23 | |
I mean, these residential schools, the sexual abuse, | 0:33:23 | 0:33:26 | |
the torture, the starvation, do you think that plays a part? | 0:33:26 | 0:33:29 | |
Do you not think we've all been through our own...? | 0:33:29 | 0:33:32 | |
-We've all got our own cross to bear. -Yeah. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:35 | |
But don't expect your whole life to be a victim. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:38 | |
Any other country that was taken over by a people that came in, | 0:33:38 | 0:33:42 | |
the people that were living there had to conform or else. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:46 | |
Here, we give them everything. | 0:33:46 | 0:33:48 | |
What about the idea that they were actually here first? | 0:33:50 | 0:33:54 | |
Does it matter? | 0:33:54 | 0:33:56 | |
I just think it's opinions like yours... | 0:33:56 | 0:34:00 | |
..that encourage racism. | 0:34:03 | 0:34:06 | |
It's not racism. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:07 | |
I don't care if you're purple with pink polka-dots. | 0:34:07 | 0:34:10 | |
Work and earn your living. | 0:34:10 | 0:34:12 | |
But that's what some of them want, | 0:34:12 | 0:34:14 | |
but they're not being given that opportunity. | 0:34:14 | 0:34:17 | |
I see them all the time. | 0:34:18 | 0:34:20 | |
They get in my cab, and you ask for money upfront, | 0:34:20 | 0:34:22 | |
and I ask for money up front from just about everybody. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:25 | |
But, "you're just asking me because I'm native." | 0:34:25 | 0:34:29 | |
So you're saying that you always ask for money upfront? | 0:34:29 | 0:34:32 | |
From everybody, just about. | 0:34:34 | 0:34:36 | |
You didn't ask us for money upfront. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
I treat everybody the same that gets in my cab. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:41 | |
It doesn't sound like that, to me. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:44 | |
It doesn't sound like that. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:47 | |
Well, that's the way it is. | 0:34:49 | 0:34:52 | |
Of course, I can't stand here | 0:34:52 | 0:34:53 | |
and speak on behalf of the indigenous people, | 0:34:53 | 0:34:55 | |
you know, and pretend that everybody's perfect | 0:34:55 | 0:34:58 | |
because that's not the case. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:00 | |
But having that conversation with Donna, what she does, | 0:35:01 | 0:35:05 | |
is she highlights some of the opinions that obviously exist | 0:35:05 | 0:35:08 | |
here in Canada. | 0:35:08 | 0:35:10 | |
-THEY SHOUT: -Inquiry! Inquiry! Inquiry! | 0:35:10 | 0:35:15 | |
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015, | 0:35:17 | 0:35:21 | |
his new government have launched an official 50 million inquiry | 0:35:21 | 0:35:26 | |
into finding answers for the victim's families. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:29 | |
Those touched by this national tragedy have waited long enough. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:34 | |
Part of this process is to examine the role of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. | 0:35:34 | 0:35:39 | |
Some of the worst racists carry a gun, and they carry a badge. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:46 | |
Authorised by you, Commissioner Paulson. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:49 | |
I hear what you're saying. | 0:35:49 | 0:35:51 | |
I understand that there are racists in my police force. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:55 | |
I don't want them to be in my police force. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:57 | |
'The RCMP will not talk about specifics of any case. | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
'However, they have agreed for me to meet a senior officer | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
'from their Alberta provincial headquarters.' | 0:36:07 | 0:36:11 | |
-How are you? -I'm just fine, thank you. | 0:36:11 | 0:36:13 | |
-I'm Stacey. How do you do? -Hi. Superintendent Gary Steinke. | 0:36:13 | 0:36:16 | |
Lovely to meet you. And thank you so much for your time, | 0:36:16 | 0:36:18 | |
I really appreciate it. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:19 | |
I know Commissioner Paulson came out last year | 0:36:19 | 0:36:23 | |
and accepted that there were racists within the organisation. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:28 | |
Do you believe that to also be true? | 0:36:28 | 0:36:31 | |
Are there individuals in the RCMP, as Commissioner Paulson said, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:33 | |
are there individuals that may be called racist? | 0:36:33 | 0:36:36 | |
There probably are, like there are in every other walk of life. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:39 | |
I haven't witnessed any. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:42 | |
I spoke to two separate people who weren't related to the families in any way, | 0:36:42 | 0:36:47 | |
and they said, their trail of thought was | 0:36:47 | 0:36:49 | |
that the police, the RCMP, | 0:36:49 | 0:36:52 | |
broadly speaking, were at best, incompetent, | 0:36:52 | 0:36:56 | |
at worst, blatantly racist. | 0:36:56 | 0:36:58 | |
What would you say to that? | 0:36:58 | 0:37:00 | |
We're not incompetent. We do want to solve these cases, | 0:37:00 | 0:37:03 | |
regardless of gender or race. | 0:37:03 | 0:37:05 | |
And when we go through the investigations, | 0:37:05 | 0:37:07 | |
by far the majority of murdered aboriginal women are solved. | 0:37:07 | 0:37:11 | |
Between aboriginal women and aboriginal men, | 0:37:11 | 0:37:14 | |
or Caucasian women or Caucasian men, | 0:37:14 | 0:37:18 | |
the stats in solve rates are almost identical. | 0:37:18 | 0:37:20 | |
I think there's a higher percentage of indigenous women, unfortunately, | 0:37:20 | 0:37:24 | |
that are vulnerable. | 0:37:24 | 0:37:25 | |
I mean, that's good news for the victims' families | 0:37:25 | 0:37:28 | |
who have the answers, but those that don't, | 0:37:28 | 0:37:30 | |
they truly believe, in their heart of hearts, | 0:37:30 | 0:37:33 | |
that if their daughter had have been white, Caucasian, blue-eyed, | 0:37:33 | 0:37:36 | |
blonde hair, that there would be more of a sense of urgency. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:40 | |
The 72 hours after the individual's gone missing, that time is crucial, | 0:37:40 | 0:37:45 | |
and I think that's why Amber Tuccaro's mother feels so let down | 0:37:45 | 0:37:49 | |
because there was no sense of urgency. | 0:37:49 | 0:37:52 | |
That did not happen in Amber's case. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:54 | |
I think mistakes were made in that particular case, and she knows that, | 0:37:54 | 0:37:58 | |
and we've apologised for that. | 0:37:58 | 0:37:59 | |
Because they feel, I'll be honest with you, | 0:37:59 | 0:38:01 | |
they feel totally let down. They have no faith in you whatsoever. | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
As of today, and in years past, the RCMP have learned lessons, | 0:38:04 | 0:38:08 | |
as every police organisation has. | 0:38:08 | 0:38:10 | |
So why is it that so many indigenous women still have such little faith | 0:38:10 | 0:38:16 | |
and so little trust in their police officers? | 0:38:16 | 0:38:19 | |
Some of these cases are very, very difficult to solve. | 0:38:19 | 0:38:22 | |
All I can say is that every single case, | 0:38:22 | 0:38:24 | |
and the one you've mentioned here, is still under investigation. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:28 | |
Right, so even if the individuals went missing years and years ago, | 0:38:28 | 0:38:32 | |
you're telling me here today | 0:38:32 | 0:38:33 | |
there are still people actively working, | 0:38:33 | 0:38:35 | |
-trying to solve their cases? -Absolutely are. | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
The police get the last part of it. | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
We get the investigation and we unfortunately have to look at | 0:38:40 | 0:38:43 | |
the bodies and try and solve what happened. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:45 | |
But the reasons why these things happen are well beyond what we can control. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:50 | |
I mean, we could go down the list of social causes | 0:38:50 | 0:38:53 | |
and educational causes and historic causes and could go on and on. | 0:38:53 | 0:38:58 | |
Do I believe Gary when he says that he is passionate | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
and he's determined to seek justice, | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
to find out what happened to these indigenous women that went missing | 0:39:05 | 0:39:09 | |
and are often murdered? Yeah. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:11 | |
He explained very clearly, actually, | 0:39:11 | 0:39:13 | |
that he believes the very reason many indigenous women are going missing | 0:39:13 | 0:39:18 | |
and being murdered is because statistically... | 0:39:18 | 0:39:22 | |
they are more vulnerable, and you know, | 0:39:22 | 0:39:24 | |
that sort of backs up what Kari suggests. | 0:39:24 | 0:39:27 | |
She said that she believes 90% of the girls on the streets are indigenous. | 0:39:27 | 0:39:31 | |
And with all that said, | 0:39:31 | 0:39:33 | |
that doesn't mean we should fall into victim blaming | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
or an acceptance that this is going to continue to happen. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:40 | |
You know, that needs to stop. | 0:39:40 | 0:39:42 | |
The mishandlings, the lack of justice, | 0:39:42 | 0:39:44 | |
all of that needs to change. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:47 | |
Whilst police attitudes may be changing, | 0:39:47 | 0:39:50 | |
the problems for indigenous girls aren't. | 0:39:50 | 0:39:53 | |
Young women are still going missing, | 0:39:57 | 0:39:59 | |
yet they continue to come to the city to work the streets. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:03 | |
The thought of giving someone a blow job down here | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
is so depressing. | 0:40:06 | 0:40:08 | |
'We stopped to chat to Jen, | 0:40:13 | 0:40:15 | |
'a mixed race indigenous woman who Kari regularly helps out. | 0:40:15 | 0:40:19 | |
'And I get a sense of just how threatened these girls feel.' | 0:40:19 | 0:40:23 | |
Jen, how safe do you feel out here? | 0:40:24 | 0:40:26 | |
A lot of us out here, we're all packing. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:31 | |
We all have knives. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:33 | |
-Oh, I see. -It's little, but it works. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:37 | |
-It does? -Oh, yeah. | 0:40:37 | 0:40:39 | |
The other one that I had, | 0:40:39 | 0:40:40 | |
that I had to get rid of because it was it was full of blood. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:43 | |
Can you tell me a bit about that? | 0:40:43 | 0:40:44 | |
He decided he wanted to start beating the shit out of me | 0:40:44 | 0:40:47 | |
and he started going stupid on my face. | 0:40:47 | 0:40:49 | |
I've got a crack in my cheekbone and a crack in my jaw from it. | 0:40:49 | 0:40:53 | |
And I just started fricking swinging the knife, and, yeah. | 0:40:53 | 0:40:57 | |
He went and grabbed the blade | 0:40:57 | 0:40:59 | |
-and slit his hand right down the blade. -Oof! | 0:40:59 | 0:41:02 | |
We've still got to live with all that in our mind, | 0:41:02 | 0:41:04 | |
knowing our people are being murdered. | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
-And do you look after each other? -Yes. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:09 | |
There's long nights. | 0:41:09 | 0:41:10 | |
It's not an easy life to live. | 0:41:12 | 0:41:14 | |
Look, your dinner's here. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:17 | |
-This is her date. -Oh, the lad in the car? -Yeah. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:20 | |
All righty, people, but I've got to get out of here. | 0:41:20 | 0:41:23 | |
-All right, Jen. Thanks, Jen. -Stay safe. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:27 | |
So I need to get that plate in case anything happens to her. | 0:41:31 | 0:41:34 | |
Kari, when you can, | 0:41:34 | 0:41:35 | |
you will try and take a note of all of the registration plates? | 0:41:35 | 0:41:38 | |
Yes. | 0:41:38 | 0:41:39 | |
I'll take note of the description of the vehicle, the plates, | 0:41:39 | 0:41:43 | |
the driver because in case they do go missing or are found murdered, | 0:41:43 | 0:41:48 | |
this is the last vehicle that we've seen them in. | 0:41:48 | 0:41:51 | |
-That sort of gives a starting point. -That's so useful. | 0:41:51 | 0:41:55 | |
At almost every turn there is a memory of a woman who Kari has lost. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:10 | |
Down this alley, here, | 0:42:10 | 0:42:13 | |
is where one of my girls was found murdered. | 0:42:13 | 0:42:16 | |
-When was this? -Just last year. | 0:42:16 | 0:42:18 | |
She was fucking beat so brutally, | 0:42:18 | 0:42:20 | |
and they threw her out her own apartment window | 0:42:20 | 0:42:23 | |
while she was still alive. | 0:42:23 | 0:42:24 | |
-Are they in prison now? -Yes. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:26 | |
Did they get life? | 0:42:26 | 0:42:28 | |
Oh, fuck, no! Nobody gets life here. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:31 | |
I know one is being charged with manslaughter, I think he got five. | 0:42:31 | 0:42:35 | |
-Five? -Yeah. They get a slap on the hand, "Don't do it again," | 0:42:35 | 0:42:38 | |
kind of fucking shit. | 0:42:38 | 0:42:40 | |
That's a joke. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:41 | |
So this is the window where she was tossed out of. | 0:42:41 | 0:42:44 | |
On the third floor. | 0:42:44 | 0:42:46 | |
-So this was her flat? -Yeah. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:49 | |
'With such stark odds, | 0:42:50 | 0:42:52 | |
'the girls are lucky to have someone like Kari looking out for them.' | 0:42:52 | 0:42:56 | |
But this issue is much greater than just protecting the women | 0:42:59 | 0:43:03 | |
who are vulnerable today. | 0:43:03 | 0:43:04 | |
Many of the indigenous people I've spoken to can't wait for change | 0:43:05 | 0:43:10 | |
and believe one answer lies in making their communities stronger from within. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:14 | |
'But what hope is there for the future? | 0:43:16 | 0:43:18 | |
'This is Jacob, Amber Tuccaro's son, | 0:43:20 | 0:43:24 | |
'who is now seven years old.' | 0:43:24 | 0:43:26 | |
Jacob, look at this lake. | 0:43:28 | 0:43:30 | |
It's amazing. | 0:43:30 | 0:43:34 | |
I see ice blocks. | 0:43:35 | 0:43:37 | |
Yeah, I can see ice blocks too. | 0:43:37 | 0:43:39 | |
What's this lake called? | 0:43:39 | 0:43:41 | |
-Athabasca. -Athabasca? | 0:43:41 | 0:43:43 | |
-Am I saying it right? -Uh-huh. | 0:43:43 | 0:43:45 | |
And how was school today? | 0:43:45 | 0:43:47 | |
-Good. -Yeah, what did you do? | 0:43:47 | 0:43:49 | |
I did drawing, right? | 0:43:49 | 0:43:52 | |
-I did drawing the whole day. -That sounds fun. | 0:43:52 | 0:43:55 | |
And I just wondered if you would mind telling me | 0:43:55 | 0:43:58 | |
a little bit about your mummy. | 0:43:58 | 0:44:00 | |
I only know one thing, she's in heaven. | 0:44:00 | 0:44:03 | |
I remembered her when I was a baby. | 0:44:04 | 0:44:06 | |
Do you go and visit her sometimes? | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 | |
Sometimes at the graveyard. | 0:44:13 | 0:44:15 | |
Yeah. | 0:44:15 | 0:44:16 | |
Sometimes I look for bees. | 0:44:16 | 0:44:18 | |
In the graveyard? | 0:44:18 | 0:44:20 | |
Yeah, there's lots of bees there because there's flowers all over. | 0:44:20 | 0:44:24 | |
Amber Tuccaro's reserve, like many across Canada, is trying to heal. | 0:44:24 | 0:44:29 | |
THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE | 0:44:29 | 0:44:36 | |
What are your hopes for Jacob? | 0:44:36 | 0:44:40 | |
My hopes for Jacob is, with proper support and therapy, | 0:44:40 | 0:44:44 | |
and any kind of help that we can get for him, | 0:44:44 | 0:44:47 | |
he'll grow to be a healthy young man without having the struggles of | 0:44:47 | 0:44:50 | |
having to deal with any issues with his mother. | 0:44:50 | 0:44:53 | |
And, April, what are your thoughts in terms of, you know, | 0:44:56 | 0:45:00 | |
Jacob's generation? | 0:45:00 | 0:45:02 | |
Our children deserve just as much of a bright future as anyone else's. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:06 | |
Their safety is so important, | 0:45:06 | 0:45:09 | |
especially for those young people that leave their communities | 0:45:09 | 0:45:13 | |
and come into the bigger cities. | 0:45:13 | 0:45:15 | |
They need to have those supports in place | 0:45:15 | 0:45:17 | |
and not have too deal with all the, you know, negative stereotypes. | 0:45:17 | 0:45:21 | |
Obviously, it's devastating that Jacob's lost his mum, | 0:45:35 | 0:45:38 | |
you know, he's had her taken from him. | 0:45:38 | 0:45:40 | |
And I think his case highlights perfectly what life is like | 0:45:42 | 0:45:46 | |
for hundreds, if not thousands of kids, right across Canada. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:50 | |
And that is it. That should be enough for people to demand change. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:55 | |
You know, to demand this shift in attitude towards indigenous people, | 0:45:55 | 0:45:59 | |
indigenous women. | 0:45:59 | 0:46:01 | |
It's the only way that they're going to move forward. | 0:46:01 | 0:46:03 |