The families of missing and murdered indigenous woman and girls met face to face for the first time with members of the national inquiry team in Winnipeg.
On Thursday, a group of about 25 people, made up of families who've lost loved ones, as well as members of support organizations, were able to ask questions directly to inquiry representatives.
The meeting was the last stop on the MMIW Outreach Tour organized by Kevin Hart, the regional chief of Assembly of First Nations Manitoba.
"There's a lot of people and a lot of families that want the information, and I think that hearing it from the people from the national inquiry, it's very important to hear that information first hand," said hard, who is also a national portfolio holder for the MMIW Inquiry.
Hart said he wanted to start the outreach tour in the Manitoba region because there is a high number of missing and murdered women and girls here. He explained that he felt the need to reach out to the families to get all the necessary information to them.
"Obviously there is a lot of misinformation out there, at the same time there is a lot of un-information going out there to all the families," he added.
"We want to make sure the information is out there."
Following a meeting in February with the MMIW Inquiry, Hart built a team made entirely of women to travel from community to community reaching out to MMIW families in Manitoba.
Hart added it's encouraging to see all different kinds of organizations inside these communities are working with families to make sure they are supported through the inquiry process.
"We look forward to this upcoming national inquiry because we know there are a lot of families that want to address this national tragedy that's happened to our women and girls," he said.
Hart is advocating to make sure the necessary supports are in place for all the families, who want to share the stories of their lost loved ones with the inquiry commission.
"Their lives were taken much too soon and we want to ensure that we honour these lives in a good way and at the same time we are there for the families most importantly."
Round two of the Outreach Tour is expected to start mid-April, leading up to the national inquiry regional advisory meetings, which are expected to start at the beginning of May in the Manitoba region.
So far the tour has stopped in nine communities including Norway House, Cross Lake, Thompson, The Pas, Dauphin, Brandon, Portage La Prairie, Sagkeeng and Winnipeg.
Hart said round 2 of the tour will stop in any other areas that were missed, especially remote communities where the families do not have reliable internet connections.
