Families criticized hearings with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
Families told CTV News they are disappointed and frustrated with how the process and hearings have been unfolding.
The family of Roberta McIvor spoke for about two hours and used a big chunk of time to hammer home criticisms about the inquiry.
The family said the inquiry lacked emotional and financial supports for families and had poor communication. They also raised questions about the salaries and attendance of commissioners at the Winnipeg hearings.
Roberta McIvor, 32, died in 2011 after passing out in her car on Sandy Bay First Nation, about an hour northwest of Portage la Prairie, before two teens removed her from the vehicle. McIvor was still tangled in the seatbelt when they drove away and was decapitated. The teens were sentenced in a plea deal for manslaughter. The family said they weren't consulted on the deal and the process was rushed.
The search for justice was so important to Roberta’s family, they walked across Canada in 2013, from Nova Scotia to British Columbia to raise awareness about her case, and help get an inquiry off the ground.
"You're failing us. This is not what family member pictured as a national inquiry," Alaya told the hearing.
MORE COMPLAINTS
Sue Caribou has six women from her family who are missing or were murdered. She told CTV News Monday she felt questions being asked by people at the hearings were too harsh and focused too much on the victim instead of other people, such as police.
The participation of police is also a concern for Bernice and Wilfred Catcheway. They've been searching for their daughter Jennifer for nine years.
"The day I went to go and report her missing the constable there says come back in a week, she's on a drunk. I was very upset,” Bernice told CTV News in an interview on Tuesday. “I believe if they took me seriously at that day and time, things might have been different.”
The Catcheways were also frustrated Tuesday over the amount of time they say they will be given to testify. They say they were told by the inquiry their chance will come on Friday, but were asked to keep their testimony short, because there are between eight to 10 families going that day.
INQUIRY RESPONDS TO CRITICISMS
On the question of police at hearings, the inquiry said police can be called, just not yet. It said this is the families’ part of the inquiry, and there will be a second and third part for institutions and experts later on.
When it comes to issues related to how families are being treated by the inquiry, it said it’s important to gather evidence, and they are open to making changes.
On the issue of time at hearings, inquiry lawyer Wendy van Tongeren said each family is supposed to get 90 minutes to speak, but times can be evaluated on by a case by case basis.
She said she was hopeful something could be worked out to give the Catcheways more time.
