Chris's Crime Forum

Chris
posted april 02, 2006

The RCMP is reopening its investigation into the disappearance of young women along the Highway of Tears, the isolated road in northern British Columbia where dozens of young aboriginals have gone missing.The police are transferring files on the missing women to Vancouver, where specialists are available to review the evidence using the latest electronic databases, Supt. Leon Van De Walle told 500 mainly aboriginal women at a conference this week.Van De Walle, the officer in charge of major crimes in British Columbia, said the RCMP is dedicating eight specialists to the cases, in addition to the 25 investigators already reviewing them. The investigators are using Vancouver databases to compare the cases to each other as well as others across Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 60401.html

NDP want Hwy of Tears back on the table
Published: August 27, 2008 5:00 AM Black Press

When the Legislative Assembly reconvenes this fall Mike Farnsworth, opposition critic for public safety, plans to put the Highway of Tears back on the discussion table.

The Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain MLA wants to see provincial funding for two coordinator positions, and counseling made available for victims’ families.

Prior to an NDP caucus meeting in Smithers last week, Farnsworth had met with some family members of the missing and murdered women along Hwy 16, dubbed the Highway of Tears.

“There is clearly a frustration with the fact that nothing has come out of these investigations to date,” he said.

“At the very least, one would hope, that the victims’ families could receive counseling services, and that the recommendations at the symposium be followed through,” Farnsworth said.

“These are the actions government can be taking until these cases are resolved by the RCMP.”

The BC Liberal government injected $50,000 of seed money to implement the recommendations that came out of a 2006 Highway of Tears Symposium in Prince George.

The top priority was the hiring of a Highway of Tears coordinator to organize 33 initiatives, of which 15 focused on victim prevention, six on emergency planning, six on victim family counselling and six on community development and support.

That position almost collapsed one year later when funding dried up.

The Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) scraped together money from a variety of sources to temporarily fund the position, but its future is still in doubt.

CSFS staff have since been lobbying the office of Solicitor General for two full-time coordinators, plus one administrative/event coordinator position.

All three positions are expected to cost $225,500 — plus $88,550 cash and in-kind provided by host agencies.

One of the original 33 suggestions in the Highway of Tears Symposium Recommendations Report was for one coordinator at each end of Highway 16.

“We’re a long way from Prince George... this area certainly needs a coordinator and I think the government should be funding that position,” Farnsworth said.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/hou ... 58149.html