The REDress Project raises awareness of missing and murdered Native women in Canada. Photo from Facebook

Top officials in Canada are holding consultation meetings in advance of launching a formal inquiry into missing and murdered Native women and girls.

The inquiry is a key campaign promise of new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. His Liberal party is taking action after the prior administration refused to take a closer look at the thousands of Native women and girls who have gone missing or have been killed across the country.

Some families are now asking the government to expand the inquiry to address cross-border issues with the United States, CBC News reported. Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett heard from at least two families who believe their loved ones were sold into sex trade through ships on Lake Superior.

"Like we'd heard during Idle No More, they went to the ships, then they disappeared," Bennett told CBC after a meeting in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Additional meetings are taking place this month in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec.

"We want to hear from Canadians on this issue of national significance. I encourage everyone to read the discussion guide and participate in this process via the online survey," Bennett said in a statement. "We need to hear from all Canadians – especially survivors, families and loved ones, Indigenous organizations, and provinces and territories – to help us identify the best process for this inquiry."

Get the Story:
Indigenous women disappear on ships on Lake Superior, Carolyn Bennett told (CBC 1/7)
Missing and murdered indigenous women: 5 things an inquiry should consider (CBC 1/6)
Missing, murdered indigenous women pre-inquiry meetings begin in Thunder Bay, Ont. (CBC 1/4)

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Report:
Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overvie (May 2014)

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