Montreal vigil honours missing and murdered Aboriginal women

MONTREAL – The lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls were honoured Saturday evening at Place Émilie-Gamelin.

The 9th Annual Sisters in Spirit Memorial march and vigil in Montreal is one of the hundreds held this weekend across Canada aimed at helping communities come together to grieve the loss of these women.

READ MORE: Rally aims to keep issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in the spotlight

The Quebec Native Women’s Association organized the event to raise awareness and put pressure on the Harper government for a National public inquiry in consultation with Indigenous communities, along with a nation-specific action plan.

WATCH: Almost 1,200 aboriginal women and girls have been killed or gone missing in Canada. No one has convinced the prime minister to call a national inquiry but the country’s premiers say something needs to be done. Ross Lord explains.

A recent RCMP report stated that, “Indigenous women make up 4.3 per cent of the Canadian population, but account for 16 per cent of female homicides and 11.3 per cent of missing women.”

According to Amnesty International, Indigenous women in Canada are five times more likely than other women to die due to violence.