MONTREAL – Tied around the trunk of a tree at Parc Émilie-Gamelin Thursday hangs a necktie, soaked in the pouring rain.
It’s not a forgotten piece of clothing, but a plea – a symbol, in fact.
The tie is part of a movement by the Canadian Association for Equality to urge the federal government to include men and boys in their upcoming inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous people.
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The campaign was launched in 2015 and has since made its way across the country.
The necktie campaign started in Manitoba, where Lydia Daniels adapted the idea from the Red Cloth Ribbons Memorial campaign.
Daniels’ son has been missing since November 2014.
READ MORE: How can Canada make sure an inquiry into missing and murdered women is successful?
According to research by the University of British Columbia, indigenous men are murdered and go missing at higher rates than their female counterparts.
The study suggested that 71 per cent of indigenous murder victims are male.
The neckties placed around trees are to remind the public that everyone counts.
The Canadian Association for Equality wants the inquiry to be thorough and fully inclusive, and insists the only way to do so is to investigate all missing and murdered indigenous people.