OPEN LETTER: Urgent call to renew and sustain federal funding for MMIWG2S+
OPEN LETTER: Urgent call to renew and sustain federal funding for MMIWG2S+
August 6, 2026
OPEN LETTER: Urgent call to renew and sustain federal funding for MMIWG2S+
Dear Prime Minister Carney and Minister Alty,
Members of the Coalition on Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit+ People (MMIWG2S+) in B.C. (“The Coalition”) write to express our grave concern regarding the federal government’s decision to allow critical funding for MMIWG2S+ supports, Indigenous women’s organizations, families, survivors and community-led initiatives to sunset without adequate notice, transparency or a clear plan for renewal. We call on you to work with the Minister of Women and Gender Equality, the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, families and survivors and Indigenous women’s organizations to:
- Renew all federal funding for MMIWG2S+ supports that has expired or is scheduled to sunset, with no gaps in service delivery, and provide clear timelines for renewal.
- Establish sustainable long-term, stable core funding for Indigenous women’s organizations, family- and survivor-led organizations, grassroots groups and regional coalitions working to end violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit+ and gender-diverse people.
- Commit to permanent, adequate and equitable funding for MMIWG2S+ prevention, response, Indigenous-led health and healing services, justice, housing, transportation, data sovereignty, community safety and family and survivor supports and to expedite implementation of the Calls for Justice.
- Publicly disclose which MMIWG2S+ programs, projects and initiatives have ended, are scheduled to end or remain uncertain, including timelines, affected organizations, funding amounts and responsible departments.
- Ensure families and survivors are meaningfully resourced to participate in decisions regarding MMIWG2S+ funding, implementation of the Calls for Justice and evaluation of federal action.
- Report annually, in accessible and transparent language, on how federal funding is advancing the Calls for Justice, including distinctions-based, regional, including urban and rural, and family and survivor-led outcomes.
We are particularly concerned that sunsetting funds without a transparent transition plan will interrupt direct support to families and survivors including reducing access to advocacy, cultural healing, mental health supports and community safety initiatives. Further these cuts threaten to destabilize Indigenous women’s organizations and family-led initiatives; undermine implementation of the Calls for Justice and the Federal Pathway; exacerbate inequities in rural, remote and northern communities; deepen mistrust between families, communities and governments; and result in further harm towards Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit+ people. Meanwhile, Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit+ people will continue to be disproportionately affected by gender-based violence. According to the Ministry of Justice, in 2017, despite Indigenous people making up only 5% of the population, Indigenous women accounted for 10 per cent of all missing Canadian women and in 2014, accounted for 21 per cent of all murdered women in Canada.
Indigenous women’s organizations and family- and survivor-led groups have warned that federal funding for programs addressing the crisis of MMIWG2S+ has expired or is at risk of expiring. This leaves organizations unable to plan, retain staff, support families or continue urgent work to prevent violence and respond to the harms of ongoing genocide. In British Columbia, we know that the cost of not addressing violence far outweighs investing in systemic prevention. A recent report by the YWCA B.C. found that at a minimum, gender-based violence costs the Province 1.12 billion dollars annually.
In April 2026, Indigenous women’s organizations called for long-term, sustained and equitable funding, noting that short-term funding decisions undermine the very organizations working to prevent violence and support families and survivors. The federal government cannot claim commitment to the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice while allowing the infrastructure required to implement them to erode. The sunsetting of this funding further destabilizes organizations and communities that have carried the burden of advocacy, family support, cultural healing, data collection, policy development, safety planning and frontline crisis response for decades. These are not short-term needs. They are the direct result of long-standing colonial systems, racism, misogyny, poverty, child apprehension, policing failures, housing insecurity, inadequate health and mental health care, and the continued denial of Indigenous women’s, girls’ and two-spirit+ peoples’ rights to safety, dignity, self-determination and life.
The National Inquiry made clear that the violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit+ people is rooted in colonialism and constitutes ongoing genocide. Governments have legal, constitutional and human rights obligations to respond with the urgency and accountability that this crisis demands, including under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, the National Inquiry’s Calls for Justice, and the Canadian Charter. Allowing funding to lapse without renewal is incompatible with those obligations.
While we welcome the recent announcement of 607.4 million dollars to advance the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, the MMIWG2S+ crisis requires a distinct urgent response and funding to address the disproportionate violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit+ people. The Coalition urges the Government of Canada to treat MMIWG2S+ funding as essential human rights infrastructure. The federal government must not abandon the organizations, families and grassroots leaders who have built the pathways to safety, justice and healing that Canada itself has failed to provide.
We look forward to your urgent response and request a meeting with you at your earliest opportunity to hear directly from families, survivors and frontline organizations about the impact of funding uncertainty in British Columbia and the urgent need for sustained federal action.
Please direct correspondence to Elena Pennell, UBCIC Sr. Policy Analyst, Women & Girls at [email protected]
Sincerely,
Amnesty International Canada
Atira Women’s Resource Society
Battered Women’s Support Services
BC Civil Liberties Association
BC Native Women’s Association
Debbie Scarborough
First Nations Summit
Ending Violence Association of BC
Indigenous Women Rise Society
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Jenny Kwan, MP
Judy Wilson, Advisory/Knowledge Holder & Advocate
Justice for Girls
Myrna Cranmer, February 14th Memorial March
Protect Our Indigenous Sisters Society
Rise Women’s Legal Centre
Shelagh Day, Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Feminist Alliance for International Action
The Union of BC Indian Chiefs
YWCA BC
Media inquiries:
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President, 250-490-5314
Chief Councillor Linda Innes, Vice-President, 778-884-5663
Chief Marilyn Slett, Secretary-Treasurer, 250-957-7721
CC:
Honourable Rechie Valdez, Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Secretary of State
Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue
Honourable Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2026
New Democrats Renew Calls on Canada to Ban the RSS and Deny Entry to its Chief
OTTAWA —New Democrats are calling on the federal government to deny entry to the head of the fascist paramilitary organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Network (RSS) and are renewing past NDP calls on Canada to ban the RSS entirely.
NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson and NDP Immigration and Public Safety Critic Jenny Kwan today wrote to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Public Safety, and Immigration to urge action in advance of Mohan Bhagwat’s planned visit to Canada at the end of August.
“The RSS is an extremist group that advocates hate and violence towards religious minorities and marginalized in India and also engages in targeted intimidation of those who speak out against the organization in Canada,” said Heather McPherson, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic. “Multiple minority communities fear his presence in Canada could amplify hate and violence towards them and risk the safety of vulnerable individuals.”
In recent weeks, United Nations Human Rights experts have called on Canada to ensure members of the Sikh community are protected from violent threats by Hindutva extremist groups including the RSS.
“Canada must send a clear message that there is no place in this country for individuals who promote or enable hatred, violence, or intimidation against vulnerable communities or who are connected to activities that threaten Canada's security and democratic institutions. Pertinent sections of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act must be applied to protect Canadians and declare the IRSS and its members inadmissible,” said Jenny Kwan, NDP Critic for Public Safety and for Immigration.
New Democrats have long called on Canada to ban the RSS from Canada, place the RSS on the terrorist entities list, and impose sanctions on connected networks. Despite strong evidence of foreign interference and incitement to violence against Canadians, the Liberals have refused to take action on the RSS. Instead, in recent months the Carney government has grown closer to the Modi regime, causing members of several minority groups in Canada to say their safety no longer matters to the Liberal government.
On August 6, over 200 Canadian civil society organizations released a joint letter calling for Mohan Bhagwat to be denied entry to Canada.
A total of 106 MPs reported office renovation expenses after the 2025 election, including 62 first-time MPs and 46 incumbents.
The Hill Times combed through expense reports for all current MPs, and tallied up a total of $1,377,107 in office renovation expenses dated to after the April 28, 2025, federal election, and reported over four quarters ending on March 30 of this year.
Of the 108 MPs who reported such expenses, 55 are Conservatives, 49 are Liberals, three are Bloc Québécois, and one is a New Democrat.
As per the Members’ Allowances and Services manual, MPs are required to contact the House of Commons’ financial management operations team “for guidance on the eligibility” of any renovation expenses not paid by the landlord, which must be “completed no later than three years following a general election.”
In seventh place on the list is incumbent NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), who reported a total of $55,912 in office renovation expenses. Kwan was the only MP contacted for comment to make themself available for an interview.
Speaking by phone on July 28, Kwan explained that her hunt for a new constituency office began back in 2023 after a House accessibility review flagged issues with her previous, Hastings Street office, which had two steps leading to its front door.
The Accessibility Canada Act passed in 2019 introduced new accessibility standards and requirements which apply to parliamentary entities, among others, including MP offices. The House subsequently adopted its first-ever accessibility plan in 2022, which set out certain requirements and was followed by a review of MP constituency office arrangements.
NDP MP Jenny Kwan says she began looking for a new riding office after accessibility issues were flagged with her previous space in 2023.
Kwan said her office looked into the possibility of installing a ramp, but that was ultimately deemed unfeasible within the space available, beginning her search for a new location. Around the same time, she noted, her eight-year lease also ran out, putting her on a month-to-month lease, and her landlord indicated plans to sell.
Kwan said her team eventually found a ground-floor space on 10th Avenue close to transit, in a “very busy corridor in Vancouver East,” near her old office as a British Columbia MLA, and with good street visibility. Lease negotiations came to a halt with the call of the 2025 election, but post-writ, she said she secured one comparable in “cost on a per square footage basis” to her former riding office.
The space, however, was previously a pharmacy. As a result, Kwan said it had to be fit up, and the total costs incurred include for professional architectural drawings, city permits, construction, and materials. “It didn’t even have a proper floor, so we had to turn obviously this space into a functional constituency office,” adding vinyl flooring, a small kitchen area, a reception area, a conference room and other office space, and removing partial existing walls that featured medicine cabinets.
Kwan confirmed the House has since reviewed the accessibility of her new office—along with a security review—and given it the OK.