The province has released a strategy developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners that reinforces Ontario’s commitment to act on the Calls for Justice in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls…including the need for better access to stable housing, health care, education and employment. Pathways to Safety: Ontario’s Strategy in Response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls includes 118 initiatives organized under six pathways that will help create the changes required to eliminate the root causes of violence and advance meaningful reconciliation.
The Pathways for Action are:
- Pathway to Security – Initiatives that promote safety, healing and wellness through prevention-focused resources, investments and programs, such as access to safe and affordable housing.
- Pathway to Culture – initiatives supporting the education, training, employment and revitalization of Indigenous languages, cultures and identities.
- Pathway to Health – initiatives that will promote safety and improve access to services including mental health supports for Indigenous women, children and justice-involved youth.
- Pathway to Justice – initiatives that will contribute to system-wide transformation in priority sectors including policing services and child welfare.
- Pathway to Responsibility and Accountability – principles that will be upheld to promote ongoing government accountability in collaboration with the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council and Indigenous organizations.
- Pathway to Identifying and Addressing Systemic Anti-Indigenous Racism and Indigenous Gender-based Analysis – initiatives that focus on addressing anti-Indigenous racism and developing an Indigenous gender-based analysis approach to inform Ontario’s strategy.
As part of Ontario’s strategy, the mandate of the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council has been extended beyond March 2022. This will ensure that Indigenous voices continue to drive the strategy’s priorities and help build on the province’s progress to date in responding to violence against Indigenous women, children and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.