The country's premiers and aboriginal leaders are expected to repeat their call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women following talks in Charlottetown today.
That call is seen as likely even though there's no sign the federal government has budged from its opposition to holding such an inquiry.
Pressure from premiers and aboriginal leaders for an inquiry has intensified in recent days after 15-year-old Tina Fontaine's body was found in a river in Winnipeg.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the teen's apparent homicide a "terrible crime," but said it should not be seen as a "sociological phenomenon" that can be solved by an inquiry.
Many premiers disagree, however.
Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger told CBC Radio's The House recently that a national inquiry would not interfere with the police investigation, but would rather look at the deeper causes.
"A national inquiry could focus on prevention. It could focus on where the resources need to go. It could focus on understanding the underlying causes and it could focus on partnerships with aboriginal communities, aboriginal organizations, provincial governments, municipal governments, and all those service providers that are looking for ways to make sure nobody goes missing, nobody gets murdered, and nobody gets forgotten when they're out on the street," Selinger said.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Ghislain Picard will be one of the aboriginal leaders at Wednesday's meeting, and says chiefs have clearly told him "the worst thing we can do is stay idle on this issue."
"We are wanting to move on two fronts: one is there definitely needs to be a discussion on a plan of action, what kind of ... immediate measures we can consider, and the presence and the input of provincial and territorial jurisdictions is certainly key," Picard said Tuesday on CBC News Network's Power & Politics. "But as well, we continue to call for an inquiry. I think there are answers that can be found through those means."
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall agrees that whatever happens, it "needs to be results driven, action driven."
Premier Robert Ghiz of P.E.I. is host of this year's Council of the Federation meeting in Charlottetown, where country's premiers and aboriginal leaders will discuss, among other issues, a response on missing and murdered aboriginal women. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
"In our province, half the missing women are aboriginal. They're only 15 per cent of the population, so it's a problem. It's different from other justice issues," Wall added.
Wall says any inquiry needs to look at all of the causes, from the justice system, to societal issues, to responsibility among First Nations communities, and why 40 per cent of the violence against aboriginal women comes from spouses and family members.
Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz is chairing the meeting this year.
"Last year, all premiers in Canada did come out and endorse that [an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women]. We believe it's the right step," he said in Charlottetown Tuesday.
The premiers from 13 provinces and territories are meeting for the annual Council of the Federation.
The premiers will move onto discussing other issues later this week. On Thursday, they will discuss health care and aging, with a focus on long-term care. On Friday, they turn their attention to trade among the provinces and how current barriers can be lowered or eliminated.
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