LEAF and NWAC joint letter in support of access to justice for Indigenous people in Canada

June 16, 2022 – The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and LEAF jointly submitted letters to three United Nations Special Rapporteurs, and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. We wrote to support Mr. Jeremy Matson’s Special Procedures Submission concerning access to justice for Indigenous people in Canada.

Mr. Matson pursued justice for himself, his children, and Indigenous people in Canada both domestically and internationally. His efforts exist alongside and build on longstanding advocacy by many Indigenous women, including Mary Two-Axe Earley, Yvonne Bédard, Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, Sandra Lovelace Nicholas, Sharon McIvor, and Dr. Lynn Gehl. Despite this advocacy, Canada has not done enough to improve access to justice for Indigenous people.

Read the letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on racism, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, and Special Rapporteur on violence against women (PDF versions).