London, Ont. woman helping lead the call for Ottawa to prioritize MMIWGT2S+ voices

Meggie Cywink (C) was joined by retired OPP Sgt. Chris Gheysen (L) and retired OPP Deputy Commissioner John Carson (R) on Aug. 25, 2022. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)

Families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, transgender and two-spirit people (MMIWGT2S+) are demanding a fundamental shift in how Ottawa handles federal funding and decision-making, saying those most affected must be at the centre of the response.

Meggie Cywink, who has spent more than 30 years seeking justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, joined more than 400 family members in calling for a forensic audit of national Indigenous organizations receiving federal MMIWGT2S+ funding. Her advocacy is deeply personal, rooted in the unsolved 1994 homicide of her sister, Sonya Cywink, in London, Ont.

Sonya Cywink was a 31-year-old Anishinaabe woman whose killing has become a prominent case in advocacy around missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Cywink and other advocates have sent a formal letter to senior federal officials — including Prime Minister Mark Carney — calling for resources to be redirected away from those organizations and toward a family-led trust.

“Families are no longer asking to be consulted. Families are asking to lead,” a joint statement says. “Federal funding must no longer sustain systems that are inaccessible, unaccountable, and disconnected from the people they were meant to serve. No more about us without us.”

On June 3, 2019, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report, Reclaiming Power and Place, which included 231 Calls for Justice grounded in the voices of families and survivors.

A joint statement from a group of MMIWGT2S+ families says those calls were intended to drive meaningful change, not create additional barriers between families and decision-makers.

“Families were meant to be at the centre of this work. Instead, many have watched significant federal investments flow into organizational structures, while those most directly impacted continue to receive little or no direct support,” the statement says.

On April 8, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the National Family and Survivors Circle, Les Femmes Michif Otipemsiwak and Giganawenimmaanaanig held a press conference calling for additional federal funding for the MMIWGT2S+ crisis.

Families say they feel excluded from decision-making processes, which they describe as lacking transparency and accountability.

“Trust has been deeply eroded by years of limited transparency, unclear accountability, and closed-door decision-making processes that exclude their participation,” the statement says.

In a statement, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada spokesperson Alec Wilson said the government “has reaffirmed interim funding and invited further proposals,” noting continued financial commitments to Indigenous-led initiatives through Women and Gender Equality Canada. He said funding discussions are ongoing.

However, families say the government assumes organizations receiving funding adequately represent their voices.

“We understand that Canada takes these organizations at face value as representing families, but they do not speak for us,” the statement says. “The funding provided has not meaningfully changed the systems in place, nor has it supported families in practical and effective ways.”

Families are calling for a forensic audit of how funds have been allocated and used, arguing it would reveal systemic dysfunction.

“High salaries and administrative processes do not alleviate the crisis; they prolong it,” the statement says.

Despite the calls, the federal government announced May 5 — Red Dress Day, the national day of awareness for MMIWGT2S+ people — that it would provide $2.6 million over three years for the National Family and Survivors Circle and an additional $300,000 for a Red Dress Alert pilot.

The government has said its funding supports 47 emergency shelters and that it is working to address the Calls for Justice through its federal pathway, according to Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

Families say they want a new approach that prioritizes direct support, transparency and accountability.

“Families are no longer asking to be consulted. Families are asking to lead,” the statement says. “Federal funding must no longer sustain systems that are inaccessible, unaccountable, and disconnected from the people they were meant to serve. No more about us without us.”