By Canadian Press

Indigenous women’s group says police too quick to label missing girls as runaways

Aug 26, 2020 | 8:38 AM

The president of an Indigenous women’s group says Amber Alert policies across Canada should be reviewed in light of a recent case involving a missing teenager from Cape Breton.

RCMP in Nova Scotia issued a localized emergency alert a week after the 14-year-old girl went missing with a 47-year-old man who was arraigned Monday on one count of child abduction.

Police had said they did not issue an Amber Alert because they thought she left willingly.

Lorraine Whitman, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, said today it’s a relief the girl from We’koqma’q Mi’kmaq First Nation was found safe, but the case highlights a national problem.

She points to the report from the public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, which highlighted a pattern of police categorizing missing girls as runaways, slowing down investigations.

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Whitman says this puts underage girls in danger and criteria for alerts should be reviewed to prevent the same delays from affecting another minor.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2020.

The Canadian Press