You what is upsetting, you still see lots of natives hitchhiking.. Why are they putting their lives at risk. Don’t make yourself a victim.. I also have a suspicion that even if there are shuttles or other means of transport for them some will still hitchhike..

I thought we already had an inquiry? Someone didn’t like the results so they push for a redo?

Blame the victims p Val, then assume transportation options won’t reduce hitchhiking!? There are many factors to this not just lack of transportation!! If you think women are going missing and being murdered simply because they hitchhike you are wrong! Highway 16 is not the only place people are going missing! Read the report from Wally opal if you want to point fingers that report is a good starting point.

Judging by the police report those calling for an inquiry may not like the result.

I take it there are no missing men or violence against men?

I wasn’t blaming the victim.. I was saying don’t make yourself a victim.. Not the same thing at all.. There has been this issue in the news for many years and you still see hitch hikers.

Any murder should be thoroughly, no matter who or what race, sex etc.. The ball has been dropped locally, provincially and federally regarding this issue.. Hopefully our new federal government will do something about rather than flap their gums.

Agree with you P Val. Driving into Vanderhoof Friday afternoon I seen a young lady hitchhiking east towards Prince George. Sad the message is not being received and is being ignored. The responsibility is shared with the first nations to keep these young people safe and away from harms way. It is not the 100% responsibility of our Government’s to address this issue.

Another inquiry, another report and then another inquiry and another report and then…….!

Until and if ever we find a solution to the problem of “hitchhiking”, we need to look at any and every immediate action that helps!

Greyhound used to travel Hwy 16 but dropped the service because it was underutilized! Some are calling for a taxpayer funded shuttle service to provide transportation options. People hitchhiked along Hwy 16 even while Greyhound was still providing service to Hwy 16. Some say that the Greyhound schedule didn’t fit with their schedule, perhaps others chose to hitchhike for other reasons.

Regardless, the bus wasn’t used!

Until we find a solution that works, I simply can’t understand why Teegee and other Hwy 16 Chiefs and Councils aren’t taking more direct action.

Chiefs and Councils along Hwy 16 seem to pay themselves very well! Why are they not reducing their compensation so that they can collectively pool these funds to purchase a few large SUV’s or Passenger Vans? Why are they not upgrading their Drivers Licences to Class 2 or 4 so that they can then set up a schedule where they are available to drive their band members to and fro along Hwy 16? A schedule could be compiled that would have drivers taking turns operating these vehicles without forcing any one person to give up too much of their time!

Why are the Chiefs and Councils not taking any and every action possible for the benefits of their band members while “we” debate this issue back and forth, back and forth, back and forth with study after study and report after report?

I fear that we will see more loss of life, while nothing of any real value or consequence gets done! How sad is that!

Agree Hart guy. Since 1995, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (the department responsible for the bulk of aboriginal funding) has spent $115-billion. Last year alone, it spent $8.5-billion, with 84% of the money going directly to aboriginals, First Nations governments and programs for natives.

The only thing I can see coming out of another study is that these tragic events were caused by someone intentionally taking the life of one of these vulnerable aboriginal women, and I just know there will be a call for a bunch of money to be spent trying to prevent these tragic circumstances happening again.

Truth is, money is not going to solve anything if the Aboriginal leaders, and parents keep passing the responsibility onto politicians and bureaucrats. Responsibility begins at home and as long as leaders and parents don’t take the effort to educate their young people about the consequences of putting themselves in dangerous situations, I sadly predict that crimes of this nature will likely continue.

So I say to all the Chiefs, councils, and parents in the Aboriginal communities to start taking the action that you are responsible for, and quit blaming government and anyone else but yourselves for these tragedies that are happening in your communities.

This is called murder and is a capital offense. The RCMP and other involved police forces have the responsibility to hunt down the murderers and get them to court with enough evidence to convict.

I understand that in many of the cases they have been successful, and the others are making good progress.

But before these events happen, you can prevent your daughters, nieces, and granddaughters from becoming an RCMP case by taking responsibility doing whatever it takes to keep them from dangerous situations.

There are an abundant of challenges within the Aboriginal communities and the white man will never be able to solve them.

It will take Aboriginal leaders with pure hearts for their people to start the journey to a better quality of life, and a less dangerous environment for all of their people.

Let the first steps begin sooner than later..

If we are going to pay for another inquiry it should include ALL missing and murdered women and men. About a couple of weeks ago we drove past a young native girl hitchhiking on HWY l6, Who would I call to get her help?? would she want help? Its not anyones fault if something happens to her as she has put herself in a bad place. The Bands should spend some of their money for buses for their people to make it safe to travel. Cut some salaries or get rid of them and keep the money for the people that need it and get rid of the Chiefs.

I think one of the top priorities of our new Justice Minster is to keep us all SAFE.

You ask who should you call if you see a woman hitchhiking along the highway? Correct me if I am mistaken but I remember someone making the point on this very same site (not that long ago) saying that it is not illegal to hitchhike but that it is illegal to pick up a hitchhiker!

So then you would have to stick around, wait for someone to do the picking up and then call the police? One can not report a crime when no crime is in progress.

who says no Greyhound on Hwy16, take a look at the Website!
If my Wife or I can’t drive anymore , we have to move to the City, no Government funded Service will pick me up from my Place, this is the Way it is for us and many others and it will not change for anyone!

P.G.– I wanted to help the Girl , there should be a number to call to get her help,with all the out reach programs out there you would think, maybe they don’t work weekends

Greyhound service supposedly reduced, not stopped.

They should leave the word “indigenous” out of the name of the inquiry, as there are other races also missing and murdered. Nicole Hoar comes to mind.

I think there are more native women hitchhiking because their villages are out of the main cities, and they like, or need, to go into town for various reasons.

There is Greyhound service out west, although it has been cut to one bus a day. But even when there were two buses a day, there were still a lot of hitchhikers.

Maybe they don’t have the money for the fare, in which case an open bus pass would remedy that. However I think that when they want to go home, or into town, they’re not considering waiting for the bus, or a shuttle, they have to go right now.

The only other option would be to provide a shuttle service on demand, and the price of that would be unrealistic.

Maybe they should put out “bait girls” to lure the perpetrators, as they do with bait cars.

I thought education was a top priority for First Nations living on reserves. Lashing out against past injuries is fine, but what does that do to help the people struggling to exist today and in the future?