What MLAs heard about Missing Persons Act in Aklavik and Inuvik

“There were times where it felt very sullen and heavy, but it also felt safe.”

Samantha Kerr, a nurse since 2005 in Aklavik and the wider Beaufort Delta, felt it was important to be at this week’s public meeting in the community about the draft Missing Persons Act.

She has known Frank Gruben since he was a child. Frank, who grew up in Aklavik, has now been missing for almost a year, disappearing from Fort Smith in May 2023.

“For me, Frank represents hundreds of people and all of their families and communities,” said Kerr.

“I always used to tell him that Aklavik is too small for him. He has such an incredibly huge, beautiful personality with so much capability and capacity, and intelligence and passion.

“It’s so sad. Such a loss. He was just genuine and transparent.”

Bill 2, which would create a Missing Persons Act for the first time in the NWT, aims to address concerns that police don’t have a full set of tools at their disposal when people go missing in the territory.

The bill would create powers for police to compel production of documents in certain circumstances. RCMP have broadly welcomed the bill, though they have reservations about some aspects.

As part of the legislative process, six regular MLAs travelled to Aklavik and Inuvik this week to hear feedback from those communities about the bill. That feedback will be delivered to cabinet before the bill heads to a clause-by-clause review and a third reading in the House, steps it must clear to become law.

The bill “shows some hope for the future,” said Kerr, who was glad the committee came to the hamlet of 600 people.

“It also shows compassion, and caring, and genuine interest in listening, for all of those people that are still missing and are likely murdered, as there’s many in the Delta.”

MLAs George Nerysoo, Danny McNeely, Kieron Testart, Sheryl Yakeleya, Jane Weyallon Armstrong and Shauna Morgan travelled to the two communities.

In Aklavik, Kerr said speakers included Status of Women Council president Rita Arey, former mayor and Gwich’in chief Charlie Furlong, and Frank Gruben’s mother, Laura Kalinek, sitting beside her husband, Charlie Kalinek.

“I think it sends such a message that Frank Gruben matters, that Laura and Charlie and Steven and Kimberlyn matter,” said Kerr, referring to the Kalineks and Frank’s siblings, “and that every other Indigenous person that is missing out there – possibly murdered – won’t be forgotten. And I think that’s hope.”

At the two meetings, residents discussed whether the act could help longstanding missing persons cases like those of Angela Meyer in 2010, Frank Gruben last May and his grandfather, Frank Stewart, who went missing in 1983 on a work trip to Hay River.

“The disparities are massive when it comes to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and the thing I go back to – that hurts my soul to this day – is that when a female Caucasian goes missing, the world is talking about it,” said Kerr. “Normalization of violence and normalization of missing and murdered … isn’t right.”

Though outside the scope of the bill, the subject of better communication with families when relatives go missing – and dedicated liaisons – was raised at this week’s meetings. The Gruben family have described a painful process of repeatedly contacting RCMP for updates.

Better coordination of searches and investigations between jurisdictions was also raised, based in part on frustrations reportedly aired in Fort Smith as some searchers for Frank felt they lacked support from police and levels of government.

MLAs plan to act fast

Missing persons legislation has to balance providing information to police with the privacy of individuals.

“We’re hearing that the urgency of finding people is more important to communities than the protection of privacy in these cases – or the additional protections, I should say, because all information that’s handled by the government is subject to ATIP,” said Range Lake MLA Testart at the Inuvik meeting, using an acronym for access to information and privacy legislation.

“The bill also speaks to privacy concerns around if you’re fleeing a violent situation, and you don’t want to be found,” he noted. “RCMP are telling us, ‘We can’t release that anyway, and if it is requested under ATIP, we would redact that information.'”

“I don’t think we need to be as cautious as the legislation is currently drafted,” he said.

The passage of missing persons legislation in the NWT was expected to happen earlier but was delayed, ministers said, because of extra time taken to consult with police and other agencies.

Testart told Inuvik’s meeting he expects swift movement on the bill once the legislature reconvenes in May.

“We expect we could pass this very quickly to law,” he said.

You can provide input on the draft bill by emailing the committee. A public meeting about the bill in Yellowknife, held by the same committee, takes place from 7pm at the legislature on April 17.