My extensive reporting on missing and murdered women has been recognized by the Canadian Journalism Foundation and the Canadian Association of Journalists with awards and nominations.
From in-depth regular coverage of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, to breaking news about international scrutiny, and exposés of cover-up allegations, my work has been published in THIS Magazine, Windspeaker, Indian Country Today Media Network, The Tyee, and Vancouver Observer.
Below are some samples from my missing and murdered women portfolio.
Sex workers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside will soon be getting special wallet-sized cards educating about their rights with police, thanks to two advocacy groups — Pivot Legal Society and Sex Workers United Against Violence (SWUAV).
Carrying red and yellow roses symbolizing the 600 aboriginal women murdered and missing, respectively, thousands marched in cities across Canada on Valentine’s Day, banging on the door of the Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa and bringing outrage to Vancouver’s police station steps.
Explosive allegations of gang rape, widespread abuse and anti-Native racism have rocked Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which vowed on February 13 to investigate the claims by one of the world’s leading rights groups.
The release of Wally Oppal’s scathing final report from B.C.’s missing women inquiry was met with sobbing, drumming, and anger on Dec. 17 as families and friends began the next stage of grieving for their lost ones, and rights groups rallied around the call for a Canada-wide investigation.
Here’s a look back over some of my key stories of the last year.
Vancouver, B.C.’s nighttime streets were wet with fresh rain as a dozen members of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) community set out on what they dubbed a walkabout tour through the poorest off-reserve area of Canada, accompanied by Indian Country Today Media Network.
Province pledges fast implementation of Commission recommendations. Critics demand more action on racism, systemic problems.
British Columbia’s Attorney General Shirley Bond has pledged to implement “systemic changes” after the release of the highly critical Missing Women Commission of Inquiry’s final report.
From the photograph, 16-year-old CJ Morningstar Fowler smirks out at reporters, her head tilted in an almost questioning expression. On Dec. 6, the Gitanmaax First Nation youth was found murdered in Kamloops.
British Columbia’s Missing Women Commission of Inquiry into the alleged police mishandling of the Robert Pickton serial killer investigation is taking another jab from some of the very groups who had fought for an inquiry into dozens of missing, mostly aboriginal women for years.
David P Ball 