About This Commission

Along with the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry hearings, we are set to hold a series of six important Public Policy Forums as a component of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Study Commission. These forums will be held in downtown Vancouver from May 1 to May 10, 2012 and will focus on how to improve the safety and security of vulnerable women.

A new keynote presentation: Innovative Approaches to Protecting Vulnerable and Marginalized Women has just been added to the forum schedule. Doreen Binder, a member of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, Director of Transition Projects and trailblazer in the area of innovative approaches in protecting vulnerable and marginalized women, will share her experiences on Monday, April 30 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Public Library, Peter Kaye Room. For more information, please click here.

Additional information can be found under Forums on this website. Please view our forum information videos and read the forum booklets to find out how to participate and why your input is crucial in helping to save the lives of vulnerable women who are still at risk today.

While space is limited at the Public Policy Forums in Vancouver, there are many additional ways to participate. The forums will be live streamed via this website. You can provide your feedback via email at participate@missingwomeninquiry.ca or send a letter to us at #1402 – 808 Nelson Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2H2.

We hope you will participate and help to make British Columbia a safer, more secure place for everyone, especially our most vulnerable citizens.

On September 27, 2010, the Lieutenant Governor in Council issued an Order in Council establishing the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry.

Wally Oppal, QC, has been named Commissioner.

Under the Terms of Reference, the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry will:

a)    inquire into and make findings of fact respecting the conduct of the investigations conducted between January 23, 1997 and February 5, 2002, by police forces in British Columbia respecting women reported missing from the Downtown Eastside of the city of Vancouver;

b)    inquire into and make findings of fact respecting the decision of the Criminal Justice Branch on January 27, 1998, to enter a stay of proceedings on charges against Robert William Pickton of attempted murder, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and aggravated assault;

c)    recommend changes considered necessary respecting the initiation and conduct of investigations in British Columbia of missing women and suspected multiple homicides; and

d)    recommend changes considered necessary respecting homicide investigations in British Columbia by more than one investigating organization, including the co-ordination of those investigations.

(e) to submit a final report to the Attorney General or before December 31, 2011.

· The Commission was granted an extension and the revised date for final report submission to the Attorney General is on or before June 30, 2012

Commissioner Oppal served as a judge in the County Court of B.C. from 1981 to 1985 and in B.C. Supreme Court from 1985 to 2003, when he was appointed to the B.C. Court of Appeal. He was previously commissioner of an independent commission of inquiry into policing in British Columbia. He was attorney general for B.C. from 2005 to 2009.

Further information about the Commission, its mandate and how to participate can be found on this website.

Any questions can be directed to the Commission offices in Vancouver by telephone to 604-681-4470 (toll-free 1-877-681-4470) or by email to info@missingwomeninquiry.ca.