Kwantlen Polytechnic University KORA: Kwantlen Open Resource Access Student Works Student Scholarship 2015 "Crisis", "Crime", and the Power to Heal: A Content Analysis of Online Canadian News Articles Regarding a National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women Tara L. S. Joubert Kwantlen Polytechnic University Follow this and additional works at: http://kora.kpu.ca/studentwork Part of the Criminology Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons KORA Citation Joubert, Tara L. S., ""Crisis", "Crime", and the Power to Heal: A Content Analysis of Online Canadian News Articles Regarding a National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women" (2015). KORA Student Works: Paper 6. http://kora.kpu.ca/studentwork/6 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at KORA: Kwantlen Open Resource Access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Works by an authorized administrator of KORA: Kwantlen Open Resource Access. For more information, please contact kora@kpu.ca. 1 “Crisis”, “crime”, and the power to heal: A content analysis of online Canadian news articles regarding a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women Tara Joubert ABSTRACT Over the past four years, the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada has grown in momentum. After several highly publicized murders and the recent release of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police report, the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women has garnered considerable media attention. Thus, the purpose of this descriptive study is to examine how the issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women have been represented in online Canadian news between 2010-2014. Employing content analysis on news articles from four online news websites, the results indicated that issues were framed through a model of conflict between opposing sides. International and domestic advocates framed the inquiry as a need for justice, while the opposing federal government suggested it was redundant. KEY WORDS Content analysis; qualitative research; Aboriginal; women; Canadian; online news; missing; murdered; national inquiry; news articles; media representations; Indigenous; First Nations; Metis INTRODUCTION & LITERATURE REVIEW There have been 1,181 women lost. According to several comprehensive research reports conducted between 2004 and 2013 by Amnesty International Canada, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), The United Nations (UN), and by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) respectively, a disproportionate amount of Aboriginal women are found to be at heightened risk of violence due to social and economic marginalization opposed to nonindigenous women. The most current findings further indicate that there have been approximately 1,181 police reported incidents of Aboriginal female homicides and disappearances in Canada between 1980 and 2012 (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2014, p. 7). 2 Aboriginal women, including Canadian First Nations, Metis, and Inuit, have been overrepresented in such homicide statistics throughout the past 30 years (NWAC, 2009, p.94). In the highly publicized 2004 joint police investigation into British Columbia’s Robert Pickton, sixteen out of the reported sixty missing and subsequently murdered women were Aboriginal. Although this number may appear low, research conducted by Amnesty International Canada found that the number of Pickton’s Aboriginal victims was disproportionate to the percentage of Aboriginal women living in Vancouver at the time of the disappearances (Amnesty International Canada, 2004, p. 14). The RCMP (2014) further confirmed this trend of disproportionality in their National Operational Overview on missing and murdered Aboriginal women, which found that Aboriginal women account for 16% of all female homicides in Canada, and for 11% of all missing women - statistics that are three to four times higher than the overall representation of Aboriginal women in the Canadian population. These statistics have become difficult to ignore with the recent murders of two more Aboriginal females within this past year. With the highly publicised deaths of Loretta Saunders, a 26-year old Inuit women found slain along the Trans-Canada Highway near Moncton, New Brunswick, and 15-year old Tina Fontaine whose body was found in Winnipeg’s Red River, Canadian news media has directed much of its attention towards the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and the re-inspired calls for government action. Although missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canadian news is not a new phenomenon and has been studied in the past, the renewal of calls for a national inquiry into this issue have appeared to be growing in momentum amidst the release of the RCMP’s National Operational Overview, and the deaths of two Aboriginal women. Thus, these events have created an opportunity to study the topic within a new context. 3 While previous research studies have thoroughly examined media representations of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, the findings of these studies provide a foundational understanding of how Canadian news media has previously presented vulnerable and victimized Aboriginal women to the greater public. In the study “Reproducing Marginality in News Discourses” by Jiwani and Young (2006), the victims of British Columbia’s Robert Pickton, the man responsible for the death of 60 missing and murdered women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, were represented by The Vancouver Sun newspaper as women synonymous with prevailing and historic stereotypes. These stereotypes, which included constructions of Aboriginal women as deviants and drug-addicted sex workers, situated Picton’s victims on the margins both in life and after death (Jiwani & Young, 2006, p. 897-899). Additionally with “Newsworthy Victims,” Gilchrist’s (2010) comparison of news discourses on missing and murdered White women and Aboriginal women in Canada revealed clear inconsistencies between the press coverage of White and Aboriginal victims. While the Aboriginal women had been presented as degenerate beings and had been stigmatized as prostitutes and addicts, Gilchrist further found that the idealization of the White victims re/produced narratives of colonization, racism, and sexism within the sampled articles (Gilchrist, 2010, p. 4). Building upon these findings, the central purpose of this descriptive study is to examine how the issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women have been represented in online Canadian news from 2010-2014. I additionally employed two guiding research questions to ensure in-depth analysis for this study. My first guiding research question is which voices have been included and excluded in news reports, and what are the different perspectives that have been presented? I chose to adopt the NWAC’s definition of “Aboriginal” for this study so that my examination of various voices would 4 encompass the distinct First Nations, Metis, and Inuit groups of Canada in my sample of articles (NWAC, 2009, p.98). My second guiding research question focused on how the need for a national inquiry has been framed by different interest groups. This question allowed for “thick descriptions” of how the call for a national inquiry has been framed in the Canadian media, drawing upon the rich language that has been used to create such frames (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 11). Throughout this paper the method of data collection, the coding processes, the findings of study and their meanings will be discussed. RESEARCH DESIGN & METHOD To describe how the issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women have been represented in Canadian online news, I employed content analysis as a method of data collection for this study. Content analysis, traditionally understood as the “systematic examination” of text, is a qualitative method of data collection used to examine “non-living material” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 228). While other qualitative research methods rely on collecting data from individuals or groups through interactions and means of observation, the use of content analysis for this study permitted me to remain non-interactive with my data, as it is an “unobtrusive” method (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 227). This is significantly important because as I was specifically interested in examining news articles and therefore non-living data, the use of this particular method enabled the data to be “naturalistic” (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 228). I did not need to interview or observe participatory individuals in relation to the call for a national inquiry, and thus I was not required to intrude upon the social life of my data and risk influencing it through my interaction. Online news articles existed independently from my research and this “unobtrusive” element of 5 content analysis added authenticity and integrity to the data (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 227228). The unobtrusiveness of content analysis additionally strengthened this research study as the use of non-living data permitted the bypassing of certain ethical issues that surround other methods of data collection. If an interviewing method was alternatively employed as opposed to content analysis, there would have been ethical issues concerning informed consent of human subjects, such as the families and friends of victims who previously disappeared or have been killed. Furthermore, it would have been challenging to find individuals willing to partake in an interview, as the subject of missing and murdered women is a sensitive topic for many who have experienced the loss of a family member, friend, or acquaintance. This would further raise ethical concerns as participation could possibly bring up painful memories and emotions for those individuals. Content analysis additionally strengthened this particular study as it aligned with my area of curiosity and mission question. For my area of curiosity, I was fascinated by the phenomenon of calls for a national inquiry of missing and murdered Aboriginal women (Chenail, 1997, para 16). To explore this topic of interest, the mission question governing this research was created to examine how issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry have been represented in Canadian online news. Content analysis enabled for the analysis of such news articles and therefore contributed to keeping this study plum and in line (Chenail, 1997, para 16-17). In keeping in line with selecting non-living data for the purpose of examining media representations of the issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women, this study employed a combination of a purposive and convenience sampling strategy to obtain a final sample of 75 online news articles. For this research study, I specifically wanted to examine news articles published after Robert Pickton’s investigation and trial, as both 6 Jiwani and Young’s (2006) and Gilchrist’s (2006) studies pertained to that time. To build upon their research, certain parameters were created for the selection of articles as criteria for inclusion. Such parameters consisted of a timeframe, which required articles to be published between 2010 and October 2014. Articles further had to address or refer to the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. These specific parameters were chosen to create a purposive sample, and thus, ensure that the data collected would achieve the overall research goals of this study. As the central research question was very specific and limited in nature, purposive sampling provided an in-depth and detailed data set as the creation of such parameters permitted the exclusion of articles (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 48). Such exclusions consisted of articles that discussed an inquiry into other events such as the Robert Pickton investigation or violence against women, rather than a national inquiry of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. I furthermore employed a convenience sampling strategy with the use of the internet in my data collection process. Although the use of print newspapers was an alternative to online news websites, it would have been difficult to find an appropriate number of older articles that spanned the past four years as newspapers are generally discarded after having been read. It is possible that issues would have arisen concerning obtaining a sufficient final sample and ultimately having accurate results. The internet facilitated the data collection as it is easily accessible to the public, allows for quick searches, and is a convenient way to explore a variety of online news organizations. In the process of selecting suitable online data sources, from which I drew a convenience sample of news articles, the concept of a national inquiry and the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women were factors I considered. The term “national inquiry” in relation to the issue of missing 7 and murdered Aboriginal women seemed not only to refer to a nationwide investigation, it further appeared to denote that the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is a nationwide issue as well. For that reason, I decided to utilize two national news websites: The National Post and the Canadian Broadcasting Center (CBC). Additionally, as Jiwani and Young (2006) had previously explored the representations of missing and murdered Aboriginal victims in The Vancouver Sun during the Robert Pickton investigation, The Vancouver Sun news website was further included as a local data source. The purpose of employing multiple news websites in this study was to ensure that the final sample of articles would be reflective of both local and national representations, and therefore serve as a triangulation technique. Data triangulation, which refers to the use of multiple data sources within the same study, for example, The National Post, The CBC, and The Vancouver Sun, is an effective technique to enhance the validity of one’s research and gain the confidence of a reader. As there may have been a variety of representations and media frames on the issues surrounding the call for national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women, collecting data from multiple data sources increased the likelihood that the final sample of articles would encompass alternative and varying representations. Data triangulation further enhances the validity of the research if similar findings are drawn (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 48-52). In the initial stages of collecting data from these three news websites, there appeared to be a lack of varying news articles that covered the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women as they had only provided a preliminary sample size of 43 selected online news articles. In deciding to employ the Canadian Television News (CTV) website as a fourth data source, it was discovered that there had been numerous news articles published at both CTV’s national and local level that had not been included in the other data sources. The 8 addition of a fourth news website filled in gaps that were initially unknown, further increasing the validity of the research. In order to create a sample of articles, I initially employed an additional website that permitted one to conduct a simultaneous search of various selected online newspapers. Upon conducting a search via the Infomart website, it was learned that one had to pay for access to the articles. To avoid the cost, the search engines of The National Post, The Vancouver Sun, The CBC, and CTV News were alternatively utilized. Employing the key terms “national inquiry” and “missing and murdered Aboriginal,” each news websites’ search engines produced approximately 18 pages of articles that contained the search terms within its body or headline. As articles had been listed chronologically with the most recent publications on the first page, I first examined articles at the end of the lists to identify ones that had been published in 2010, and subsequently examined articles thereafter up to October 2014. Each article was examined for relevance to issues surrounding a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. To ensure that additional articles pertaining to this research topic were not overlooked, the search terms “national inquiry” and “Aboriginal” were further used to draw a sample until no new results were given. This process was repeated for each data source to the point of saturation (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 47). In the process of selecting suitable news articles for this research study, several of the same articles resulted in two or more news websites, The National Post and The Vancouver Sun. If the two articles posted on different websites contained the same content, only one was included in the final sample. If the majority of one’s content was similar yet had additional information regarding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women which the other did not address, both articles were included in the final sample. Initially the final 9 sample consisted of 77 articles. When reviewing the collected articles, however, two of the 77 were identified as opinion pieces written from the perspective of a National Post journalist and had belonged to the editorial section of the news website. As I wanted a final sample of articles that appeared objective and void of the author’s personal thoughts and opinions, the two articles were excluded. This exclusion created a final sample of 75 online Canadian news articles, all drawn from the four data sources. There was, however, one article included in the final sample of 75 articles that did not come from one of the four data sources. During the preliminary stages of data collection, news articles that appeared to be of some relevance to the research topic were saved on my computer for future review. When I went back to review articles that had been initially collected, the link to an article published on The Vancouver Sun website no longer existed. As I wanted to include this article in my final sample, I used the Google search engine to find the article from an alternative news website. Fortunately, The Prince George Citizen posted the article on its website and accredited it to The Vancouver Sun. This article was included in the final sample. Although I excluded the two articles, as they seemed to present the journalist’s views and perspectives on issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry, it is important to note that the articles included in the final sample are not completely void of bias and possible inaccuracies. Journalists face a number of challenges when writing news articles or columns that can possibly affect the way in which their information is presented to the public. One of the issues that might have affected my final sample of articles is that some of the journalists could have faced strict deadlines. As they may have had limited time to collect important information before submitting their work, such as interviewing and fact gathering, these journalists might have imparted their own knowledge of an event or topic to draw connections between facts in a manner that made 10 sense to not only them, but to the greater public as well. Doing so, however, can open an article to a journalist’s biases and to possible inaccurate information that is not necessarily driven by fact. A second issue that may have affected the articles in my final sample is that journalists may have condensed or left out vital information to ensure that their article met the required length and word limitations. It is possible that some of the articles included in my final sample are not completely representative of the larger issue regarding missing and murdered Aboriginal women as information may not have been fully presented or may not have been included. These are limitations to the use of content analysis and serve as a weakness to this study. Although content analysis is a useful method for data collection as it involves the analysis of text or content and does not require interaction with participants, there are limitations associated concerning author bias and the possibility of inaccurate information. If such biases or inaccuracies were incorporated into several of the articles obtained for the final sample, the misinformation could have skewed the entire sample thus affecting the validity of my findings and the study’s credibility (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 82). For these reasons, data triangulation and the use of four different online news websites additionally served an important and beneficial purpose as it established rigor. Similar findings drawn from the final sample would enhance the validity of the research as previously mentioned (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 52) Throughout process of selecting appropriate raw data followed by coding, a memo pad was used to keep track of the decisions made, the challenges that arose, and changes to the central and guiding research questions. It is important to note that one of the main changes that occurred during the process of coding was a change in the central research question and guiding 11 research questions. When starting this study, the central question initially sought to examine news discourses on the call for a national inquiry, however, when the coding process began, it was noticed that what was being observed and coded did not necessarily pertain to discourse analysis. The central research question was then refined to focus on media representations and frames as it more appropriately aligned with the area of curiosity and the data that was collected (Chenail, 1997, para 16-17). Additionally throughout the data selection and coding process, several guiding questions were added, excluded, and refined a number of times before being finalized as the guiding questions that govern this study. One of the initial questions used had asked what events had transpired throughout the past four years that re-ignited calls for a national inquiry. Blocks of text relating to this question were selected for raw data, and subsequently were used for coding; however, the guiding research question was ultimately omitted as it inferred causality and did not appear to pertain to media representations. While the use of memos was beneficial to keep track of thoughts, decisions made, and the progression of the study, transparency was ensured with the use of memo-ing. When employing content analysis, there is a risk of researcher bias in addition to author bias as this particular research method is open to subjective observation. If a researcher possesses any biases or personal connections to their topic of research, there is a risk that those biases can negatively affect the way in which one codes and interprets data, and thus ultimately skew one’s findings. As both a woman and a Metis, I was aware that I carried a personal connection to the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal, and therefore, I chose to track each step of this study to ensure that my opinions and preconceptions did not influence my decision making process. Although I employed neutral language when creating the central and guiding research questions so that they did not convey bias, I admit that this research study began with initial assumptions critical of the 12 Canadian government and sympathetic toward Aboriginal peoples (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p.253). Although memo-ing did not take place as often as it should have during the coding process, memo-ing was used to provide transparency regarding the progression of the study and the decision-making process concerning question formation, sampling, and analysis. In keeping a record of my critical assumptions, what was observed and the decisions made, memo-ing ensured accountability and enabled me to evaluate whether my bias had slanted the way in which research questions were formed, or how my final sample was collected. CODING PROCESS After articles were examined for suitability and collected for the final sample, content was reviewed once more in preparation for the inductive coding process. Coding, which refers to the extraction of meaning from non-numerical data such as words, is a process of analysis in which meaningful segments of text are identified and examined for larger themes and patterns (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 309). The aim is that these themes and patterns will provide understanding of the greater phenomenon or social process being studied (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 309). During the data preparation phase which involved preparing for what was going to be analyzed in relation to my central and guiding research questions, I specifically observed the news articles for individuals and organizations; who people were and the perspectives they offered in relation to issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Using a word document, certain blocks of text and sentences that seemed to address these components and areas of focus were imported into a chart that was used to identify each article by the source of its location, its headline, and the date it was published. I first placed each article in chronological order by year and month, and then subsequently assigned a code on the top right-hand corner of the page that corresponded to a separate log of the articles. This 13 chart enabled a neat organization of the articles and relevant blocks of text that served as the raw data for the coding process. Once the raw data was collected and appropriately organized, I “open coded” each block of text or each sentence (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 311). Text was carefully analyzed for different voices represented as well as opinions and statements, which were then subsequently assigned literal and descriptive codes. As individuals and groups were identified in the text by an official title or as a representative of an organization, words signifying that individual’s position or title were used as a literal code. Literal codes were additionally utilized when individuals used rich language to describe their opinions or perspectives on issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 311). To keep in line with the descriptive purpose of this research study, specific words used to characterize thick descriptions were also employed as literal codes. This was done so that the rich language would bring a level of understanding and contextualization in the analysis and interpretation phase of coding. Descriptive codes were additionally assigned to segments of text if a perspective appeared to be overtly implied, such as with statistics and numerical information. A descriptive code was used to describe what appeared to be insinuated, as well as to describe what the numerical information was. In allowing my data to determine the codes assigned to different blocks of text through my interpretation rather than beginning the coding process with a predetermined set of codes, I employed an inductive coding procedure. This involved engaging with the data until larger categories, themes, and patterns became visible apart from the literal text (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 309-310). After literal and descriptive codes were assigned to segments of text, a poster board was used to help specify and visually make sense of what was initially coded. With the headings 14 “national inquiry” and “missing and murdered Aboriginal women” placed in the middle of the poster, I started to sort alike codes around the headings using arrows and lines to draw connections between different groups. Doing so helped direct my train of thought. The use of a poster was especially helpful as several categories and sub-categories began to emerge from the groupings of codes. To keep track of what emerged, I labelled several of the posters’ groupings with interpretive codes that were not drawn directly from the text (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 311). I then started to reorganize the codes into smaller groupings on different pieces of paper as only a few categories had materialized from the poster. As certain typologies became evident, I created a word document to reorganize my codes once again with distinct analytical categories and subcategories under sections regarding various interest groups and voices, how they framed the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal, as well as their perspectives regarding the call for a national inquiry. Each section was then broken down into key classifications and subcategories with its corresponding initial descriptive and literal codes charted underneath. I decided to format the key categories in this manner with the initial codes underneath for transparency and to demonstrate how such categories were conceptualized. Some of the charts appeared to have very few initial codes in comparison to other categories; however, this does not mean there was a lack of news content regarding that topic. It simply meant that when certain information or quotes were repeated throughout the final sample of articles, the same descriptive and literal codes assigned to that text were additionally repeated, and no new codes were created. Once the analytical categories appeared finalized and no new patterns emerged, each category was highlighted with a different colour. Corresponding codes were additionally colour coordinated throughout the pieces of paper, the poster, and the raw data, to aid in the interpretation of concepts and to track how the findings of this study developed. 15 FINDINGS & DISCUSSION Issues have been framed through a model of conflict between two opposing sides: Advocates vs. the federal government U. N. Envoy INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATES Individuals who represent international organizations, and / or countries U.N. Human Rights New York Human Rights Amnesty International Canada Investigator Watch U. N. Special Rapporteur of The Rights of Indigenous Peoples Belarus Slovenia Netherlands U. N. Committee Cuba Iran Russia Slovakia Senior U. N. Rights Official Switzerland New Zealand Norway United Kingdom *Located in Appendix C One of the first prevailing patterns that emerged from the coding process was a distinct dichotomy of interest groups that have supported issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry and interest groups that have not. Throughout the initial coding phase, descriptive and literal codes were assigned to different voices that had “supported,” “endorsed,” “called” or had spoken in favor of a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. By employing literal codes that tied to a person’s title or position such as the code “Premier of Manitoba,” different typologies of interest groups emerged throughout the process of sorting and resorting literal and descriptive codes. What I found during this process of reorganization was that these interest groups and voices appeared to be “advocates” for the call of a national inquiry, and initially consisted of “political advocates,” “organizational advocates,” “family of victims” and “community members.” A process of synthesis and reorganization, however, produced two primary typologies. The first typology of advocatory interest groups was “international advocates.” This consisted of individuals who represented international organizations such as “New York Human Rights Watch” and a “United Nations (UN) human rights investigator,” as well as international countries such as “Cuba” and “Iran.” 16 The second typology discovered involved “domestic advocates” which consisted of several sub-typologies of supporters in Canada. The initial category of “political advocates” developed into “domestic political advocates” which encompassed Canadians with political status at the federal, territorial, provincial, or municipal level such as a “Federal Liberal Leader.” The second sub-typology was “domestic specialized advocates” who were representatives or members of organizations with expertise regarding human rights, the law, and or Aboriginal peoples. Individuals pertaining to this typology included the codes “Chief Commissioner of Canada Human Rights Commission” and “Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC).” The final “domestic grassroots advocates” typology encompassed various community members including “Winnipeg protestors” and a “Metis celebrity,” as well as relatives of Aboriginal victims that have either disappeared or have been murdered. The findings of these two primary typologies are important as they contextualize how issues surrounding this social phenomenon have been framed in online Canadian news reports. The prominent patterns of “international advocates” and “domestic advocates” appear to show that not only have voices in support of a national inquiry been included in news reports between 2010-2014, they are the voices of various international and Canadian human rights organizations, politicians with decision making powers, and Aboriginal peoples with a connection to missing and murdered Aboriginal women. These advocatory groups are not solely comprised of ordinary people; they consist of individuals with personal experience, knowledge, and expertise on the issues surrounding missing and murdered women. In contrast to the various interest groups that were found to have supported the call of a national inquiry, the initial coding phase further identified voices that had “rejected,” “rebuffed,” “ignored,” or spoken against the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal 17 women. In a similar manner to coding advocatory voices, I assigned literal codes to voices or interest groups that pertained to their title such as the code “Prime Minister,” and subsequently organized the codes. A pattern of Canadian political voices emerged from this process and appeared as unsupportive to the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. These political voices were further categorized as “domestic political opposition,” which consisted of individuals with political status at the federal, territorial, provincial, or municipal level, such as the “Federal Conservative government” and “Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister.” One other voice was categorized as “domestic specialized opposition” which consisted of a “professor and director of Canadian studies – University of Toronto.” Finding the patterns of distinct advocates for a national inquiry as well as for the federal government as opposition, fostered the interpretation that issues presented in online Canadian media have been framed through a model of conflict. It appears that there have been two sides in contention with one another regarding issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women, and this theme of conflict between advocatory interest groups and federal government is consistent with the findings in other literature. In a report for violence against Indigenous women, Amnesty International Canada identified several interest groups that have previously criticized the federal government for a perceived lack of response towards issues facing Aboriginal women. These interest groups identified in Amnesty’s report are consistent with several avocatory interest groups found in this study. They included the “UN Committee of Human Rights” which was found to be an “international advocate,” Canadian frontline organizations which is consistent with “domestic specialized advocates,” as well as “relatives of victims ” which is comparable to the finding of “domestic grassroots advocates” (Amnesty International Canada, 2004, p. 20). 18 Advocates demand a national inquiry into a nationwide catastrophe HOW THE ISSUE OF MISSING & MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN HAS BEEN FRAMED By Advocatory Interest Groups Frame 1: A National Catastrophe That Needs to Address Codes: “a national tragedy”, “national disgrace”, “epidemic”, “unresolved issue”, “Canadian – national issue”, “disturbing phenomenon”, “a persistent and serious issue”, “a severe problem”, “a severe problem”, “reached crisis proportions”, “a crisis”, “issue of magnitude”, “affects everyone”, “a community issue”, “ongoing national crisis”, “black eye for Canada”, “needs attention”, “issue been ignored for too long,” unacceptable”, “a human being issue”, a human rights issue”, “long-term pattern”, “many victims “–“ growing number of victims”, “statistics are shocking” o RCMP Report/ Statistic, Native Women’s Association of Canada Statistic, Sister In Spirit Statistic *Located in Appendix C A second prevailing pattern that emerged from the coding process was a frame that advocatory interest groups have employed in their demand for a national inquiry. During the initial phase of coding, literal and descriptive codes were assigned to text that contained rich and thick descriptions regarding the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada and the need of a national inquiry. With codes consisting of “a national tragedy”, a “disturbing phenomenon”, “an issue of magnitude” and a “crisis”, it appeared that advocatory interest groups have been framing the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women as a nationwide epidemic, and thus have been calling for a national inquiry. This pattern of rich language used by advocates to describe the issue of missing and murdered women were in some cases supplemented with statistics provided by the NWAC, as well as statistics provided by the RCMP (2014) from their recently released National Operational Overview. In 2009, the NWAC estimated that about 126 Aboriginal women and girls had disappeared and about 347 had died by homicide within the last 30 years. When these statistics appeared in the text, they were coded as “many victims” or “NWAC statistic” (NWAC, 2009, p. 88). When the RCMP released their National Operational Overview on missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada in 2013, however, their numbers were double of what had been previously estimated. In comparison to the NWAC’s estimate of 500 women, the RCMP identified that there have been 1,181 19 Aboriginal women that have gone missing or that have been killed between 1980 and 2012 (RCMP, 2014, p. 7). While I initially coded this numerical information as “many victims” or as “RCMP statistics” throughout the coding process, the statistics provided by the RCMP in its report appear to support the claims and arguments made by advocates. The stark difference between the NWAC’s numbers and the RCMP’s 1,181 women, as well as the police’s claims that the numbers where higher than anticipated seem to further support the frame that the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is not only “a severe problem”; it is an “unresolved issue” that has “reached crisis proportions”. Throughout the coding process, I found additional patterns of frames employed by both “international advocates” as well as “domestic advocates” connected to the need for a national inquiry. Having assigned literal codes to opinions and perspectives regarding the benefits of a national inquiry, such as to “demonstrate commitment to positive change,” “bring closure to families” and “mend relationships,” the purpose of healing emerged as a prominent category. Connected to this hope for healing was another pattern of social and moral justice. This prominent category consisted of the perspectives of advocatory interest groups that had stressed the need for a national inquiry to ensure the “accountability for murders”, “to contribute to solutions”, and to “force government acknowledgement of the issue” as the “Prime Minister has a constitutional duty” to ensure “justice”. Various elements that make up the frame of healing and how it is connected to social and moral justice have not only emerged as findings from this study, they have further aligned with previous literature. Amnesty International Canada has identified in their report by Stolen Sisters that under international human rights standards and law, all victims of violent crime have a right to justice. However, this “international advocate” has suggested that justice is not only achieved through the punishment of the crime, justice 20 involves the public acknowledgment of the issue so that healing and closure can begin to occur (Amnesty International Canada, 2004, p. 19). Amnesty International has further claimed in their report by Stolen Sisters that violence against indigenous women is the violation of human rights and the abuse of the right to be free and safe by the protection of state. These findings support the frame that the purpose of a national inquiry is not only needed for social and moral justice as the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women is “a matter of human rights”, it is needed to provide healing and “validation” through the upholding of justice. The federal government argues that a national inquiry is redundant PERSECTIVES ON THE ISSUE OF MURDERED AND MISSING ABORIGINAL WOMEN PRESENTED BY OPPOSING INTEREST GROUPS Issue of crime A police responsibility Murders are crimes Is a serious crime Not a sociological phenomenon Of law and order *Located in Appendix C A third prevailing pattern that emerged from the coding process was the frame the federal government appeared to have used in dismissing calls for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Throughout the coding process, the perspectives and opinions presented by opposing interest groups such as the “Justice Minister” were coded using literal codes to retain thick descriptions. After having grouped the codes together, a pattern emerged that suggested the federal government viewed the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women as an “issue of crime” that pertained to “law and order,” and was “not a sociological phenomenon.” While the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada has been acknowledged as a crime by advocatory interest groups such as Amnesty International Canada, and the RCMP which has remained neutral in its position to the call for a national inquiry, the government’s claim that it is “not a sociological phenomenon” challenges the findings of 21 previous literature. According to the RCMP’s National Operational Overview (2014), certain characteristics and risk factors have been found to increase an Aboriginal women’s susceptibility to violent victimization. Acknowledging a pattern of unemployment in cases of missing and murdered victims and the use of intoxicants, the police have suggested that social interventions, which should encompass a response to health, education, and social services, are needed to address the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in addition to police action (RCMP, 2014, p.17). The NWAC has further identified that Aboriginal women’s’ vulnerability to violence is often linked to socioeconomic factors regarding low income and historical trauma, and that improving their social and economic wellbeing would increase their safety and security (NWAC, 2009, p. 104). In comparing these findings with the “crime” frame, it appears that the federal government has framed the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women as a crime for its dismissal of a national inquiry. An additional pattern that emerged from the raw data connecting to this “crime” frame consisted of various literal and descriptive codes that addressed the national inquiry as “unnecessary,” “too costly,” and a “misguided approach” as “too many studies have been done.” These and other literal codes appeared to form a pattern that further contextualized the government’s position on the call for a national inquiry. Along with a category of “alternative solutions” which encompassed codes such as “police funding”, “passing legislation”, and “DNA index”, the larger theme appeared to suggest that the federal government has dismissed calls for a national inquiry on murdered and missing Aboriginal women as it is redundant. The oppositional position of the government has suggested that there have been “too many studies”, and alternative solutions such as “renewed funding for programs” and “a DNA index” have been implemented as the “problems have been identified” as an “issue of crime.” 22 CONCLUSION The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine how issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women have been represented in online Canadian news from 2010-2014. It additionally sought to examine the voices included and excluded in articles, the perspectives presented, as well as how various interest groups have framed the call to action. Building upon previous qualitative research, this study found that issues surrounding the call for a national inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women have been framed through a model of conflict between two opposing sides. One side represented the advocates that have consisted of both international and domestic interest groups such as the “United Nations” and the “relatives of victims.” These advocates were the voices that “supported” the call for a national inquiry in the final sample of news articles and further appeared to view the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women as a national catastrophe. From this perspective, advocates framed the call to action as necessary to ensure social and moral justice, through which community healing could occur. On the other side of the conflict model, opposition to the national inquiry prominently consisted of the Canadian federal government. This opposition was the voice that “ignored” or “rebuffed” calls for a national inquiry, as it appeared to view the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women as an issue of “crime” rather than a “sociological phenomenon.” From this perspective, the federal government seemed to frame the national inquiry as both redundant and “unnecessary,” as the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women had been previously studied, and alternative solutions had been employed. One aspect of the guiding research questions that this study did not fully identify were voices that have been excluded from news articles. This was difficult to observe and code for, as the sample of articles did not mention voices that have been missing 23 from the larger discussion. Although I was unable to identify absent voices or interest groups, I alternatively coded and identified a pattern of Canadian police organizations that have appeared to remain impartial regarding their stance on the subject of a national inquiry. This pattern was rather interesting because while organizations such as the “RCMP” and “Vancouver Police Department” have appeared to want “action” directed toward addressing underlying issues of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, they have not explicitly endorsed the call for a national inquiry. As federal and municipal police departments serve both the Canadian public and the government, one may conclude that the police have chosen to appear neutral and nonpartisan in their position regarding such a sensitive matter. Throughout the progression of this study, of reviewing articles, collecting data, coding and finding prominent patterns and themes, one of the main conclusions drawn is that the media has appeared to be sympathetic towards Aboriginal peoples and the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. When comparing Jiwani and Young’s (2006) and Gilchrist’s (2010) findings of racialization and marginalization in media representations to this study, it appears that there has been a shift in the way vulnerable Aboriginal women are represented in Canadian online news. This conclusion challenged my initial assumptions that news reports from 2010-2014 would reinforce themes of dominance, racism, and hegemonic ideologies as was found in previous literature. While these findings may appear trustworthy as they aligned with research conducted by Amnesty International, NWAC, and the RCMP on the topic of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, it is important to note that they are not conclusive or exhaustive. Although content analysis strengthened this study as it enabled the data to be “naturalistic” and therefore have a level of authenticity, content analysis also served as a limitation as it is open to subjective interpretation (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 228). When a 24 method of interpretation is used, there is a risk that one can misunderstand what one is observing. Words can contain various meanings depending on its context, and researchers are susceptible to misinterpreting data. If I misinterpreted data throughout the process of this study and employed incorrect analytical codes, this misinformation could have skewed the final sample and thus could have skewed the findings. If this project was to be conducted a second time, I would want to employ an additional researcher for investigator triangulation. Although it would be a time-consuming and possibly frustrating process as disagreements may arise regarding codes and competing analytic interpretations, utilizing a second researcher to study the same phenomenon could alleviate certain personal biases and further enhance the validity of the research results if similar interpretations are drawn (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 51). Additionally with a second researcher, one could continue this research process and expand upon the findings of this study. As online articles regarding new developments on the call for a national inquiry were published after the data collection phase, it is essential that this research is furthered to include such rich data. By adopting additional news websites as data sources and in including news articles pertaining to the recent discussions of governmental roundtable talks and compromises, further research could provide more comprehensive results, and perhaps strengthen or contradict the conclusion that the media has shifted towards a more sympathetic representation of vulnerable Aboriginal women in online Canadian news. 25 References Amnesty International. (2004). Stolen sisters: A human rights response to discrimination and violence against Indigenous women in Canada. Retrieved from http://www.amnesty.ca /sites/default/files/amr200032004enstolensisters.pdf Gilchrist, K. (2010). “Newsworthy” victims? Exploring differences in Canadian local press coverage of missing/murdered Aboriginal and White women. Feminist media studies, 10(4), 373-390. Hesse-Biber, S.N. & Leavy,. P. (2011). The practice of qualitative research. California, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Jiwani, Y. & Young, M.L. (2006). Missing and murdered women: Reproducing marginality in news discourse. Canadian journal of communication, 31, 895-917. Native Women’s Association of Canada. (2009). Voices of our sisters in spirit: A report to families and communities. Retrieved from http://www.nwac.ca/sites/default/files/imce/N WAC_Voices%20of%20Our%20Sisters%20In%20Spirit_2nd%20Edition_March%2020 09.pdf RCMP. (2014). Missing and murdered Aboriginal women: A national operational overview. (Catalogue No. PS64-115/2014E-PDF). Retrieved from http://www.rcmpgrc.gc.ca/pubs/mmaw-faapd-eng.pdf 26 Data Sources http://www.nationalpost.com/index.html http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html http://www.ctvnews.ca/ http://www.cbc.ca/news 27 APPENDIX A: Article Log 2010 DATA SOURCE CTV News MONTH ARTICLE HEADING October Missing, murdered women gain attention of ministers TOTAL ARTICLES:1 2011 DATA SOURCE Vancouver Sun MONTH ARTICLE HEADING December Brother of Pickton victim welcomes possibility of UN missing women probe TOTAL ARTICLES:1 2012 DATA SOURCE National Post MONTH ARTICLE HEADING June CTV News CTV News July July CTV News October CTV News October CTV News CTV News CTV News November December December CTV News December CTV News December Police search for links between alleged Winnipeg serial killer and other missing women cases FSIN backs call for inquiry into missing women Saskatchewan group call for inquiry into missing, murdered Native women Provincial ministers to discuss missing, murdered Aboriginal women Summit on missing, murdered women lacks local insight: Manitoba chiefs Rally calls for inquiry of missing, murdered women Death of B.C. teen renews calls for public inquiry National chief keeps up calls for inquiry after B.C. teen’s murder Murder of B.C. teen renews calls from First Nations over public inquiry After B.C. teen’s murder, Assembly of First Nations call for inquiry to hundreds of cases TOTAL ARTICLES:10 28 2013 DATA SOURCE National Post MONTH ARTICLE HEADING January CTV News March Vancouver Sun April Vancouver Sun July CTV News July CTV News July National Post July CTV News September CTV News October National Post October First Nations chief threaten to boycott meeting with Harper unless he comes to him Call for action plan to investigate violence against Aboriginal women UN report finds Canada not doing enough to stop violence against Aboriginal women Canadian Premiers call for national public inquiry over missing Aboriginal women Premiers call for public inquiry into violence against Aboriginal women Federal Tories dismiss calls for inquiry into missing, murdered Aboriginal women Tories dismiss call from premiers’ conference for inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women Canada criticized for rejecting UN call to review violence against Aboriginal women UN official endorses call for inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women UN human rights official endorses call for Canadian inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women TOTAL ARTICLES:10 2014 DATA SOURCE CTV News MONTH ARTICLE HEADING February CTV News CBC February March CBC CTV News CTV News National Post March March March May Vancouver Sun May Group calls for inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women Saunders’ family says her legacy will live on Pressure mounts for inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women Nova Scotia parties unite to urge slain Aboriginal women inquiry Native group hopes Loretta Saunders vigil will prompt inquiry N.S. parties unite in call for inquiry into slain Aboriginal women RCMP report on missing and murdered Aboriginal women says Native women 4.3% of female population, but 16% of female homicides Case not closed on missing and murdered Aboriginal women: RCMP 29 CTV News CTV News May May CTV News May CTV News CTV News May May CTV News June CTV News July CBC CBC CBC August August August CTV News August CBC CBC August August CTV News August CTV News August CTV News August CTV News August CTV News August CBC August CBC August CTV News National Post August August National Post August National Post National Post August August Aboriginal women more prone to violent death: RCMP report Demands for inquiry follow report of more than 1000 murdered, missing Aboriginal women Rising number of missing, murdered women renews call for inquiry UN report on Aboriginals warn of crisis in Canada United Nations representative pushes Conservative on First Nations Winnipeg cold-case arrest renews calls for inquiry into missing, murdered women Aboriginal leaders renew calls for public inquiry into missing, murdered women Aboriginal women inquiry support grows ahead of premiers Missing Aboriginal women ‘a social-environmental disaster’ Murdered Aboriginal women: What to know about a national inquiry Death of Aboriginal girl, 15 dumped in Red River renews calls for inquiry Tina Fontaine death renew calls for inquiry into missing women Harper rebuffs renewed calls for murdered, missing women inquiry National inquiry not best way to deal with missing, murdered women: Harper Sask. Premier backs public inquiry on missing, murdered Aboriginal women Group calls on Manitoba to hold murdered, missing Indigenous women inquiry if feds wont investigate Harper’s comments on missing Aboriginal women ‘outrageous’: Wynne Harper on wrong side of history in opposition to national inquiry: Trudeau Inquiry on missing and murdered women could delay action, police chiefs assoc. warns Stephan Harper’s refusal of national inquiry shows Canada’s shame: Metis leader Police chiefs take no action on Aboriginal women inquiry Frustrated premiers call for national public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women Harper on ‘wrong side of history’ by refusing to launch inquiry into murdered Aboriginal women: Trudeau Case not closed on missing and murdered Aboriginal women Social service investigation underway after Manitoba teen found dead in Red River, but public may never see report 30 National Post August National Post August CTV News August CBC National Post August August CTV News August CBC September CBC September CBC September CTV News Prince George Citizen National Post September September CTV News September CTV News CBC September September National Post September CBC October CTV News October CTV News CTV News October October September Inquiry into murdered Aboriginal women would have great symbolic value, but would it be worth the cost? PM rules out national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women after 15 year old found dead Missing, murdered Aboriginal women not just a police issue: Police chief Thunder Bay police chief supports missing, murdered inquiry Premiers call for Stephan Harper to join roundtable talk on murdered Aboriginal women Missing and murdered Aboriginal women: Premiers call for roundtable forum Federal program focuses on ‘root causes’ of missing, murdered Aboriginal women National inquiry should be led by Indigenous women, says Idle no more organizer Alberta chiefs call for inquiry into missing, murdered Aboriginal women Youths take over protest camp calling for inquiry Judge in Legebokoff trial calls murdered and missing Aboriginal women a ‘sociological issue’ Brian Mulroney blasts Stephan Harper over foreign affairs, Supreme Court spat NDP forces debate in House of Commons on murdered and missing Aboriginal women Reports contradict PM’s view on Aboriginal women victims Councilors back motion for inquiry into murdered, missing women NDP forces debate on need for national inquiry into murdered and missing Aboriginal women Saint John march focuses on murdered and missing Aboriginal women Protests over missing, murdered Aboriginal women take over Ontario highways Edmontonians join in national Sisters in Spirit march Health organization joins call for inquiry into murdered, missing women TOTAL ARTICLES: 53 GRAND TOTAL: 75 Articles 31 APPENDIX B: Photographs of Raw Data 32 33 APPENDIX C: Analytical Typologies INTEREST GROUPS THAT HAVE “CALLED”, “ENDORSED”, “SUPPORTS”, OR HAVE SPOKEN/ACTED IN FAVOUR OF A NATIONAL INQUIRY INTERNATIONAL ADVOCATES Individuals who represent international organizations, and / or countries U. N. Envoy U. N. Special Rapporteur of The Rights of Indigenous Peoples Belarus Slovenia Netherlands U.N. Human Rights Investigator New York Human Rights Watch Amnesty International Canada U. N. Committee Cuba Iran Russia Slovakia Senior U. N. Rights Official Switzerland New Zealand Norway United Kingdom DOMESTIC POLITICAL ADVOCATES Those who have political status at the Federal, Territorial, Provincial or Municipal level Status of Women NDP MP NDP Interim Leader Federal New Democrats Minister NDP Aboriginal Canadian Premiers Manitoba Premier Alberta Premier 2013 Affairs Critic 2013 2013 Provincial Leaders Territorial Leaders Newfoundland Ontario Premier 2013 2013 Premier Nova Scotia’s 3 Main Party NDP Liberals Green Party Leaders Nova Scotia Tory Ottawa NDP Federal Status of Liberal Premier Opposition Leader Member Women Minister Liberal Opposition Saskatchewan Liberal MP Opposition Leader of NDP Critic Premier Manitoba Federal Liberal Aboriginal Affairs Brian Mulroney PEI Liberal Premier Leader Minister NDP MP of Opposition Critic 2 Conservative MPs Winnipeg Councilors Northern Quebec New Democrats 34 DOMESTIC SPECIALIZED ADVOCATES Organizations and/or members who have expert status (including those with human rights, legal, and Aboriginal peoples expertise) President of Native Board Members of Feminist Alliance Women’s Native Women’s Alberta Grand Chief of for International Association of Association of Assembly of First Nations Action Canada Canada Federation of Psychiatric Professor Manitoba Assembly Federal Chief Negotiator on Saskatchewan – University of of Chiefs First Nation Treaties Indian Nations Toronto President of Ontario National Chief of Union of BC Indian Native Women’s British Columbia Civil Assembly of First Chiefs Association of Liberties Lawyer Nations Canada Nova Scotia Native Saskatchewan Chief Commissioner of Women’s Special Advisor on Human Rights Canadian Human Rights Association of Aboriginal Issues Commission Commission Canada Co-director of Canadian Public Health Thunder Bay Police Research for the Sisters In Spirit Commission 1996 Royal Acting Chief Assistant Native Director of Canadian Commissioner of Studies Professor – Studies Program – Metis Nation Saskatchewan Canadian Human University of University of Rights Commission Manitoba Toronto DOMESTIC GRASSROOTS ADVOCATES Relatives of murdered and missing aboriginal women and community members/groups First Nations Groups First Nations Leaders Winnipeg Protestors Mohawk Activist Family Resource Ontario Youth Alberta First Nations Metis Celebrity Worker Protestors Chiefs Chief of Albert Edmontonion Rally Chiefs of Mikisew Ide No More Driftpile Cree Nation Members Cree First Nations Metis Leader and Saint John Aboriginal Six Nation’s Men’s Social Justice Groups Human Rights Student Protestors Fire Activist 35 INTEREST GROUPS THAT HAVE “REJECTED”, “IGNORED”, “REBUFFED”, “RESISTED”, “DISMISSED” OR HAVE SPOKEN AGAINST A NATIONAL INQUIRY DOMESTIC POLITICAL OPPOSITION Those who have political status at the Federal, Territorial, Provincial or Municipal level Federal Conservative Government Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Justice Minister Heritage Minister of Winnipeg Parliamentary Secretary of Justice Manitoba Minister of Northern and Aboriginal Affairs Prime Minister DOMESTIC SPECIALIZED OPPOSITION Organizations and/or members who have expert status (including those with human rights, legal, and Aboriginal peoples expertise Professor & Director of Canadian Studies – University of Toronto 36 INTEREST GROUPS OF AN UNCERTAIN OR IMPARTIAL POSITION DOMESTIC Organizations or members who want “action” to address the issue of MMAW, but do not endorse or have not yet committed to a National Inquiry Saskatchewan Police Royal Canadian Sister In Spirit Canadian Association Chief Mounted Police Member of Chiefs of Police Chief Constable of the Alberta’s Minister of Federal Public Safety Department of justice Vancouver Police Aboriginal Relations Minister Supreme Court Justice 37 PERSECTIVES ON THE ISSUE OF MURDERED AND MISSING ABORIGINAL WOMEN PRESENTED BY ADVOCATORY INTEREST GROUPS A black eye for National tragedy National disgrace Epidemic Canada Unresolved issue Canadian - national issue Statistic - long-term problem Disturbing phenomenon A crisis A persistent and serious issue A severe problem Reached crisis proportions Issue of magnitude A human being issue A huge pattern Unacceptable Statistics are shocking Sociological issue Affects everyone A human rights issue A community issue An environmental crisis Social environmental disaster Sister in Spirit Statistic Statistic - RCMP Report Women at higher risk Systemic issues Affects everyone Issue been ignored for too long Needs attention A long term pattern Ongoing national crisis Systemic issue Societal issue A deep rooted social issue Native Women’s Association of Canada statistic Many victims Growing number of victims Disproportionate number of violent deaths – overrepresented PRESENTED BY OPPOSING INTEREST GROUPS Not a sociological Issue of crime A police responsibility Of law and order phenomenon Murders are crimes Is a serious crime 38 ISSUE OF A NATIONAL INQUIRY AND THE PRESPECTIVES ON THE NEED/CALL TO ACTION MADE BY ADVOCATORY INTEREST GROUPS Demonstrate commitment to positive change Accountability for murders Sign of respect Expression of support Give validation to affected families Demonstrate value of women Families deserve answers Ongoing murders A matter of human rights Police accountability and review policies Federal involvement is needed No substitutes to an inquiry – only answer Hold government accountable Find cause of problem - A response to problem Bring closure to families Government transparency of failings National inquiry is overdue Give voice to victims and families Mend relationship Prime Minister has constitutional duty Need to look at systemic issues Look at social causes Sociological factors Social causes Economic causes/factors Aboriginal involvement is crucial Funding not the answer Need government unification Inquiry is justified as previous studies foundational Women must lead Alternatives not good enough Alternatives unacceptable Not enough action Answers needed Not enough being done Validation of concerns A must and a need An important next step Deepen systemic understanding Force government acknowledgment of issue National inquiry is necessary Can bring awareness to problem Is vital Justice Contribute to solutions Unanswered questions remain Prevent murders 39 Unnecessary Too many studies MADE BY OPPOSING INTEREST GROUPS A misguided Studies already have Too costly approach been done Problems have been Action is the Cannot delay action identified answer/needed Steps already taken – alternative solutions Action gives results Financial resolve needed Issue already dealt with Has given safe housing Given education rights to aboriginals Has made progress No calls for a NI has been made - Harper Studies delay action ALTERNATIVE APPROAHCHES Police funding Renewed funding for programs BC Downtown Eastside Inquiry Federal government willing to compromise Federal government has failed to act Government response inaction/creates conflict Not aggressive enough Database Preventative programs Roundtable talks DNA index National Centre For Missing Persons Compromise (roundtable) Passing legislation Anti-violence programs Improve justice system Advocates willing for roundtable CRITICISMS MADE BY ADVOCATES Has rejected previous Ignored inquiry of international 1996 and recommendations recommendations Issue has caused Government creates strained relationship distrust between aboriginals & government Government Inaction feels like a hypocrisy slap in the face Refusal is disrespectful Prime Minister is wrong Prime Minister inaction is wrong Abandoning responsibility Criticized Canada’s human rights record Government gives excuses Ignoring demand is unconscionable PM not interested in creating change Previous recommendations not a priority Policies not working Prime Minister response is outrageous Prime Minister is avoiding accountability Government action is insufficient/ unacceptable 40 APPENDIX D: Analytical Frames HOW THE ISSUE OF MISSING & MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN HAS BEEN FRAMED By Advocatory Interest Groups Frame 1: A National Catastrophe That Needs to be Addressed Codes: “a national tragedy”, “national disgrace”, “epidemic”, “unresolved issue”, “Canadian – national issue”, “disturbing phenomenon”, “a persistent and serious issue”, “a severe problem”, “a severe problem”, “reached crisis proportions”, “a crisis”, “issue of magnitude”, “affects everyone”, “a community issue”, “ongoing national crisis”, “black eye for Canada”, “needs attention”, “issue been ignored for too long,” unacceptable”, “a human being issue”, a human rights issue”, - “long-term pattern”, “many victims – growing number of victims”, “statistics are shocking” o RCMP Report/ Statistic, Native Women’s Association of Canada Statistic, Sister In Spirit Statistic Frame 2: Has Sociological Roots Codes: “a sociological issue”, “systemic issue”, “a deep rooted social issue”, “social environmental disaster”, “women at higher risk”, ““Disproportionate number of violent deaths – overrepresented” “an environmental crisis”, “a societal issue” By Oppositional Interest Groups Frame 1: A Crime Codes: “issue of crime”, “a police responsibility”, “not a sociological phenomenon”, “of law and order”, “murders are crimes”, “is a serious crime” 41 HOW THE NEED/CALL TO ACTION FOR A NATIONAL INQUIRY HAS BEEN FRAMED By Advocatory Interest Groups Frame 1: Healing Codes: “demonstrate commitment to positive change”, “a sign of respect”, “expression of support”, “give voice to victims and families”, “validation to affected families”, “demonstrate value of women”, bring closure to families”, “mend relationships [between government & Aboriginals], “families deserve answers”, “validation of concerns”, “important next step” Frame 2: Political & Moral Justice Codes: “accountability for murders”, “hold government accountable”, “national inquiry is overdue”, “find cause of problem – a response to problem”, “ongoing murders”, “government transparency of failings”, need to look at systemic issues”, “look at social causes”, “sociological factors”, “police accountability and review policies”, social causes”, “economic causes/factors”, “a must and a need”, “deepen systemic understanding”, “force government acknowledgement of issue” “national inquiry is necessary”, “can bring awareness to problem”, “contribute to solutions”, “prevent murders”, “unanswered questions remain” “prime minister has constitutional duty”, “justice”, “is vital”, “not enough being done”, “ a matter of human rights”, “answers needed”, “not enough action”, ** “aboriginal involvement is crucial”, “need government unification”, “federal involvement is needed”, “no substitutes to an inquiry – the only answer”, “alternatives not good enough”, “women must lead”, “funding is not the answer”, “alternatives unacceptable”, By Oppositional Interest Groups Frame 1: Is Redundant Codes: “unnecessary”, “studies already have been done”, “too many studies”, “issue already dealt with”, “problems have been identified”, “has made progress”, “has given safe housing, “given educational rights to aboriginals”, “too costly”, “action is the answer/needed”, “action gives results”, “studies delay action”, “steps already taken with alternative solutions”, “cannot delay action”, “a misguided approach” 42 Frame 2: Alternative Solutions Codes: “police funding”, “database”, DNA index”, “passing legislation”, “renewed funding for programs”, “preventative programs”, “national centre for missing persons”, anti-violence programs”, downtown eastside inquiry”, “roundtable talks”, “compromise (roundtable)”, “improve justice system”, “advocates willing for roundtable”, “federal government willing to compromise” 43 CRITICISMS REGARDING THE ISSUE OF MISSING AND MURDERED ABORIGINAL WOMEN By Advocates Towards The Federal Government Frame 1: Federal Government Has Previously Failed to Address The Issue Codes: “has rejected previous international recommendations”, “ignored the inquiry of 1996 and recommendations”, “previous recommendations not a priority”, “criticized Canada’s human rights record”, “issue has caused strained relationship between aboriginals & government”, “government has failed to act” Frame 2: Federal Government’s Current Response is Unacceptable Codes: “government response/ inaction creates conflict”, “government creates distrust”, “policies not working”, “not aggressive enough”, government hypocrisy”, “inaction feels like a slap in the face”, “prime minister’s response is outrageous”, “refusal is disrespectful”, “prime minister is wrong”, “prime minister is avoiding accountability”, “abandoning responsibility”, “government gives excuses”, “government action is insufficient/unacceptable”, “ignoring demand is unconscionable”, “PM not interested in creating change”, “no substitutes to an inquiry-the only answer”, “alternatives not good enough”, “funding is not the answer”, “alternatives unacceptable”, “aboriginal involvement is crucial”, “need government unification”, “federal involvement is needed”, “women must lead”