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Preliminary hearing for $600 million MMIWG lawsuit against feds begins this week

A five-day certification hearing for a lawsuit connected to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls inquiry begins today
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Sask Court of Queen’s Bench in Regina. (photo by Larissa Kurz)

The certification hearing for a class action lawsuit against the federal government and the RCMP begins today, calling into question the investigation of numerous deaths and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls. 

Diane BigEagle is the main plaintiff of the case, whose daughter Danita has been missing since 2007, leaving BigEagle as the caretaker of her two grandchildren.

The class action suit, filed in 2018, claims the federal government and the RCMP conducted a “negligent” investigation and is seeking $500 million in damages and $100 million in punitive damages. 
 
Regina lawyer Tony Merchant will be representing BigEagle and about 60 families who say they have been wronged by the way their family members’ cases were handled.

Merchant told CBC that his arguments will focus on the government’s promises to address the 231 recommendations of the 2016 inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. He said that his clients feel the federal government has done nothing to address the recommendations and court documents filed by Merchant say a high number of investigative errors were discovered by the inquiry.

The five-day hearing will seek certification from a judge in the Federal Court of Canada, which if granted will move the class action on to hearing in front of the Supreme Court. 

Moose Jaw Express / Moose Jaw Today will be following the proceedings throughout the week.
 

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