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Families say they are losing faith in Canada's inquiry looking into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, following the resignation of one of its commissioners.

Five other staffers have resigned from the inquiry in recent months, including its executive director Michele Moreau.

On July 11, Marilyn Poitras, a University of Saskatchewan law professor of Métis descent, resigned from her post as a commissioner.

Minister of Indigenous Affairs Carolyn Bennett says the government won't let down families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press) In her letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she wrote, "It was clear to me that I am unable to perform my duties as a commissioner with the process in its current structure."

Some Indigenous leaders are calling for a restart, including family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls who met with Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett.

"Yesterday, we had a circle and everybody talked and expressed their concerns to the minister and said, basically every single one said, they want every commissioner to resign. They want resignations from every one of the commissioners," Beverly Jacobs tells The Current's summer host Mike Finnerty.

Jacobs, a Mohawk Nation Haudenosaunee lawyer, and University of Windsor assistant professor, says the purpose of the meeting was for the families to meet with the commissioners earlier in the day and then with the minister to "advise her of the results of how the families felt."

She tells Finnerty the meeting left families feeling frustration and disappointment.

"A lot of families felt that there's a lot of disrespect towards their voice."

Related: ​The Current's MMIWG public forums

And it's the universal lack of faith in the process that led families to call for an end to the commission as it stands today.

"There's no trust. And that worries me. It worries everyone about being able to participate in a dysfunctional process and shedding their trauma or sharing their pain. And how do you do that if there is no trust?"

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett speaks to reporters in the Commons Foyer 2:01

Jacobs says the minister "had a lot of respect towards the families" during the recent meeting but did not respond to the call for all commissioners to resign, nor give any indication on how the inquiry will proceed.

"But my gut instinct is that nothing's going to change," she declares.

Related: Canada's missing and murdered

Jacobs points out one of the flaws of the inquiry is it's "a very colonial model" that is based on a top-down process —"that's not how we work as Indigenous people."

"Part of the problem with colonialism and colonial institutions is that it's not respecting Indigenous law, Indigenous legal processes ... which is what being culturally safe means," she tells Finnerty.

Moving forward, Jacobs hopes families will play a more vital role in the process, and be given the necessary resources.

"[Families] don't have legal representation so they themselves cannot answer or ask questions during the inquiry which I think is … really disrespectful towards them because they have solutions."

The Current requested interviews from Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett and a representative from the inquiry. Neither were available.

Listen to the full segment at the top of this web post.

This segment was produced by The Current's Karin Marley, Kristin Nelson, Donya Ziaee and Ramraajh Sharvendiran.