OTTAWA—The NDP on Friday managed to force a debate on the need of an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women, but the Conservative government remained steadfast in rejecting the idea.

The New Democrats used procedural tactics to force the debate, waiting for government MPs to leave the House of Commons after the typically sleepy Friday question period.

The government did not have enough members to block the debate, allowing NDP MP Roméo Saganash to deliver a passionate speech about his experience in residential schools.

Saganash connected both residential schools and the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women to a larger issue — the legacy of colonialism. In his speech, he argued that the government cannot adequately address the problem of missing women without understanding the “root causes” of their abduction and murder.

“Everything that we go through today, the conditions in which we are, is all part of this grand narrative of colonialism that still exists,” Saganash said in an interview.

“What we’re going through will continue if that major change and major reform doesn’t happen . . . . It’s all connected.”

Saganash told the Commons about his younger brother, taken to a residential school at the age of five. Saganash said he died within a few years at that school, but it took his family decades to find his burial site.

In a personal reply, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said she came to the House of Commons to help improve the lot of aboriginal women. She said she lost a close friend to domestic violence, and said Conservative criminal justice reforms have helped improve situations for other women.

“If you really want to protect women, you will give women the same rights as non-aboriginal women in this country,” said Aglukkaq.

The relatively unscripted debate put the two positions in sharp contrast. The NDP want a national inquiry to provide “closure,” Saganash said, and to guide future action.

The Conservatives have repeatedly refused to call that inquiry, arguing that they’re acting instead. Earlier this week, the Conservatives unveiled their “action plan” to end violence against aboriginal women, including $5 million annually for five years.

Saganash argues that the federal government has the capacity to both hold a national inquiry as well as act against those who commit crimes.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“We need to define what is required, what programs for how many years. Yes, that’s one part of the puzzle, but the major part is to understand the root causes,” Saganash said.

“Why, after all these years, all these reports, all these programs and projects, is it still going on? That’s the real question. So we have to get to the bottom of things . . . and that you can only achieve through a national inquiry. There’s no doubt in my mind about it.”