Task force sought after second native woman found dead

A growing chorus of voices is calling for a provincial task force into missing aboriginal women in Manitoba after another young woman's body was discovered on the outskirts of Winnipeg.

Police are treating 18-year-old Hillary Angel Wilson's death as a homicide but have said little else since her body was found last Thursday. A month earlier, her 17-year-old friend, Cherisse Houle, was found dead in a creek near Winnipeg.

The deaths have left friends uneasy and have many calling for a task force to examine why so many young aboriginal women are going missing or are being found slain.

"It's been two months and I don't even know what happened to my little cousin," said a relative of Ms. Houle's who did not want her name used.

"How many more young girls have to go missing and/or murdered for the government or the police to give a shit? They think because they found the bodies and we got to bury them, that's good enough?... We want answers."

Not a day goes by in which Ms. Houle's loved ones don't wonder what happened, she said.

"How can someone that young be found dead in a stream and nobody can tell us how she got there or how she ended up dead?" she said.

"We need to get together and demand answers, demand they do something more than what they are doing."

Natasha Lavallee, a friend of both Ms. Houle and Ms. Wilson, said people in her circle of friends are living in fear and wondering who will be next.

"Everyone's really scared," said Ms. Lavallee, 20. "It's happening to the same group of girls, our friends. It's happened so often. ... Both of them were good people. They were human beings and they shouldn't be judged."

Advocates say there are dozens of unsolved cases involving missing aboriginal women in Manitoba and it will take a task force for these disappearances to be treated seriously.

Justice Minister Dave Chomiak was at a caucus retreat yesterday and unavailable for comment. But after initially saying there were no plans for a task force, a spokeswoman hinted yesterday that the province is open to a more in-depth inquiry.

"The cases of the missing and murdered women are tragic," said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be named in accordance with government policy.

"We take these things very seriously. There have been discussions with the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service and there will be an announcement later this week."

Police say they can't estimate how many women in the province have gone missing or have been found slain in the past few years. But in light of public concerns, Manitoba RCMP are now reviewing unsolved cases in which the victim was a woman and foul play was not ruled out.