July 24 Day 35

First thing this morning I met Kevin at the Native Friendship Centre in Prince George,  the biggest centre in Canada.  He works for Integrated Resources for Aboriginal Youth which helps teenagers to develop better life skills.  Later we were joined by Bill.  We had a longer discussion about violence against women and about the Highway of Tears.  Kevin belongs to a group called Moosehide which promotes respectful behaviour by men towards women.  They look at cultural beliefs and how they link to violence against women and do awareness raising campaigns in the Prince George area.  It appears that there are several services designed to support youth particularly young women who are at risk.

Then I met Shari Green the mayor of Prince George.  She was concerned about Prince George’s reputation of having the highest or second highest crime rate in Canada.  We spoke of highway of the Highway of Tears and what can be done to prevent violence against women.  She spoke of federal programs and collaborative programs to deal with this enormous issue.  She also mentioned that economic problems in some areas are contributing factors, e.g. when the sawmill in Burns Lake blew up last year.

Later I met Carrie Forbes at the Elizabeth Fry Centre.  She was extremely concerned about the ongoing murder of First Nations women in the region.  We talked about the great need for men to speak about the issue and promote change.  She also spoke of the BC legislation being too weak re: violence against women in general and the lack of a designated domestic violence courts as done in Ontario.

Then I had a 6 minute interview with CBC of interior BC.
Tomorrow I will start again on Change the Cycle towards Vanderhoof and Fraser Lake. I will see how I can do justice to this part of the country with my writing.  Sonja arrived last last night from the Arctic, so she and Colleen will catch up with me in a day.