MMIW inquiry should look at youth sentencing, says Kwanlin Dün chief

Kwanlin Dün First Nation chief Doris Bill says the upcoming national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women should take a close look at the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Bill points to the recent sentencing of the teenage boy who admitted to killing 17-year-old Brandy Vittrekwa in Whitehorse in 2014.

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The youth, who was 15 at the time, beat Vittrekwa unconscious and left her alongside a trail in a Whitehorse subdivision. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was given the maximum sentence for manslaughter under the Youth Criminal Justice Act — two years in custody and one year of supervision outside of jail. 

"I don't think the sentence reflected the crime," Bill said. "And I think that that is something that the inquiry needs to look at.

"It needs to look at these systemic things that block these people from getting the sentences that they really, truly deserve."

Earlier this week, the draft terms of reference for the inquiry were circulated online, drawing criticism from some who say they "lack teeth". 

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The terms of reference aren't finished yet, but the draft says commissioners would focus on the prevention of violence, and identifying systemic causes of violence and recommend "concrete action" to help end violence against Indigenous women and girls.