Health organization joins calls for inquiry into murdered, missing women

Protesters rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on October 4, 2013. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Fred Chartrand)

OTTAWA -- The Canadian Public Health Association is joining a growing chorus of calls for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

In a statement to be released publicly on Monday on its website, the organization is also calling on the federal government to assess any actions taken as a result of previous inquiries, reports and investigations into missing and murdered native women.

It also urges the Conservatives to heed a call from the World Health Organization to develop and implement an integrated action plan for violence prevention that addresses its root causes.

Those efforts should be led by First Nations, Inuit and Metis partners and engage all levels of government and civil society, the association says.

The Canadian Public Health Association is a 104-year-old organization founded by a small group of doctors who were concerned about the state of public health in Canada.

The voluntary, non-governmental association calls itself the independent voice for public health in Canada.

Human rights groups, First Nations and opposition parties are all urging the Conservative government to call an inquiry into hundreds of murdered and missing aboriginal women, but the government is resisting.