A pair of advocacy groups are calling for the creation of a task force to probe the deaths of a growing number of young Somali-Canadians who have been killed in the province of Alberta in recent years.
According to a petition being circulated by the Alberta Somali Community Center and the Ottawa-based Canadian Somali Congress, a task force is need to "look into ways of preventing any further homicides in the Canadian Somali community in Alberta."
The groups say that 30 cases are currently unsolved within the province of Alberta, though no official number exists as neither police, nor the province, keep track of the number of deaths within the Somali community. Deaths have occurred in Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Calgary.
A second part of their petition demands that more police and judicial resources be put towards solving "all the outstanding cases before they turn cold."
Community members say that not all of the people slain had criminal connections, though drugs are suspected to be at the root of some of the slayings.
The groups released the petition to media Sunday, days after a 19-year-old man was found slain in a Fort McMurray apartment building. The Toronto Star reported that Abdinasir Ali had moved to the province from Toronto to find work in the oilpatch.
On Monday, an autopsy confirmed that Ali's death was a homicide. Police have identified him by a different name: Abdinasir Abdulkadir Dirie.
Somali community groups met with Alberta Justice Minister Alison Redford earlier this month, though they did not formally press for a task force at that time.
In a brief telephone interview Monday morning, Alberta Justice spokesperson Jay O'Neill confirmed that the advocacy groups had still not officially told the ministry of their desire for a task force to look into the unsolved deaths.
