Last weekend, I got a call from my son who lives in the Craig Henry area near Algonquin College.
"I think my neighbour was murdered," he said. "The cops are everywhere."
My son did not know the woman who lived just two doors down in the cozy townhouse community where motorists have to mind the kids on bikes as they snake through the narrow streets. She had only moved in the week before, renting a room from a man she did not know, a man who would later that day be charged with her murder.
The neighbours were horrified to hear that the victim, Savanna Pikuyak, had been stabbed to death in broad daylight. On that day, Savanna became part of a sorority I know all too well -- the society of stolen sisters that grows every day in this country.
My cousin Ashley was murdered six years ago by her boyfriend, Derek Favell, who goes on trial for murder in October. She was one of several women in the Salmon Arm area of British Columbia who disappeared into thin air. Most of the other women have never been found and there are no suspects.
Ashley was a white girl from St. Catharines but the majority of others from her community were indigenous -- women who are an endangered species in this country. So many of the murders and missing persons cases take place in other provinces -- B.C. and Alberta especially -- and they are so numerous the cops often just stop looking.
According to Amnesty International, 1017 women and girls identified as indigenous were murdered between 1980 and 2012 -- a homicide rate roughly 4.5 times higher than that of all other women in Canada. In addition, the report states, that as of November 2013, at least 105 Indigenous women and girls remained missing under suspicious circumstances or for undetermined reasons.
My cousin Ashley's father John has dedicated his life to raising awareness about the epidemic of missing and murdered women in Canada. Each year, he holds events in Ashley's memory and donates the money to the cause.
So our concern for Savanna is particularly heartfelt. We know the families. We understand their grief. And we rail against the senseless nature of the crime of femicide, which can, and does, happen in any family.
My cousin Ashley and Savanna were very different women from very different backgrounds. But they had one thing in common -- both left their families and communities to pursue their dreams. Ashley was a gypsy who loved to fish and pan for minerals in the frigid waters of British Columbia. She was kind and loving, and sassy. Savanna wanted to dedicate her life to the service of others and become a nurse. She, too, from all accounts was kind and loving and sassy.
Neither of these women deserved their fate.
Their only crime was trying to live their lives to the fullest.
I am ashamed that this happened in Ottawa where Savanna should have been afforded more supports especially from her own Inuit community which is robust in the area. Her death also exposes a need for Algonquin College and other educational institutions to alert students to the dangers that lurch in rented rooms across this city.
The man who is charged with her murder was known to police, and his ex-girlfriend told the media she feared for her own safety. How was he allowed to rent rooms to unsuspecting young women?
We may never know.
As a society, we need to do better for these young women.
My heart is heavy. I pray for Savanna and her family.
Our family will hang red dresses in Savanna's honour.
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