kathrynblazebaum

One of the cases that has captured the nation's attention is that of Amber Tuccaro, a 20-year-old indigenous woman who disappeared about five years ago from the Edmonton area. Her skull was found in an area where several indigenous women's remains have been discovered. The RCMP have recently said a serial killer may be responsible for the deaths.

In 2012, police asked the public to help identify the "voice of a person of interest," releasing a recording of a cell-phone conversation Ms. Tuccaro had while driving in a vehicle with an unknown male. Project KARE investigators say the voice belongs to "someone who could assist them in their investigation."

You can read more here: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ab/news-nouvelles/archives/2012/120828-edm-tuccaro-eng.htm

The voice recording is chilling. The case remains unsolved.

It is difficult to quantify the support of band councils as it relates to this issue, since there are hundreds of First Nations communities across the country.

In my travels, chiefs have been receptive to allowing me to visit the reserve, meet with families and try to get a sense for what is going on there. Certainly, there are some communities that have had more success with tackling violence against indigenous women than others.

The RCMP, for instance, has identified 10 communities where indigenous women are a significantly elevated risk of violence. Six of them are in Saskatchewan, two are in Manitoba and there is one each in B.C. and the Northwest Territories.

Living remotely is certainly a factor. Consider the so-called Highway of Tears, where indigenous women have been dying and disappearing over the course of several decades. In some cases, the women were hitchhiking, since the communities along that stretch are so remote and there's no consistent public transit.

As for law enforcement, police across the country say many improvements have been made to, for example, missing-person investigations, including as it relates to the creation of dedicated task forces that examine historic cases.

Examples of this are Manitoba's Project Devote and Alberta's Project KARE.

In examining our database of homicide and missing-person cases involving indigenous women, a Globe team noticed a pattern: Several names were listed in connection with more than one killing.

We set out to determine the extent to which serial killing fits into the broader tragedy of Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women. The discussion had so far centered on the RCMP's confirmation that 70 per cent of indigenous female homicide victims died at the hands of an indigenous men. The Mounties have emphasized a "strong nexus to family violence." There was also the assertion from former cabinet minister Bernard Valcourt, who said these tragedies came down to a lack of respect of indigenous women by indigenous men on reserves.

We were able to determine that indigenous women are roughly seven times more likely than non-indigenous women to be slain by a serial killer. Our investigation also found that at least 18 indigenous women died at the hands of convicted serial killers since 1980.

The majority of those women were killed in or near cities by non-indigenous men.

As for motive, it is difficult to establish that when, even in solved, cases a motive may never be revealed. Some indigenous leaders believe these are crimes of opportunity -- that offenders operate under the assumption that because the women are indigenous and, potentially vulnerable in some way, the cases will spur less response.

The former Conservative government long said it would not launch a national inquiry into Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women. The Liberals, meantime, campaigned on a promise to swiftly set about initiating a probe.

The new Indigenous Affairs minister told me last week that the government would launch a national inquiry by this summer, saying Canadians have waited long enough.

In a departure from the party's tone while in power, the new Conservative leader, Rona Ambrose, has said the party will support the work of the inquiry.

The proof will be in the pudding. It remains to be seen what resources will be devoted to the inquiry, and whether the recommendations will be implemented. Certainly, the tone of the government on this issue is markedly different from that under the Conservatives, and victims' families have told me they have taken notice.

It is impossible to get inside the minds of government officials, but let's examine what the former Conservative said publicly.

In the wake of the death of indigenous teen Tina Fontaine in Winnipeg, former prime minister Stephen Harper dismissed the need for an inquiry, saying the tragedies were not part of a sociological phenomenon but rather crimes best handled by police.

The government said the issue had been studied enough, over the course of many years, and that the time was nigh for action. There were some among the indigenous community who felt (and continue to feel) the same way.

Since being voted out of office in October, the Conservative Party has changed its tone. Interim leader Rona Ambrose has said she will support the Liberal inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, which is expected to get off the ground by the summer.