The NDP candidate for Kamloops – South Thompson thinks all parties could be doing a better job when it comes to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Anna Thomas is the first Indigenous person to run for office in the riding.

On the NL Morning News, she was asked why her party had nothing in their platform on the issue. “I can’t tell you why but I can tell you that it definitely needs to be actioned and move forward. I think there hasn’t been anything from the parties, none of the parties have committed to ending violence against Indigenous women and girls.”

She says “Women are the backbone of our community and they need to be supported.”

Thomas says although there’s nothing in their official platform, the NDP have taken steps in the right direction. “I know that the NDP government has done some extensive work in regards to community engagement for creating safe spaces. You know how do we have those safe dialogues in our communities?”

“You know, that’s important because we need to engage with our smaller communities and even our bigger communities and take that lead from grass roots women.”

She pointed to the final report from the Federal Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls “231 calls for justice and the National Action Plan. All of the parties need to be accountable for that.”

As for any message she wanted to share with the voters of Kamloops – South Thompson, Thomas was very gracious in her response, “Thank you for understanding and being accepting of me, and go and vote!”