Edmonton·Video

Conference focuses on supporting families of missing and murdered people

A three-day conference in Edmonton is looking at how best to support families of missing and murdered people.

'As long as one group of women is not safe, then no woman is safe'

Dawn Lavell Harvard, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, is speaking at the Exploring Challenges/Creating Soultions: Supporting Families of Missing and Murdered Persons Conference in Edmonton. (CBC)

A three-day conference in Edmonton is looking at how best to support families of missing and murdered people.

"This is not a women's issue; not even an aboriginal issue," said Dawn Lavell Harvard, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada. "As long as one group of women is not safe, then no woman is safe."

The Victim Services Unit of the Edmonton Police Service is hosting the conference.

Conference spokesperson Kimberly Lineger said representatives of programs from as far away as P.E.I. and Nunavut are sharing ideas about what's working in their communities and how they are serving families and aboriginal communities.

"So that we can take these best practices and these policy innovations back into our programs and then provide the best services possible," Lineger added.

The conference ends tomorrow