Closure of STC discriminates against indigenous women, complainant says – StarPhoenix
June 22, 2017
A Regina woman has filed a human rights complaint against the provincial government, alleging the closure of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company discriminates against her and other indigenous women.
The lack of affordable public transportation between towns and cities puts indigenous women at greater risk of being murdered than other people, Connie Deiter said in an interview.
She points to studies of British Columbia’s Highway of Tears, where a lack of public transportation leading to hitchhiking has been linked to the murder or disappearance of 50 indigenous girls and women between Prince George and Prince Rupert since 1970.
“Because there’s such a high risk for us hitchhiking, it impacts us at a greater degree than other women,” Deiter said.
