The time for an inquest into Vancouver's missing women is now, says a city councillor.
COPE Coun. Ellen Woodsworth will press city council on Tuesday to petition B.C.'s Attorney General for a public inquiry into the investigation of the missing women case once legal proceedings against serial killer Robert Pickton have concluded.
"The horror of the Pickton trial has brought to everyone's attention what's happening," she said. "People started to raise this question in 1985 and said, women are going missing down here, and nothing was done."
Vancouver police publicly stated their longstanding support for an inquiry in a letter sent last month to a victim's family member.
More than 50 women have gone missing from the Downtown Eastside with Pickton found responsible for only six killings.
"The public needs to realize this is enormous," Woodsworth said. "This is not about one person who targeted the women of the Downtown Eastside but an issue facing women across this province and across Canada."
