Public Safety Tries to Destroy Missing Persons Index Behind the Scenes

ATI documents reveal deliberate attempt to limit debate and neuter results.

For Immediate Release: September 28, 2005

OTTAWA: In the wake of damning documents obtained through Access-to-Information (ATI), Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Gary Lunn is shocked at the level of political interference in the public consultation on the establishment of a DNA Missing Persons Index (MPI).

"Canadians took part in this consultation in good faith, only to find the Department of Public Safety has deliberately subverted the entire process," said Lunn, "Apparently the Minister never wanted any real feedback at all. It is shameful that Liberals would play politics on a non-partisan issue, which was only ever intended to bring closure to the grieving families of missing persons."

After lengthy delay, the Public Consultation was finally launched in April of 2005. However, the paper failed to include legitimate arguments in favour of linking the MPI with the Crime Scene Index (CSI); principally to determine if one of the over 15,000 samples of unidentified DNA in the CSI belong to a missing person. Linkage has long been quietly opposed by the federal Liberals.

Drafts of the original consultation paper include an entire section on the merits of linkage. However, Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (PSEP) officials deleted the entire section, replacing it with the comment, "The question will not arise because we won't let it!!!!!!" (sic).

"The Minister publicly pretends to care about missing persons," continued Lunn, "But behind the scenes, she instructs her minions to completely neuter key aspects of the debate."

Lunn concluded by demanding that the Minister publicly commit that linkage of the MPI with the Crime Scene Index will form a key part of the debate at upcoming Federal-Provincial-Territorial meetings on the subject.

"There are legitimate reasons for this linkage, without which the database is severely limited. It is time the Minister took some leadership on this file, and publicly commits her support to a fully integrated, functioning Missing Persons DNA index that will actually help solve these cases."

Lunn's full presentation to the Public Consultation is available on request.

Logan Wenham
Executive Assistant
Gary Lunn, MP
Saanich-Gulf Islands
Phone: (250) 656-2320