On October 4th, the PSAC London Regional Women’s Committee stands in fierce solidarity with Indigenous communities for the annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil. We honor the spirits of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit plus (MMIWG2S+) relatives. We stand shoulder to shoulder with grieving families, demanding an immediate end to the systemic violence, misogyny, and racism that targets Indigenous women.
This crisis strikes at the heart of Southwestern Ontario. We acknowledge that our union operates on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lēnape, and Attawandaron peoples. This national tragedy is not distant; it directly impacts our communities and our immediate neighbours: the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Oneida Nation of the Thames, and Munsee Delaware Nation.
As a union, our mandate is clear: an injury to one is an injury to all. We refuse to separate the shop floor from the community. True workplace safety is an illusion if our Indigenous sisters and siblings face targeted violence outside office walls. Labour has an unyielding duty to fight for safety, human rights, and justice wherever they are threatened.
We reject empty words and symbolic gestures from politicians. We demand the immediate, full implementation of the National Inquiry into MMIWG Calls for Justice. Governments and institutions must provide real, structural accountability now.
Take Action
We call on every PSAC member across Southwestern Ontario to turn grief into collective power this October 4th:
- Mobilize on the Ground: Join local Sisters in Spirit vigils and community gatherings across London and Southwestern Ontario.
- Show Visible Solidarity: Hang a red dress in your window or wear red to work to publicly break the silence.
- Lobby for the Red Dress Alert: Write to Premier Doug Ford and local MPPs demanding funding for an Indigenous-led public emergency broadcast system.
- Disrupt the Workplace: Leave an empty chair draped with a red dress or ribbon in common areas to visually confront this painful reality.
- Educate Membership: Host a union lunch-and-learn to review the National Inquiry’s 231 Calls for Justice and discuss sector accountability.
Break the silence. Force change. Demand justice for our stolen relatives.
In Solidarity,
PSAC London Regional Women’s Committee