“I grew up with Aboriginals beside me, I never even thought of them as Aboriginals, they were just my friends.”

“I grew up in Canada. I was subject to societal racism from the time I was born.”

Round two in the discussion over Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women between Bob Zimmer and Kathi Dickie.

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On October 6, an exchange about missing and murdered Aboriginal women between a Conservative and NDP candidate at a debate in Fort St John made national headlines. Bob Zimmer is running for re-election as MP for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, and among his challengers is Kathi Dickie, a member of the Fort Nelson First Nation.

In the first exchange, Zimmer cited economics and lack of jobs as one of the primary solutions to addressing the issue. You can read their initial exchange here.

Two days later, they met again, this time at a candidates debate in Prince George. Here is the audio and transcript.

I’m on Twitter @akurjata.

Moderator:

“So over the last few days there’s certainly been significant conversation about the comments that were made about the tragedy of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. I wanted to take this opportunity to ask, can you please clarify or tell us your views about whether or not there should be a formal inquiry?”

Bob Zimmer, Conservative:

“My point was, I was making a statement based on an RCMP study that had already been done on missing and murdered Aboriginal woman. And one of the risk factors listed in there was what I spoke about.

“But just to be completely clear I believe that everybody’s created equal. I honestly do. I have a daughter, I have a mother, I have a wife. And I look at them all the same, and I can’t imagine a tragedy worse than losing a child and a daughter.

“I say this with all my heart, is that we need to fix this. And that’s where I’m at.

“We want to make sure that there’s action on the ground that deals with the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, straight-up.”

Moderator:

“Is that a yes or a no to the inquiry?”

Zimmer:

“With 42 studies already I think it’s time for action.”

Moderator:

“OK, can I open it up please? Kathi?”

Kathi Dickie, NDP:

“Yeah, so there have been 42 studies done and as James Anaya from the United Nations came and he said that there’s insufficient work that the government has done, even with the 42 studies.

“So Bob, I did look at that, the study, the RCMP study that you talked about, and actually I read it twice. And I was concerned with the methodology.

“It’s based on a statistical review of their data. And I looked — I had to read it twice. Well, where’s the Aboriginal input into this report? And actually it wasn’t there.

“And I believe that you, you see it as a tragedy and I believe that you do care and you want it solved. But again, how we solve this — we have to get to the issue, in terms of — .

“Like why am I seen as an inferior, disposable object and has been for years, and decades?”

Bob Zimmer:

“Yeah, and, you know, and I can speak for myself that that’s not the way I see it.

“I see, again, everybody is created equal and I deeply care about really all women and all people in society and am concerned about all their safety.

“I have a list of things that we have done or are doing to make sure this doesn’t keep occurring…

“Anyway, I just want to say again from the bottom of my heart that’s where we’re at and that’s where I’m at and we need to get this thing done and fixed.”

Other candidates speak — Barry Blackman, Progressive Canadian Party suggests a team of private investigators to augment RCMP, Elizabeth Biggar, Green Party candidate discusses residential schools, discrepancy in pay for women generally and Aboriginal women specifically, Matt Shaw, Liberal Party candidates says “if this were any other demographic… it would have been on people’s radar. We have to put this on a priority, a national emergency… this is extraordinarily important as a nation.” Conversation comes back to Bob Zimmer.

Bob Zimmer:

“I’ll just, again, speak for myself. I grew up with Aboriginals beside me, I never even thought of them as Aboriginals, they were just my friends growing up in school. And I think most of us in this room have grown up the same way. I don’t see it that way with my own eyes. That’s why I see the equality there, and I see the need to help them. And I see the need, I see the need, I see-

(Elizabeth Biggar, Green Candidate: “How many in Canada don’t even have clean water? Like what are we doing? Under the Harper government! Harper!”)

Zimmer continues: “I see the need to address it.”

Kathi Dickie:

“Bob, I grew up in Canada.

“I was subject to societal racism from the time I was born all the way through.

“I’ve lived through that, I’ve been — the education system has taught me that I’m inferior, I’m a second-rate citizen, and I’m not as good as.

“This is Canada that I grew up in.

“Again, so, question, you talk about all these studies. Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The UN report. So again, those two other reports, I think those aren’t included in your 42 reports. But, uh, again…

“It’s just astounding. This is shameful on Canada. One thousand, two hundred women. Missing or murdered. We’ve worked with the RCMP on the most recent murder- unsolved murder- in our community, and they talk about that they don’t have enough resources to tackle the job.”