BCFNJC acknowledges the financial support of Women and Gender Equality Canada during the implementation and transparency planning phase of the IWJP (June 2024- Dec 2025).
Jan. 21, 2026
In holding true to values of transparency and accountability, the BCFNJC Women’s Team is proud to share an external evaluation of the implementation plan for the Indigenous Women’s Justice Plan (IWJP).
Firelight, an Indigenous-owned consultancy, recently completed an evaluation of the implementation of the IWJP, based on sharing circles with Indigenous partners, government and BCFNJC staff, and a survey open to all Indigenous people in B.C.. It outlines successes, barriers, and recommendations for further implementing the plan.
“The Women’s Team are a great example and reminder that relationship building is not a deliverable or simple indicator of success relative to implementation; rather, it is the heart of the work,” the evaluation states.
In 2024, the BC First Nations Justice Council released the Final Draft of the IWJP, called for under Strategy 11 of the BC First Nations Justice Strategy and rooted in the MMIWG2S+ Inquiry and Calls for Justice (with a revised final draft released in 2025).
Read the evaluation:
A note from the Women’s Team:
“The IWJP is built on the decades of advocacy of our grassroots, matriarchs, knowledge keepers and our elders, it is for our sisters who we have lost, those who have paved the way, and those who continue to walk with us. The plan is built on trust, trust that the voices of our Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ will be centered, uplifted and supported and this is done through being held accountable.
To honor this, the external evaluation of the project was co-developed and conducted with Firelight. The Womens Team was determined to find an organization to perform the external evaluation whose values, and mission were Indigenous led and grounded in the same vision. Firelight was successful in braiding together our shared values while ensuring cultural safety, creating safe spaces and honouring the voices of our Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+. The external evaluation was more than just a measure of progress, a check mark—it was about reflecting the truth and continuing to build trust.
This Indigenous-led evaluation ensured the IWJP was not reviewed by the same systems that historically and presently continue to harm our women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ people, but by those who have walked the same path, those who understand the lived realities and sacred stories behind the plan. The journey to justice is long, and this evaluation strengthens transparency and builds on that trust that the Women’s Team commitments are not just on paper they are being actioned.
We want to lift our hands up in gratitude to the Firelight team: Kaitlyn Knott (research analyst), Aislinn Gallivan, Research Analyst, Kassandra Woods (Program Manager), and Erin Tomkins (technical lead) who walked this journey with us and ensured the voices of our Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ voices were centered.”
