44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 13, 2022 11:00AM
- Jun/13/22 2:10:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the history of the bison is woven into the fabric of our nation, but this year, the Canadian Bison Association is aiming to remind Canadians of the present and future of these great prairie animals.
At its international convention in Saskatoon next month, the CBA will be proclaiming an annual national bison week. This event brings together a diverse range of participants, from first nations to ranchers, restaurants to museums and researchers to national and provincial park officials. The contributions of first nations will be especially important as indigenous elders teach Canadians the historical importance of the bison: providing food, shelter and clothing, as well as being an essential part of indigenous spirituality and culture. It will also raise awareness of the growing economic benefits of bison, whose meat is increasingly viewed as a low-fat delicacy around the world.
Please join me in wishing the Canadian Bison Association every success in its launch of national bison week.
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- Jun/13/22 2:17:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, Milton's orange crosswalk was unveiled. This important visual tribute and landmark was created to symbolize the strength and courage of residential school survivors and commemorate the victims, their families and their communities.
This is a positive step forward in the path to reconciliation in Milton. This crosswalk is an opportunity for the people of Milton to learn more about indigenous history and culture in our community.
My friends at Grandmother's Voice, Sherry Saevil and Jody Harbour, and many others, have helped bring this together. I cannot thank them enough for all the incredible work they have done to provide space, healing and knowledge, while amplifying indigenous voices in our community.
June marks National Indigenous History Month, and everyone has a role to play in dismantling the systemic racism, inequality and discrimination that indigenous people continue to face today.
I hope that this crosswalk will play a small part in the healing process.
I sincerely wish I could have been there in person today, but I am proud to know that our town of Milton is continuing along the path of reconciliation.
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- Jun/13/22 3:38:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, entitled “The Effects of the Housing Shortage on Indigenous Peoples in Canada”.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill S-219, an act respecting a National Ribbon Skirt Day.
She said: Madam Speaker, I rise today for the first reading of Senate bill, Bill S-219, which would establish January 4 of every year as national ribbon skirt day. Through this bill, Canada would have the opportunity to further its understanding and education of indigenous culture and heritage, specifically the ribbon skirt, which is a symbolic piece of clothing used in indigenous tradition and ceremony across the country.
In my riding of Fredericton, an unceded Wolastoqiyik territory, we have Wolastoq Wednesdays, where indigenous women, girls and two-spirited peoples wear ribbon skirts with pride and reclaim spaces with meaningful cultural representation. This bill would give us an opportunity to celebrate and stand with indigenous women and girls and two-spirited peoples to honour them in such a positive way and truly walk in the path of reconciliation.
I wish to sincerely thank the amazing Senator McCallum for her work and dedication to uplifting the voices of indigenous peoples in Canada, and for the immense honour she has given me to sponsor this bill in the House.
I also want to thank Chief George Cote of the Cote First Nation, Saskatchewan, as well as Isabella Kulak and her family for giving us all the opportunity to learn and grow together.
Meegwetch. Woliwon.
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- Jun/13/22 3:58:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise on behalf of petitioners who are calling on the government to enact a just transition that would see the reduction of emissions. It would also see the support for public institutions, ensure that we create good green jobs across Canada, and protect workers' rights, including the rights of indigenous nations.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for her passionate statement as well. Does the member think this bill does enough to support indigenous issues?
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for the excellent, unique and necessary perspective that she just brought forward into this debate on this important bill.
What would happen to indigenous artists and content creators, and also indigenous languages, if this bill were delayed or deferred or even defeated in this House?
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Madam Speaker, that is an excellent question. I think there would continue to be unfair competition. It is just too difficult for indigenous providers to be on the same level of competition against mainstream providers like Netflix, which have millions in revenue that these indigenous providers do not have access to. I hope that answers your question.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's insights. I want to add to the comment from my hon. colleague across the way that the other option would be that the bill could also be improved.
My hon. colleague from the NDP referenced the fact that she was looking for some changes at committee to incorporate some of these indigenous languages. What is her perspective on this very motion that we are dealing with, which is actually trying to reduce the opportunity for improvements to the bill and testimony at committee?
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Uqaqtittiji, doing everything that we can to ensure that we are all contributing to the protection and promotion of indigenous languages is paramount, and we need to do what we can. This could mean levelling the playing field for competition in the online streaming act, but definitely also referencing more in relation to indigenous languages. The indigenous languages have been at risk for far too long, and we need more of our bills to address protecting indigenous languages. I hope that answers the member's question as well.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for such an important speech. I appreciate her efforts to promote indigenous and minority languages. It is important.
I have some concerns about the bill, especially for very small media outlets, such as community media. The question was asked earlier: Will they be able to get their share of the pie?
A lot of things have yet to be determined. The details will be worked out through negotiations. That means there is some uncertainty. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on this.
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Madam Speaker, because of the history of colonial racism, we know that many indigenous people have been stripped of their languages. I am wondering if the member could share some of her thoughts around the importance of online broadcasters having an obligation to promote indigenous languages and devote the necessary resources to ensure their visibility and how this might impact future generations of indigenous people to feel heard and visible and be exposed to their traditional language.
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Uqaqtittiji, I did allude to it in my presentation. Great places like the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation have been able to televise Inuit content. The online streaming act is the next step to ensuring that we do the same for online streaming providers. It is just as important. It is the next logical step that we need to do to ensure that indigenous languages and cultural content are provided by Inuit people.
Qujannamiik.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Nunavut spoke so eloquently to the importance of making sure we address the long-standing issues that have been relevant to indigenous peoples' success in retaining their language, their stories and their culture. It is important that we understand the real impacts that have resulted in the dispossession of these things from indigenous people.
Oftentimes, what we have seen in the last many decades is a rejection of indigenous peoples' own solutions as to how we teach young people the language, demonstrate the modernity of our culture and continue to find ways to have our culture survive. One of the emerging, and I think strongest, ways of encouraging these solutions is by making sure that artists of all cultures have an opportunity not only to speak directly to those persons and communities, but to also represent those communities.
I am one of the younger members of this Parliament and growing up, in my short lifetime, there has been a huge gap in media, the arts and television shows. I have heard many members today speak about how important certain programs, such as Corner Gas, are in their homes and their living rooms, but this was not there for indigenous people when they turned on the TV. My parents would never watch TV because they felt as though it never represented them.
However, young people take in media, language, culture and items that make our country better. They take in items and information that formulates who they are, and that is a simple kind of justice that every indigenous person needs.
Here in the 21st century, as modernity has continued, we have seen these large Internet platforms often take up and suck up so much of the space that indigenous people require to make sure young people have access to these things. In the absence of legislation, such as what Bill C-11 would provide, indigenous content providers and existing indigenous producers are being forced to find other ways to finance their means. They are being forced to look at cutting wages for certain folks. They are also being forced to look at the arts as not a viable economy for indigenous people. This hurts indigenous people's culture and language, which is so valuable and important, particularly now in the age of truth and reconciliation.
What I would like to see for my niece and nephew, and for the next generation of those who are growing up indigenous across Alberta, is for them to not only have a chance to be able to tell the stories of our people, the stories of this land, or even the story of treaty, but also be able to have the support, space and financial resiliency to get that done.
We are remarkable in our country in highlighting so many of these artists, but what we are often not good at is supporting them. The bill before us would directly do that. Bill C-11 would ensure that Canadian content is visible and protected on online platforms, which is important. Another really important piece is that freedom of expression is explicitly protected within this process, which means that individuals who are participating in online streams would not be subject to the kinds of things that the platform itself would be, and some of that includes the platforms paying their fair share.
When it comes to supporting our arts industry in Canada, the existing laws look at radio and television. They require that those providers pay to ensure Canadian content is present and protected, and that Canadians have the opportunity to access it. This is vitally important when thinking about the 21st century and how our next generation will continue to absorb content and share that with the rest of Canadians.
When I look at, for example, some of the remarkable art happening in Edmonton and across Alberta, I see passionate, strong, well-deserving people who are doing their level best to make sure they have an opportunity to share what is so awesome about our province with the rest of the world. We see across the country, further east, indigenous nations taking a bold stance and furthering their productions by supporting them through great initiatives, including the current funds that are available through the National Film Board.
One of those films I had an opportunity to watch not long ago is a film called Wildhood. For those who do not know it, it is a Canadian-made film about two-spirit folks within indigenous communities, two-spirit youth. What a remarkable contribution it is for indigenous people, particularly for young people as they navigate so many questions about their identity and who they are. Oftentimes, they look to media. It may not be the best form of information, but it is a form of information people are absorbing. It is incumbent on all of us as members of Parliament to make sure we can guarantee to Canadians that what we produce here, what we learn here and what we show folks will be given to Canadians in a responsible way.
I think about the economy and what this means for artists. We looked at, for example, the pandemic. It was a devastating time for our arts producers. We saw a massive vacuum of finances that had been, at that time, supporting artists. This was prior to the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, we saw an evaporation of their revenues, which was $233 million. That was money that was supporting artists, storytellers and those who were working with communities to tell the story about who they are. Especially for a country as young as ours, we are trying to understand who was here, what we are here for and what we would like to be. Those are important questions that our country must be able to have the courage to lay a strong foundation for.
When it comes to levelling the playing field, it is really important that we understand that Canadians deserve a chance. I think every single member of Parliament today supports that. They support the fact that all Canadians deserve an opportunity to share their stories, share who they are and share that with the world.
However, it is troubling to me to know that members of the Conservative caucus want to withhold this bill and slow it down after so long. This bill was introduced in the last Parliament, albeit it has absorbed some good changes. There are still some changes, I think, that the committee responsible will definitely delve into, but it is important that we actually get to discuss this at committee.
I am really excited for the opportunity this will provide indigenous peoples, the francophone community, persons with disabilities and all marginalized groups in Canada. It is going to guarantee them access to something they have been rejected from for so long, whether it is because of finances or not having the ability to organize properly. What we have now is the chance to actually create that revenue and create that model so they would actually have an opportunity to share it and be a part of the mosaic that is Canada.
It is important that we look at some of the folks who are validating this. There are people in Canada who need this. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists said, “Other countries are taking measures to protect their economy and their cultural sovereignty. Canada must not fall behind. Sovereign countries must have the...tools to tell their own stories in the 21st century.” That is us. They are speaking directly to us.
The Canadian Independent Music Association said:
While most [companies] operating in Canada are subject to some form of regulation, U.S. and international online steaming services that distribute audio and audio-visual content are currently exempt from Canada’s regulatory system. This means, for example, that unlike commercial radio stations, these services are not required to [contribute financially] towards Canadian Content Development or to showcase Canadian content on their platforms.
This must change. I am so proud to represent the folks of Edmonton Griesbach, who are continuing to ensure that our city and our province can contribute across the country in ways and means that are going to protect their story, but alto make sure that they level the playing field and get financially supported for it.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to engage with the member. I work with him on the public accounts committee. I enjoyed his speech, particularly when he said that cultural producers should enjoy the space and security to tell Canadian stories. His focus was on indigenous stories.
I wonder what he thinks of a point of view that we often hear from the opposition side, including today. I think it is our friends in the Conservative Party who put forward that we should leave cultural production to the free market, saying that legislation and government have no place in assisting cultural production. What would the member's view on that be?
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Uqaqtittiji, a constituent of mine, Alexis Utatnaq, wrote to me supporting the passing of Bill C-11. She said that it was long overdue and that an update needed to be made. She also said to me, “I am proud of our cultural productions and want to make sure Parliamentarians pass C-11”.
Does the member intend to put an end to this injustice, or rather protect the profits of web giants, which would ultimately lead to less cultural indigenous content if the bill is not passed?
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