44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, I am very honoured today to rise on behalf of survivors, community members and elders who had to unfortunately live through the traumatic experience of Canada's horrific residential schools.
Today we are talking about an issue that is living in the hearts of children, their parents and their grandparents. Today throughout this debate we heard from the government about the importance of finally tabling this much awaited legislation, legislation for which survivors and their families have been calling for years now.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission travelled across our country, spoke to survivors and families about the importance of finally building an independent body that would be tasked with seeking justice on behalf of indigenous families that are still with us today.
That is the need and goal of the call to action we are speaking of today.
We also heard from the Conservatives. We heard about the need for economic reconciliation. Although much of what they are advocating for ignores the reality and plight of survivors, I do recognize the need to see true economic opportunities for indigenous people, but they must go beyond resource extraction. They must truly need indigenous people and their values, and truly lead to a better outcome for indigenous people led by them through self-determination processes.
This work is real. Right now, people across the country are deciding in their families, with their kids, in public schools and even in churches. They are having discussions with regular everyday folks about what it means when we say “reconciliation”. When I say “reconciliation”, it is important that we understand where I am coming from and where members from indigenous communities are coming from when we use that language. Reconciliation implies there was at some point some kind of conciliation that took place in Canada. It is important to recognize that indigenous people have often found themselves in the back seat of government decision-making.
Something we must avoid at all costs in legislation is the prescriptive use of government control to insist who sits at the table to guide, and maybe in some ways influence, the nature of the independent purpose of the legislation.
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 is new for some Canadians, but not all Canadians. Some might remember what happened in the late seventies and early eighties as indigenous people across the country organized. They built new organizations. They fought for their voice. They brought their voice into this place to demand justice, that the rights of indigenous people, their inherent and treaty rights, would be protected. We are not far from that moment in our history. Canada is a very young country, but what is needed is truly concrete action rather than words.
This is not only indigenous people saying this, it is Canada's top Auditor General. She stated just last week, “In 2011, at the end of her mandate as auditor general of Canada, Sheila Fraser summed up her impressions of the government's actions after 10 years of audits and related recommendations on First Nations issues with the word 'unacceptable'.” Five years later her predecessor, Michael Ferguson, used the words "beyond unacceptable".
She further said, “We are now into decades of audits of programs and government commitments that have repeatedly failed to effectively serve Canada's Indigenous peoples... It is clear to me that strong words are not driving change.” She has said, “Concrete actions are needed to address these long-standing issues, and government needs to be held accountable.”
Those are not the words of the New Democrats. Those are the words of Canada's Auditor General, by which I stand firmly.
The age of accountability is upon us. Indigenous people are done waiting. Indigenous people are done asking. Indigenous people are now demanding that the government take seriously and earnestly the words of its own Auditor General in echoing the facts of the failures of the government almost 10 years ago. Those words are still being echoed by the Auditor General today. We must do better.
By better, I point to some jarring statistics. Before I do that, I want to mention that when we use numbers in this place, it has to be founded with the earnest understanding that those numbers represent people, real children, people in each and every one of our communities. There is not one MP in the House who does not and is not affected by the policies of this place, in particular the policies directed at indigenous people and, most important, children. Canada's history in the prosecution of children continues still today.
Statistics Canada said that a 2021 census showed that indigenous children accounted for 53.8% of all children in foster care. This has gone up since the 2016 census, which found that 52.2% of children in care under the age of 14 were indigenous.
If I asked the government this question, which I have today, it will simply deflect and say that the provincial governments are responsible. However, that does not stop the advocates, the strong members like former Chief Norma Kassi, who said, “The doors are closed at the Residential Schools but the foster homes are still existing and our children are still being taken away.”
These are real truths, truths that may not be spoken in this place but are spoken across the country every single day, including in the courtrooms. The very honourable Cindy Blackstock, a champion and true warrior for indigenous people, fighting for the most vulnerable children, said:
...the last residential schools closed in 1997. That trauma echoed forward and then these First Nations children and families had fewer public resources to be able to deal with it. But they were often judged by Canadian public who didn’t know any better...And that perpetuated the cycle of racism and the cycle of trauma.
What she is telling us is that members of Parliament must listen earnestly to the fact that if we do not act now, this will continue generation after generation. That is how deep these wounds truly are.
We can think about the mistreatment of indigenous children, not just the residential school period but also in the sixties scoop, of which I am an intergenerational survivor. The sixties scoop was not all that long ago, and it affects families every day. Some family members we never meet. I have never met all my family members. This is not a rare story. This is a common story of many people from coast to coast to coast.
It gets even worse. Many face mistreatment, even now as we speak, such as physical, sexual and spiritual abuse. There are at least 14,100 maltreatment incident investigations for indigenous children, according to the Canadian child welfare research portal's most recent statistics. If we are not talking about the basic principles of justice in this place for the most vulnerable people in our society, what are we truly doing here? There are 14,000 children who are malnourished in Canada and we are talking about who gets to sit on a national board for reconciliation.
I challenge the government to go far beyond rhetoric, far beyond tabling legislation, but I agree with the fact that I need to use this opportunity to echo that more must be done. This is barely the first step to ensuring the government truly does what must be done.
We know these children will continue to need our support. They will continue to need indigenous people. They will continue to need their language. They will continue to need access to land. That is critical to our people's rebuilding.
I want to thank my hon. colleagues for debating this very serious topic. I hope we can unite the House, not just for the principles of fairness found within this legislation but toward justice for indigenous people, not just today but every single day in the House. That is my hope.
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Madam Speaker, the member touched upon the importance of the children. Several calls to action speak to education and the need to talk about the true indigenous history all across Canada, Métis history, Inuit history and first nations history.
I wonder if the member opposite could talk a little about what he sees in his province. We now have National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We have a national council of reconciliation, $126.5 million. Could the member opposite talk a little about whether thinks the education that children are currently receiving on reconciliation and indigenous history within his province is adequate or does more need to be done?
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for ensuring that this question is asked today, because it is an important one. It touches on the very basis of where our society goes and the purpose of public education in that journey.
We are in an age, not only of reconciliation, but of action and consequence. If we did not act in every facet of society, including our public schools, a whole new generation of Canadians would have been failed. They would have not understood more deeply the importance of residential schools and the impact they have on children. They would not have information regarding the sixties scoop. They would not have information with respect to the CFS system. It is important we continue to do work to ensure our public schools from coast to coast to coast are equipped with the tools to discuss this important history.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Edmonton Griesbach for his comments. I have appreciated the opportunity to work with him on a number of files over the last year.
I want to go back to the amendment that has been proposed by the Liberals. In 2018 the government signed an accord recognizing the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples as one of the five national indigenous organizations, which is why at committee the Conservatives brought forward a motion to add a seat at the table for this organization. That passed with the support of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois members.
Given that the Liberals are now bringing forward an amendment to remove that seat, I wonder if the member for Edmonton Griesbach can clarify if the NDP members will vote, as they did at committee, in favour of reserving a seat on this board for the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
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Madam Speaker, I want to mention something very critical to the understanding of this place, Canada, and the government in relation to the conversation of representatives who represent indigenous people. When we say “national organizations”, what are the nations we are talking about, and who belongs to those nations? It is critical that we flip that question upside down and understand that indigenous people are truly grassroots people and that Canada must meet them where they are, not the other way around.
Therefore, to appease the member, I understand where the Conservatives are coming from. The composition of this board is seemingly and perceptively looking as though it is lacking independence, because the government is appointing members, and the Conservatives are trying to appoint members right now. The New Democrats are saying that the composition does not matter. The composition needs to be one that truly understands that indigenous people have to be met where they are, on the ground.
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Madam Speaker, I think it is worth noting, when we talk about the calls to action, that today's bill, Bill C-29, with its amendments, is a significant achievement in recognizing that there are in fact four calls that are addressed. Timing and politics aside, I think it is important for us to recognize the significance of this legislation. Would the member not agree?
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Madam Speaker, it is important that we thank the survivors, the important members of indigenous governments and the grassroots leaders, but in some ways it is also important to give a shout-out to the children who are enduring this pain every single day and relying on parliamentarians in the House to provide the kind of justice that not only indigenous children but all children deserve in this country. When we talk about not being political with respect to these issues, it is important that we also understand that there is far more to do to ensure that these children get the justice and the kind of compensation they deserve for this treatment.
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- Nov/29/22 1:51:49 p.m.
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Is the House ready for the question?
Some hon. members: Question.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): The question is on Motion No. 1. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be carried or carried on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
The hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River.
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- Nov/29/22 1:52:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we request a recorded division.
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The recorded division on the motion stands deferred.
The next question is on Motion No. 2.
If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried on division or wishes to request a recorded division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- Nov/29/22 1:53:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to request a recorded division.
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The recorded division on the motion stands deferred.
The next question is on Motion No. 3.
If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried on division or wishes to request a recorded division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- Nov/29/22 1:54:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we would like to request a recorded division.
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The recorded division on the motion stands deferred.
Normally at this time the House would proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded divisions at the report stage of the bill.
However, pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, the recorded divisions stand deferred until later this day at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I suspect you would find consent to suspend until 2 p.m. when we could commence S.O. 31s.
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- Nov/29/22 1:55:36 p.m.
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Is it agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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- Nov/29/22 1:55:49 p.m.
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The House will now suspend until 2 p.m.
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- Nov/29/22 2:01:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am rising today to commend the Toronto Police Service, specifically Sergeant Jeff Zammit and the major crimes unit at 14 Division. Yesterday, they raided an illegal cannabis store operating right across the street from two elementary schools and a community centre in Spadina—Fort York.
There were six adults arrested for selling illegal cannabis and magic mushrooms. They were charged with possession of a schedule III substance for the purpose of trafficking, possession for the purpose of selling and possession of proceeds of crime. Right across the street from two elementary schools, there was an illegal store that set up shop with dried cannabis, pre-rolled joints, oils, hash, 48 kilos of edibles and, believe it or not, psilocybin in chocolate bars.
The raid sent a message to illegal cannabis stores sprouting up throughout Toronto. They will be found. They will be closed down, and they will be arrested.
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- Nov/29/22 2:02:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, today is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It is an occasion to remember, reflect and renew our commitment to the just cause of the Palestinian people.
On this day in 1947, the United Nations adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine, which has yet to be implemented. Millions of Palestinians have been deprived of their fundamental human rights. Millions are refugees, and a third of registered Palestinian refugees live in camps and need humanitarian assistance.
I call on Canada to stand up to its reputation as a defender of human rights and immediately take steps to implement its policies. I also call on Canada to join 138 other countries in recognizing the sovereign state of Palestine.
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- Nov/29/22 2:03:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, many Canadians were saddened by the unexpected passing of Leon Fontaine, pastor of Springs Church, which has campuses in Winnipeg and Calgary. He was also CEO of the Miracle Channel, Springs Christian Academy and Springs College.
Leon's motto of “love, acceptance and forgiveness” is what grew Springs Church to be among the largest churches in Canada. His faith inspired the good he did in his community and around the globe.
Leon's passion was for folks to join God's family, accept Jesus as their saviour and live a miraculous, spirit-led life. He had a heart for Winnipeg, a heart for Calgary and a heart for Canada. Every service, Leon would open by praying for our leaders, in business, as well as medical and political. He would pray that God would raise up great leaders who have a heart for people and a heart to serve people.
If Leon could have addressed Parliament today, this is what his message would have been: When it comes to matters of faith, we do not all have to agree, but we need the freedom to agree. We need leaders who would keep Canada the greatest and freest country in the world.
We join Sally, their five children and their families to celebrate a life well lived. Until we meet again.
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