44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 7, 2022 02:00PM
- Dec/7/22 6:26:51 p.m.
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Madam Chair, today I am going to share the words of Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris. We talk so much here and now it is time to listen to what families and survivors want.
“My name is Cambria Harris. My spirit name is West Flying Sparrow Woman. I'm a member of Long Plain First Nation but I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I am 21 years old and I'm the eldest daughter of my deceased mother, Morgan Harris.
“We all know why I'm here today, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak, but I'm sad for the reasons I have to come here. It pains me to say that this week has been one of the hardest for indigenous peoples. This horrific situation has shaken us as a nation and angered indigenous people and strangers worldwide.
“What has happened is despicable, and I'm utterly shocked and saddened to hear that far more beautiful innocent indigenous lives were taken at the expense of a monster, including my mother Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and still one lost sister who has now been named Buffalo Woman. Remember these names. Shout them from the roof of your lungs and bring justice for these deceased women.
“Time and time again, the system has failed vulnerable women and people, specifically indigenous. I want you to understand that every single one of these women are beautiful human beings. They are loved. They are mothers. They are sisters. They are someone. Our women—those who bring life to this world—are considered sacred and we need to start treating them like so. We need to end this violence against our women. Each and every one of these women lived a full life of stories and love. They deserve to be remembered for who they are rather than the way they passed on.”
Sorry, Madam Chair, but I am sharing the words of the victim's child, and Conservative members are choosing this time to chat. I find that disrespectful.
Could you stop my time? Let us respect these families.
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- Dec/7/22 6:31:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the letter continues:
“They deserve to be remembered for who they are rather than the way they passed on. It breaks me to see our women fall through the cracks of society over and over again. Throughout my teens, I've watched and I've heard the horror stories of indigenous women going missing and many never found, and when they're found, they're found deceased in the most horrible, gruesome ways, and all you can do is cry and hope your loved ones aren't next.
“I was there back when Tina Fontaine went missing and I protested when she was found, because it hurt me personally as a young indigenous girl. Tina was around my age at that time, and there was protesting and rallying for her at the police station, demanding change, as a sniper looked over us.
“I was at the Take Back the Night marches shouting for our women and how we shouldn't have to be afraid to go out on the streets at night. That is why I'm here today. We are not meant to be forgotten, and we won't be. We are here forever, as we should be. These women have been a voice, and they deserve to be heard and paid the respect and love they need and needed before.
“Over the last decade, I've watched the news stories of families mourning their missing loved ones. I've watched stories unfold from when they go missing and when they're found in the worst ways. What happened last week and what has been happening for a very long time is a hate crime and indigenous genocide. This needs to seriously change. These monsters lurking within our society, how do we begin to pick them out and stop them before they seriously harm somebody, when all the hints were there that they were going to hurt someone?
“What is frightening is how these disgusting creatures present themselves as friends. They hide in the corners and shadows, only brought to face when they've murdered our women. You guys have the power to make change and do our part in this by providing all the missing and murdered indigenous people the justice and respect they need.
“The system put in place, the system that was meant to protect these women and keep them from harm, failed them miserably and horribly. I'm angered by this, and I am heartbroken for the families and victims affected by this, my indigenous brothers and sisters. I've watched a nation come together in the most beautiful of ways for the most heartbreaking and gut-wrenching situation. This needs to end.
“I've watched this happen too many times. It has become a story, a story that is familiar not only for myself but also for other indigenous people. My mother, Morgan Harris, was a bright and loving soul. She gave birth to me when she was only 18 years old, and this breaks my heart because I am blessed to be a mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old and I gave birth at 19. My mother will never, ever get to meet her granddaughter, and she will never have a chance at having that sort of bond with her. That was ripped away from my mother and my daughter, and my mother was ripped away from me at the expense of a monster, a vile creature.
“With that being said, I am able to understand the struggles my mother went through having a child so young and then going on to give birth to four more while struggling with addiction. She had been struggling with addiction since I was a small girl, but she still shielded me from the horrors of the world. I remember when I was younger, I had gone for a sleepover at my aunt Crystal's, and by the time we got back to our childhood home on Simcoe, my house was surrounded by police and garbage bags. I didn't get to see her up close, but she yelled at me from the house while I was in the car, saying to me that I was going for a sleepover to my aunt's and that she loved me and how she'd get me back. I believed her.
“That sleepover occurred in 2006, and it ended up lasting until I was 17. I didn't understand what she was going through then because she did such a good job protecting me from it, but I understand now it was never her fault. That was the start of it all, and through the years of growing up in CFS and between having visits with her as a young child, I watched my mom slowly lose herself to addiction in the most heartbreaking way. Mental illness took over. The help for her became less and less, and I watched my mother cry for help, as well as my family.
“But she did the best with what she had. She was a smart woman, an absolutely bright, loving soul. She had a smile you'll never forget. It breaks my soul to know that the system put in place that was supposed to protect her failed her and watched as she fell and cried.
“She was in and out of treatment centres and homelessness, constantly living on the streets for as long as I can remember, but that didn't stop her, that didn't stop her from seeing me and still being able to be a great, amazing mother for me. She was a great mother, and I might have been in CFS, but I did get visits with her, and then I did see her. My mother always made a point of being with me separately, making sure she spent quality time with me, because she herself knew she couldn't be there in the way she so badly wanted to because these systems had failed her.
“She didn't get to leave this earth with a home. She didn't get to pass away next to her loved ones, and she was loved by friends, families and strangers all around. Throughout the short years of her life, she had to live in fear, hiding from sirens and people, and constantly living in fear of the dangers that lurked around at night while we were all blessed to sleep in our beds.
“She lived in fear and she left the earth in a disastrous way. But you know what? For someone so small, with a five-foot stature, she was a feisty woman. She had a passion and an often burning goodness in her heart. Anyone who looked at this tiny woman the wrong way would be sorry. She fought for what she cared about, and everyone loved it and her confidence.
“She was extremely cared for by many, and since this heartbreaking news broke out, I have received substantial amounts of support, and I've heard stories of people who knew her, of how she was living on the streets, and how she always made a point and an impact on someone. Everyone always remembered her name.
“She was the funniest person I knew, and she was always making me laugh, along with others, and I want you to remember my mother, Morgan, as a strong, resilient woman. She had to do what she needed to do to survive, and it's unfortunate how she left.
“Let's pay her the respect and love she deserves by giving her a home finally, and that would be finding her, Marcedes and Buffalo Woman from the landfill, or wherever else they may be. Your government started this genocide and now you must help us fix it.”
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- Dec/7/22 6:41:09 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I do not think it is difficult. There are 231 calls for justice that clearly lay out a plan forward.
The asks are very simple right now. I have been calling for the police to call for an independent investigation and provide the support and information necessary with respect to the feasibility of a search. If that is not possible, all this letter is asking for is to stop dumping garbage on her loved one. This is not difficult. What world do we want to live in where we have to beg? This is a crime scene, and we do not want to have garbage dumped on our loved ones.
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- Dec/7/22 6:42:58 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in light of what is going on, at the very least there needs to be an immediate moratorium on the utilization of Prairie Green Landfill until this can be resolved. In honour of what the children are going through, and the families who are looking for loved ones, we need to give them that justice. We need to give them that peace.
We also need to have prevention. I have been calling for a red dress alert. Every time an indigenous woman goes missing, we need a red dress alert. Just like there are alerts that go out when children go missing, or when there are storms happening, we need a red dress alert.
We need, of course, immediate investment in housing. I just found out this morning that, unfortunately, another woman perished from freezing to death in a bus shelter last night. We have a housing crisis. These are human rights issues. We need to invest in safe spaces, but we need real investment in housing.
We also need a guaranteed livable basic income. Leslie Spillett, a well-known advocate in the community, was very clear. She said that if these women had a guaranteed livable income, they would be alive. This is a poverty crisis and not just a mental health crisis. This is a poverty crisis, and people need the support they need to live in dignity.
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- Dec/7/22 6:45:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I agree with my hon. colleague. We need those monies to be given to families in our communities to use the way they need for justice. We have put out 231 calls to action. In the 2022 budget, there were zero budgetary allocations for MMIWG2S. That is wrong. We need immediate resources. We need substantial resources for the searching of our loved ones and just to keep us alive.
I got up this morning after I had been with the beautiful family of Morgan Harris. I know some of the family. I love them. They walk with Bear Clan Patrol. They are a beautiful family. They are brilliant young people. They deserve justice. We need to listen to them, which is why I read the speech of Cambria Harris, one of Morgan Harris's daughters. We need to listen to families and survivors of violence. They have the way forward.
We have 231 calls to action. We need monies invested now to make sure we can heed those calls to action.
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- Dec/7/22 6:48:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think that, in this case, it is very clear. There has been, as a result, and for very good reason, a relationship of distrust that has developed over time.
In this particular case, out of respect for the families, I believe it is in the best interest of the Winnipeg city police to call for an independent investigation with support and access to the information required to assess whether it is feasible to complete a search successfully. If not, there is nothing that screams systemic racism more than to have an active crime scene and to continue to throw garbage on our loved ones. There needs to be an immediate moratorium so loved ones can rest in peace.
Kera Harris, Morgan Harris's other daughter, said something to me the other day that was really telling. She said, “I need a place to give an offering for my mother, and I can't do that at a garbage dump.”
I want her to have that closure. They have a right to have closure. Our families have a right to have closure. We deserve that respect, and I am asking for everybody in the House today to give us that closure. We need that closure, and we need help and support now.
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- Dec/7/22 7:01:48 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I wanted to acknowledge that in Ottawa today we have the chief of Long Plain First Nation, Kyra Wilson, and the family of Morgan Harris.
I am glad to hear my hon. colleague speak about how we are going to work together across party lines to get justice for the families on their terms and in response to what they are saying they need for justice.
Will my colleague work with me to get the justice the families are looking for?
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- Dec/7/22 7:44:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have worked a lot with my hon. colleague in Winnipeg. Velma's House was a needed investment. I just found out this morning that a woman froze to death in a bus shack, under blankets. We are in a critical emergency. I appreciated what the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations shared the other day, that this is no time to boast about investments, because we are not doing enough.
I am wondering if my colleague would work with me to ensure a couple of things as a fellow Winnipegger: that there be immediate investments to support families in housing, shelter support and other services, as well as a red dress alert; and specifically that he join me in encouraging the police to call for an independent investigation, with costs and access to information support, to see if it is feasible to search the Prairie Green Landfill and, if not, that he joins me in the meantime in the call to have a moratorium placed on the continued use of this landfill site, as it is a crime scene and we need to respect the remains of loved ones.
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- Dec/7/22 8:40:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been working with my colleague across the way to respond to the crisis occurring in our communities, but he just said something of concern to me, which is that he is open to establishing an ombudsperson. Call for justice 1.7 specifically calls for that. This is something indigenous women, girls and families are calling for. It is needed.
Will the minister commit today to putting that in place immediately, especially in light of the level of emergency we are in? Also, will he support the calls of the families to immediately put a moratorium on Prairie Green Landfill so the remains of their mothers can rest in peace and an independent investigation can occur regarding the feasibility of a search in the area?
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- Dec/7/22 9:02:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of working with my hon. colleague on the status of women committee. We are just finishing a study on the connection between resource extraction and increased violence against indigenous women and girls. I am very proud that everybody on that committee committed to that study in response to addressing violence against indigenous women.
One thing we have learned about on the committee is the importance of listening. Families are very clear. In this instance, a family came today to listen to what we had to say. One of the things families are calling for is a moratorium on continuing the use of the Prairie Green Landfill site, where the remains of their mother are currently suspected to be located. This was acknowledged by the police. It is a site that continues to be used for refuse.
Does my colleague support the family's call in asking for an immediate moratorium so the remains of their loved ones can be left undisturbed and respected?
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- Dec/7/22 9:36:59 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague, not only for her intervention but for sharing her thoughts as somebody who lived in Winnipeg for a long time and knows the history of racism we deal with as indigenous people and certainly indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in the city of Winnipeg.
I have been asking across party lines whether members of Parliament will stand behind these families and support the call for a moratorium on any sort of usage of the Prairie Green Landfill until further investigation can occur. I think it is a simple answer. Of course. Of course they support that, because to treat loved ones that way, as the member explained, is unacceptable. The answer should always be yes.
I wonder if my colleague supports the family's call for an immediate moratorium on the use of the Prairie Green Landfill site.
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