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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

May/2/23 6:45:23 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-321

The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired, and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper. Pursuant to order made on Thursday, April 27, I do now leave the chair for the House to go into committee of the whole to consider Motion No. 24 under government business.

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The Deputy Chair

May/2/23 6:45:31 p.m.
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Before we begin this evening's debate, I would like to remind hon. members of how proceedings will unfold. Each member speaking will be allotted 10 minutes for debate, followed by 10 minutes for questions and comments. Pursuant to order made on Thursday, April 27, the time provided for the debate may be extended beyond four hours, as needed, to include a minimum of 12 periods of 20 minutes each. Members may divide their time with another member, and the Chair will receive no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent. We will now begin tonight's take-note debate.

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Hon. Mark Holland (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

May/2/23 6:47:16 p.m.
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moved: That this committee take note of Red Dress Day.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

May/2/23 6:47:16 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Nunavut. It was a monumental day today having all members of the House recognize the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls and two-spirit transwomen, a Canada-wide crisis, because it is a crisis. How many tragedies do we have to endure before appropriate action is taken? We are seeing constant, unrelenting violence against our women, girls, two-spirit people and transwomen. Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Buffalo Woman, Linda Beardy, an eight-year-old girl in Samson Cree Nation: I send my love and sympathies to their families, but they deserve justice. Almost every week we learn about new and heartbreaking stories of sisters who have gone missing or who have been murdered. We cannot let this be normalized. It is not normal because this is a result of vile human rights violations, something that the current Prime Minister likened to an ongoing genocide. I want to acknowledge our trans sisters and gender non-conforming relatives who face a heightened risk of violence, particularly with the rise of anti-trans hate and a woeful lack of funding and support. Too often they are forgotten when we speak about this ongoing genocide. I want to say to our trans sisters that I see them, that they are sacred and they deserve to have space in every circle, even when they are forgotten. Three years since it was announced, the federal government's violence prevention strategy to address the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls is mostly unspent, only 5%, just $37.1 million out of a fund of $724.1 million. Not a single new shelter or transitional home has been built. How much longer do we have to wait for this life-saving money to get out the door? How many lives are going to be lost? How many women are going to disappear without action, without a safe place to go? To make matters worse, we have learned that the Liberals are cutting $150 million from women's shelters in September. Over 600 shelters will have less resources to help people fleeing gender-based violence, rates of violence that we know have increased since the pandemic. The pandemic might have shifted but gender-based violence is on the rise and this government is turning its back on people needing safe places to go. That $150 million could be used to save lives. They need to be providing more resources, not less, because lives are at stake. The solutions to the crisis are there. Listen to the national inquiry's 231 calls to justice, to families, survivors, advocates. Listen to the young people who are fighting on the front lines, who often do not even have space to speak at the table, young people who are being impacted by violence. Families and survivors were clear today. They are calling for a Canada-wide emergency, to start work immediately on developing and implementing a national red dress alert system, to create a guaranteed livable basic income and immediately carry out prevention initiatives that honour the rights of indigenous women, girls, trans and gender non-conforming individuals, including but not limited to a right to health, a right to culture, the right to security and the right to justice. This funding needs to be directed toward indigenous women, youth, children and indigenous-led and serving organizations. It is time for the government to heed the call. This threat and this ongoing genocide deserve urgency. We are not disposable. People in the hundreds took to the streets in Winnipeg declaring that we are not garbage. We are not garbage. We deserve justice now.

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Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)

May/2/23 6:52:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the member for Winnipeg Centre has been a tireless advocate for justice, for decency and for bringing our sisters home. It is no secret that this prolonged and continuous genocide is persistent. It is persistent not only in the forms it has taken, such as violence against women or the results of poverty we are seeing, but it is also nefarious in the way the government operates. It is nefarious that it continues to limit the funding necessary to get to the organizations that need it most. We have young people who are present with us today who need these kinds of resources. They need the support of their government to put that money into their pockets so they can do the work of community life saving. Can the member speak about the importance of young people and their contributions to ending this crisis?

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Ms. Leah Gazan

May/2/23 6:53:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as I mentioned, young people are on the front lines of this issue. They need to be supported. They need to be supported in this life-saving work. They need mentorship. They need to work with youth as peers and help each other stay safe. We have so many kids who age out of care onto the streets. Do members know who is stepping up? It is other young people with common experiences. We need to immediately invest in places for kids aging out of care. We need to support youth organizations that are doing this frontline work to lift people up. That is what we need. The government talks a good game, but it needs to start investing in youth-led initiatives that save the lives of other young people.

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Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC)

May/2/23 6:54:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague's motion today mentioned the red dress hotline, something every party supported earlier today when asked to do so. I want to make a link to how the government responds to something so important. We had a call many years ago regarding a three-digit hotline for mental health support, which the government took its time implementing, despite a clear deadline to do so. Does the member from the NDP anticipate the Liberals will deal with the red dress hotline the same way they dealt with the three-digit mental health hotline?

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Ms. Leah Gazan

May/2/23 6:55:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think I just have to look at what has been going on so far. It has been almost four years since the national inquiry. In 2020, the government released $724.1 million to address the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. The money is there. How much has it spent? Only 5%. No new shelters and no new transitional homes have been built. This system is already in place. All we need is the political will to put it in place. We have Amber Alerts for child. We have weather alerts. This system is already in place. I have spoken to a minister across the way about this initiative. We were planning to set up meetings, but we do not need to meet for the sake of meetings. We need to meet with a tangible goal to have immediate action. There has been enough talking. The government needs to act now as it is costing lives.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

May/2/23 6:56:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, thank you again for the speech and the advocacy that you are putting forward. What is the role of allyship? It is a big question in my riding. We are neighbours to Kahnawake. We have started some partnership, but perhaps you could talk about allyship in advancing this work.

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The Deputy Chair

May/2/23 6:56:38 p.m.
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I just want to remind the hon. member she is to address questions and comments through the Chair and not directly to the member. The hon. member has 40 seconds to respond.

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Ms. Leah Gazan

May/2/23 6:56:46 p.m.
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Madam Chair, whenever there is violence, it is everybody's problem. Nobody should ever ask permission to do something about violence. We are talking about indigenous people. We are talking about indigenous women and girls, transgender women and young people. Nobody needs to ask permission. It is about political will. Not acting or finding reasons not to act at this point when the Prime Minister has recognized it as an ongoing genocide and our Parliament has recognized it as a Canada-wide crisis, is an excuse. It is an excuse. We need to stop with the excuses. The government needs to act now.

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Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

May/2/23 6:57:33 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, it breaks my heart to have to make this speech tonight. Canada's genocidal laws and policies have remained strongly intact for over 150 years now, and because of that, we see the success of these policies by governments over those generations. The success of the policies in what we see in Canada today are so many, but I will name just the tip of the iceberg of some of them. They include the crisis of violence that we see against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, and the systemic discrimination that we continue to hear about, whether in law enforcement, the health care field, child apprehensions or the education system. Systemic discrimination strongly exists now. There have been generations of a lack of targeted investment in indigenous people's well-being, including a lack of investments in housing, shelters and social programs that would improve our well-being. These include language revitalization, cultural revitalization and so many more social programs that we know could have better impacts on how we see indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. On the other end of the spectrum of those successes is the overinvestment this government has had, in the billions, in industry, which is well known to contribute to missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. The violence they experience from the resource sector is very well known. Today, I had the tremendous honour to support the great work of my inspiring colleague, the member for Winnipeg Centre, who hosted a media event with power. That power was shared with families of survivors of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. I especially would like to acknowledge that Nikki Komaksiutiksak was at the media event. She is now an inspiring leader as the executive director for Tunngasugit in Winnipeg. During the media event, she shared again what unfortunately she has had to share over and over again, the loss of her sister, the late Jessica Michaels, originally from my home community of Chesterfield Inlet. Her life was tragically lost to violence on August 26, 2001. Nikki also shared the experience with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which later published the “Calls for Justice”. There were 231 calls for justice announced in 2019. I want to remind Nikki and all the other Inuit women who feel that there is no voice for them in this House of Commons that there is. They should feel free to approach my office on these matters. I will fight for their needs, for justice and to ensure that we are having more indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people celebrated for the beautiful people we are. We need to see more funding and investments for indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people as well as for victims and survivors. We need to be the ones that help to stop the genocide against indigenous women. The House needs to take part in ensuring that we are doing better to protect indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people, including ensuring that the red dress alert is implemented as soon as possible.

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Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC)

May/2/23 7:02:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my friend from Nunavut is also a member on the committee for indigenous and northern affairs. Some of the things we studied recently in the committee were not only the supports that are needed to end what is currently going on, but also the fact that the government could be working in a way that would allow indigenous communities to empower themselves. One way was to work on levelling the playing field between non-indigenous police services and indigenous police services. In some cases now, depending on the community, one would have to get an RCMP or non-indigenous police service to go into a community to make a certain arrest, when the powers could be given to an indigenous police service that is currently doing the job in that community and that knows the community, the people and the background. Would the member feel that might be one acceptable piece in this big puzzle?

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Ms. Lori Idlout

May/2/23 7:04:08 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I do enjoy working with that member as well on the indigenous and northern affairs committee. Police services are also a very complicated matter. Unfortunately, they are used as a way to ensure that genocide happens against indigenous peoples. RCMP in Nunavut, for example, have very limited services, and I think the member brings forward a great solution. It is a great idea to make sure that it is indigenous peoples who are handling difficult situations in their communities. Right now, as an example, in Chesterfield Inlet, from nine to five, RCMP will be available, but when the violence is happening after five and in the middle of the night, a phone call is diverted, not in Chesterfield Inlet, but all the way to Iqaluit, which is in a different time zone, and Iqaluit services do not always offer services in Inuktitut. That guarantee of response is not the same as it is in other parts of Canada, so I would definitely agree on needing to make sure we are empowering indigenous communities to deal with those kinds of situations.

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Ms. Sylvie Bérubé (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, BQ)

May/2/23 7:05:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for Nunavut for her speech. Nunavut is a lot like Nunavik in my riding. This evening we are having a take-note debate on Red Dress Day out of respect for indigenous women and girls. They still live in fear. There are still indigenous women and girls going missing and being murdered. In northern Quebec, the suicide rate is high. There are no policies, despite the funding at the government's disposal. This raises serious questions. There is no nation-to-nation respect either. What measures should the government take, besides commemorating missing and murdered indigenous women and girls? That is my question for my colleague.

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Ms. Lori Idlout

May/2/23 7:06:19 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I think there are so many different solutions, and the biggest one, which I agree with the member for Winnipeg Centre on, is that we have to lift indigenous peoples up. I think the red dress alert would be a major solution because I know that indigenous women are targets, and the reason they might be targets is that there is not enough of a quick response when it is discovered that there is an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person who disappears or is missing. When those responses can be reported more quickly, more people will realize that indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people cannot be targets anymore.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

May/2/23 7:07:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am wondering about this. Earlier in the policing piece, there was a lot of talk about introducing social workers to address difficult situations. I would like to hear the member's thoughts on the kind of training needed and who those community social workers should be.

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Ms. Lori Idlout

May/2/23 7:07:40 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, hopefully, it would be Inuit, first nations and Métis who would be helping in the responses. Unfortunately, the social work services are also a very patriarchal system. They use the best interest of the child to apprehend children, so I cannot trust easily the social work system. Hopefully, it would be Inuit elders, Inuit people and indigenous peoples, who we know can help during these situations. Indigenous peoples have very collective communities, and they know who are the helpers in their communities. Those are the systems where the federal government needs to do better in tapping into as resources.

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Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC)

May/2/23 7:08:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is with great humility that I rise to speak this evening on a very difficult subject that is a true tragedy, that is, the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. It is a difficult but necessary conversation, and one that cuts across party lines. We need to name things as they are in order to improve the lives of indigenous women and girls. I am pleased to be able to take part in this conversation with my fellow parliamentarians. First, let us be honest. Indigenous women and girls often face terrible situations. The statistics are chilling, but it is important to talk about them. While indigenous women and girls represent only 4% of women in Canada, the homicide rate for young indigenous women in Canada was four times that percentage between 1980 and 2012. I am a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and we are currently studying the very sensitive issue of the human trafficking of women. We are hearing from a number of witnesses who are telling us their stories, and it is sometimes, or too often, very difficult to hear. Just yesterday, Fay Blaney, lead matriarch of the Aboriginal Women's Action Network, appeared before the committee. One of the things she told us is that more than 50% of the victims of human trafficking are indigenous women and girls. I would remind the House that they represent 4% of women in Canada. Here is another troubling fact: On average, indigenous girls first become victims of exploitation at just 12 years old. This is an average, which means that some of them are younger than 12. It can be difficult to determine the exact number of victims of human trafficking and sex trafficking, and to determine the exact number of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls. For example, prior to 2014, the number of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls was estimated to be approximately 600. However, in 2014, we learned that more than double that number had gone missing or been murdered in the previous 30 years. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report was tabled in 2015, and its call to action 41 led to the establishment of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, also in 2015. A final report was tabled in 2019, and it contained no fewer than 231 recommendations or calls for justice. There were 21 calls for justice that were primarily aimed at Quebec. The Government of Quebec committed to implementing these calls for justice in collaboration with indigenous representatives and organizations. In the budget following the tabling of the reports, it also announced $200 million over five years in order to promote the academic success of indigenous youth, make public service workers aware of indigenous realities, support the well-being of indigenous women and girls, and improve access to culturally adapted services that meet the needs expressed by first nations and Inuit. As we know, at the federal level, the government introduced a national action plan in June 2021 to advance reconciliation with the first nations, Inuit and Métis. It said that substantial, immediate and transformational change was required by all Canadians to address the root causes of violence against indigenous women and girls. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of work to be done, as evidenced by the fact that we are here in the House this evening to discuss this subject. As I mentioned earlier, I am part of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, which has conducted several studies over the past two years. We are currently studying the situation of women in sport and, over the past two years, we have conducted other studies on topics such as intimate partner violence and family violence, the mental health of young women, and human trafficking. We also did a study on the bill about judges, which we heard an update on today in a member's statement by one of our colleagues. One of the studies we did in 2022 stemmed directly from the calls for justice set out in the 2019 final report. Calls for justice 13.1 to 13.5 target the resource extraction and development industries. According to the national inquiry, resource extraction projects can “exacerbate the problem of violence against Indigenous women and girls”. Canada has many natural resources, and this industry sustains hundreds of communities and millions of people. This is not about demonizing an entire sector of the economy. It is simply about recognizing that we need to be vigilant to protect indigenous women and girls. The committee heard from 47 witnesses and made a certain number of recommendations. It called on the government to ensure indigenous women’s participation in all aspects of resource development projects, from consultations to decision-making. Another recommendation encouraged the government, in consultation with the provinces, territories and municipalities, to require resource developers to implement mandatory training for all employees on sexual violence and anti-racism. In that regard, I want to point out that the issue of violence against women in the specific context where they find themselves in an environment where many men from different areas of Canada will be working, and where they are in a vulnerable position, does not just concern one group of people. It concerns society as a whole. I think that all members will agree with me on that. City representatives, first responders and, most importantly, the people from the company or business should sit down together to discuss this issue, even above and beyond the training that should be given to the workers who come to the site. I would remind members that this is a key sector because it sustains many Canadian families. I am very proud to say that the work being done at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women is collaborative. This committee is an example—a very rare one, unfortunately—of goodwill between the different parties. I would like to commend my colleagues, who are doing an extraordinary job. That, of course, includes the member for Winnipeg Centre. We are all committed to advancing women's rights. This study, along with all the others, is a good example. As I mentioned earlier, there is much more to be done, but the discussion is under way, or continuing. Meaningful actions are being taken, and the creation of Red Dress Day is one such measure. May 5 is a day on which we honour the memory of these girls and women, our sisters. It reminds us of the magnitude of their loss. Red Dress Day is an initiative started by Métis artist Jaime Black, whose REDress Project involves hanging red dresses in public places across Canada. She was inspired by a group of Colombian women who wore red dresses in memory of their lost sisters. These dresses evoke a presence, but also an absence. They provide an unsettling reminder, but also a ray of hope, the hope that, one day, violence against indigenous women and girls will be nothing but a bad memory. Things need to change. The only way to eradicate this scourge is by talking, reflecting collectively and naming things as they are, as we are doing here tonight, even if it makes us uncomfortable, even if it hurts us.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

May/2/23 7:18:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her speech. She shared some recommendations for helping vulnerable people in difficult situations. There have been tragedies, many of them in Quebec, but also across Canada, involving indigenous women. Does my colleague agree that systemic racism exists in Canada?

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