44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- May/2/23 3:13:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations, and I hope that if you seek it, you will find consent for the following motion.
I move:
That, given that:
(i) on October 27, 2022, the House unanimously recognized that what happened in residential schools was genocide,
(ii) decades of insufficient action from all levels of government have failed to address the effects of this genocide, including the crisis of violence against indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people with the urgency it deserves,
(iii) families in Winnipeg and throughout the country continue to experience the tragic loss of loved ones to this crisis,
the House call on the government to:
(a) declare the continued loss of indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people a Canada-wide emergency; and
(b) provide immediate and substantial investment, including in a red dress alert system, to help alert the public when an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing.
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- 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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- May/2/23 7:18:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there are factors that make some communities more vulnerable, more at risk. That is the case for indigenous women and girls. Various studies have shown this to be true. Today I became aware of various documents indicating, based on evidence, that indigenous women and girls are vulnerable and at risk. We need to take care of them. It is important to recognize that. We also have to tell it like it is and take care of these women and girls.
Today, under the leadership of our colleague from Winnipeg Centre, the House passed a very important, very interesting motion. She came up with an appropriate name for a tool similar to an Amber Alert, an alert that we could create here in Canada. It is indeed a very promising and interesting idea. We were very pleased to support it.
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- May/2/23 8:03:59 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would agree with my hon. colleague that we do need justice reform. I appreciated her mention of the incarceration rate of indigenous women in prisons and its impact on family. I did have the privilege to meet with her and the minister the other day about a red dress alert. Very central to our conversation was the need to centre advocates, women, family members and survivors of violence in the discussion to lead the way, in terms of implementing a red dress alert.
However, I cannot stress enough that we do not have time to talk. We need the political will to get this red dress alert in place as soon as possible. Just in the past couple of days, we have seen the loss of an eight-year-old girl and another young woman from Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation. I send my condolences to the Roulette family.
We are not disposable in this country, and should we go missing, we must be found urgently. We know the systems are in place. We know the system to do this is the same system that would be used for amber alerts and for weather alerts.
I want to ask my hon. colleague how committed her government is to getting this red dress alert put in place quickly. We know that everything is in place. It just takes political will, so I would like to give that question to my colleague.
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- May/2/23 8:05:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I just want to thank the hon. member. I do not know how she is standing here tonight as an indigenous woman listening to the debate, answering questions and not getting emotional like I am.
We have talked many times about the fact that I am a white woman and that if I went missing, people would look for me and my family would be listened to. In the case of the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre, she does not live with that privilege, and that is a deep flaw in our country.
I know the Minister of Emergency Preparedness and I have agreed to go to Winnipeg, and the member has agreed to organize a meeting with advocates, survivors and families so that we can ensure they are at the centre of this. We also know that implementing the red dress alert requires the provinces and territories to be part of it, because they are the ones that actually implement the alerts, but she is absolutely right that it takes political will, and with her advocacy and with support from those in the government, I am confident we can get this done and we must get this done.
I just want to thank the member for being such a strong, fierce and incredible woman.
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- May/2/23 9:34:33 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, the motion specifically asks that more immediate and substantial investments be created, including a red dress alert system. We know that the infrastructure already exists for this because of the amber alert.
With the red dress alert system, we can do a better job of ensuring that indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are protected right at the time that they are considered missing or murdered. Does the member agree that there needs to be immediate action to ensure that the red dress alert system is put in place?
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- May/2/23 9:35:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I deeply appreciate the teachings that my colleague from Nunavut brings to our committee on indigenous and northern affairs.
I absolutely support the red dress alert. I was really pleased to see it as part of our 2023 budget and that the steps are already there to get this moving forward. I also just appreciate the leadership from the member for Winnipeg Centre for bringing this forward. It was not something I had heard of before, and I really think that it would have an immediate impact and at least mobilize that call to action that we are hearing about. It would bring that awareness piece to realize how urgent this crisis really is. I believe it would save lives.
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- May/2/23 10:08:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as we debate Red Dress Day today, there is a tremendous amount of support for meaningful action to save lives. However, I wonder if the member for Lakeland has reflected on the recommendations in the inquiry for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and two-spirit peoples. We have had those recommendations now for years, and they have not been implemented. I wonder if the member has any thoughts on which ones she believes would be the most meaningful as well as creating this new alert.
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- May/2/23 10:09:18 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we do support the creation of the red dress alert.
I mentioned the low-hanging fruit, although I should not be flippant about the complexity of it. It seems to me that of the really obvious, outstanding calls to action that have been neglected by this government so far, it is the standardization of protocols for policies and practices that ensure all cases are thoroughly investigated; the establishment of the national task force to review and, if required, reinvestigate cases across Canada; and, ensuring protection orders are available, accessible, promptly issued and effectively serviced and resourced to protect victims. It seems to me that these are actions that should have been delivered by now. I do not quite understand what the hold up is.
What all of us have to reflect on is more than words and announcements. As the former commissioner said, the government must do more than show us the budgets that it has spent and the line items attached. It must be prepared to show us how it has affected people's lives. That is what I am most concerned about: real action to better people's lives and their futures.
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- May/2/23 10:16:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to bring to the minister's attention that graphically describing some of the violence that has occurred impacts survivors. It impacts indigenous families that have lost loved ones. I would ask her to reflect on the language she uses in this House, especially knowing that there are families tuning in.
The recent budget named the need for a red dress alert, but it failed to provide funding and a timeline for when it is going to happen. Could the minister outline right now what she is going to do, how much money is being provided and when this will be put in place?
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- May/2/23 10:18:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to follow up on the question by my hon. colleague from Victoria. The notion of a red dress alert is critical. It will need funds. Can the minister give us a sense of how likely it is that this will be implemented with adequate resources and exactly when?
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- May/2/23 10:42:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for her speech and all the work she is doing to end gender-based violence. We need the government to provide immediate investments for a red dress alert system to notify the public when an indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person is reported missing.
Budget 2023 recognized the need for an alert system. However, the Liberals refuse to fund and set a deadline for its implementation. The member for Winnipeg Centre, the member for Nunavut and the member for Edmonton Griesbach have been fighting hard for far too long. The families and victims have been bearing the burden of change for far too long.
Can the member tell us how urgent it is for the government to take action right away?
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- May/2/23 10:43:44 p.m.
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Madam Chair, one thing is certain. It is well worth looking into this issue of the alert.
In my speech, I talked about the government and about us as elected officials. I talked about the wrongs that have been done over the years. Since we are talking about action, I think that we are at the point now where we need to raise public awareness of this issue and recognize that missing and murdered indigenous women and girls do not receive the same treatment as others do.
Finally, this type of alert could perhaps make people aware of the fact that indigenous women do not get the same treatment when they go missing and that people are not as concerned about them. That is probably what the red dress alert system could be used for. I know that my colleague from the Standing Committee on the Status of Women firmly believes in it, and I think it is worth looking into. After that, if it is worthwhile, then the government will have to provide funding and walk the talk.
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- May/2/23 10:50:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank our esteemed colleague from Shefford for her passion and her commitment to taking action. I have a brief question for her.
As feminists here in Parliament, are we clear on the fact that we must immediately bring in a red dress alert, as we have been discussing this evening?
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- May/2/23 10:51:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, one thing is certain: An alert system could engage the public. I answered that question earlier.
Beyond what we as elected officials can do and what the government can do, there is also a need to raise public awareness of this issue. I hope that we can open up a broader debate and make people aware of the fact that, in 2023, indigenous communities are disproportionately victimized. We need to realize that they are victims of a precarious situation because we put them there and that we do not care enough about them. There is a pressing need to talk to each other nation to nation, to make people aware of the different challenges that affect indigenous communities. Beyond the fact that it could make us think about saving lives, could this alert allow us to open up a debate with the public?
That is also what an alert is for. That discussion needs to take place. It is one way to get the issue out of the House of Commons and into the world and to make as many people as possible aware that we need to talk to each other.
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