44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- 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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- May/2/23 8:31:09 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as always, it is an honour and a privilege to rise on behalf of my community of Peterborough—Kawartha as their voice in the House of Commons.
This evening we are participating in a take-note debate on Red Dress Day. For those tuning in at home who may not know what a take-note debate is, it is type of debate that allows members of Parliament to debate a matter of public policy without any decisions being made. It does sound a little frustrating, but it is also very important to highlight key things that are happening in this House and things that need to be done.
Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People, is observed on May 5. The day honours and brings awareness to the thousands of indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have been subject to disproportionate violence in Canada.
Red Dress Day was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black's “REDress Project” installation, in which she hung empty red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women. Red dresses have become symbolic of the crisis as a result of her installation.
The stats on our current state of affairs on this issue speak for themselves. The 2019 general social survey, or GSS, on victimization, along with Statistics Canada data indicated that indigenous women were more likely to experience intimate partner violence than non-indigenous women. During a study on sex trafficking of indigenous peoples, experts said 52% of human trafficking victims are indigenous, 52%. The average age of exploitation of an indigenous girl was 12 years old.
Although the indigenous population up to the age of 14 makes up 7.7%, almost 8%, of all Canadian children, they represent 52% of the children in care. Studies have highlighted that having been a child in the welfare system was the most common denominator among women and girls who entered prostitution.
In December, I stood in this House during a take-note debate on the serial killer in Winnipeg and the failure of the Liberal government to protect vulnerable indigenous women and girls despite having the tools to protect them. What are these tools I speak of? They are the 231 calls to action outlined in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report which was released in 2019. These 231 calls are specific to help stop the murder of indigenous women.
Here we are four months later with very little change. Former Commissioner Robinson said it best about the Liberals last April in an interview for Aboriginal Peoples Television Network:
They must do more than show you the budgets that they’ve spent and the line items attached. They must be prepared to show you how it has affected people’s lives. You must learn to understand and they must demonstrate how their actions, decisions, have informed and enhanced the lives of people.
We have learned success cannot be measured strictly by government dollars spent or programs created. Meaningful reconciliation involves more than just photo ops and take-note debates with no decisions. It requires partnership and collaboration with indigenous communities across Canada.
Recently I had the opportunity to tour the new state-of-the-art facility across the river in Gatineau at the Native Women's Association of Canada. This pin is actually from there. It is a beautiful pin. Anybody watching should take the time to visit this unbelievable building, this social enterprise. This Friday, on Red Dress Day, May 5, they are going to be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. People will not be disappointed by the incredible knowledge that is in that building. It is also visually incredible and has the rich history. It is definitely worth the time. It is just over the river in Gatineau.
In June 2022, the Native Women's Association of Canada released their annual scorecard on Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women action plan. This is an annual report outlining the federal government's progress on implementing the commitments made in the plan. I would like to quote a few of their findings in the report:
It becomes clear, when assessing the government’s National Action Plan goals and the actions deemed necessary to achieve them, that little headway has been made over the past 12 months toward ending the violence. Few of the promised actions have been completed, some have seen a little progress, but far too many remain untouched. This lack of urgency is especially concerning given the fact that the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry are legal imperatives dictated to end a genocide. For that reason, this report grades the government’s performance, one year after the release of its National Action Plan, to be a FAILURE.
It is another F, another fail, by the Liberal government under the leadership, or should I say the lack of leadership, of this Prime Minister. I know there are lots of colleagues across the way who care. I do put a lot of this responsibility on their leader because leadership comes from the top down. There is an ability to change. There is the power the Prime Minister holds and we have not seen that power executed.
There is so much more work to be done to protect the lives of indigenous women and girls across our country. This starts with the federal government's implementing its portion of the 231 calls for justice, including a standardization of protocols for policies and practices that ensure that all cases are thoroughly investigated; establishing a national task force to review and, if required, to reinvestigate cases across Canada; and ensuring that protection orders are available, accessible, promptly issued, and effectively serviced and resourced to protect victims.
“Implementation starts tomorrow.” That was the quote from the former Crown-indigenous relations minister, Carolyn Bennett, in 2021 with the announcement of the missing and murdered indigenous women national action plan—
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