44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- 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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- 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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- May/2/23 8:09:40 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to first say that I will be sharing my time with the member for Edmonton Griesbach.
This is the second consecutive year in which we have dedicated a take-note debate to the ongoing national crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. The timing of this debate coincides with the annual national day of awareness, which is this Friday, May 5, commonly known as Red Dress Day.
I would like to share with this House the story of how a red dress became such a potent and meaningful symbol. The individual I want to highlight is an artist with deep roots in my hometown of Winnipeg who shares a proud Métis heritage, Jaime Black. Jaime learned about the tragedy of the missing and murdered from Jo-Ann Episkenew, a Métis writer from Manitoba. She was also inspired in part by the image of a red dress on the cover of The Book of Jessica by Linda Griffiths and Maria Campbell. From this knowledge and inspiration, Jaime proposed an idea to the University of Winnipeg's Institute for Women's and Gender Studies, an installation of red dresses. Through her work, Jaime was also told by an indigenous friend that red is the only colour spirits can see.
On Red Dress Day, thousands of families, indigenous and non- indigenous, will feel closer to the memory and spirit of someone they have lost to this violence. This is more than just a day to hang up a red dress to remind us of those who have been murdered or are still missing. It is a day that calls for action to address the appalling circumstances that have allowed, and continue to allow, so many indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people to be murdered or disappear.
The first exhibition of Jaime Black's installation was at the University of Manitoba in 2011. Later that year, it was installed in the Manitoba legislature. In 2014, it became part of the permanent installation at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Much has changed since 2011, when a young Winnipeg artist conceived the idea of displaying a red dress to draw public attention to the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, a cause that has expanded to include 2SLGBTQI+ people. We know the work is very far from being done. Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are still very much in danger. Each and every year, there are more names added to the list of the murdered and missing. I am acutely aware of this. In my hometown of Winnipeg, where I come from, the remains of murdered indigenous women have been found in landfills a shocking number of times. It has to stop.
I am thinking of the ongoing trauma, the scars that still linger today. Every story, every disappearance, every violent end re-traumatizes our community, our friends, our neighbours. This has to stop. As a Manitoban, Métis, father and grandfather of indigenous women and girls, I am deeply concerned. It is clear that we have a lot more work to do.
As members of the House, all of us are privileged to be able to rise today and add our voices to the chorus demanding that action be taken.
I acknowledge those who have worked tirelessly to advance awareness of this ongoing Canadian tragedy, including one Winnipeg artist who turned a red dress into a widely recognized symbol of the urgent need to make the world safer for indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
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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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- 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 9:47:16 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have actually seen the video my hon. colleague from Sydney—Victoria talks about tonight. It is very deeply affecting and does follow the theme of red dresses.
It is critical something we are speaking about tonight translates into action, which is that every single time an indigenous woman or girl goes missing there are immediate steps and an immediate alert while there is time for them to be rescued and brought home safely.
I wanted to ask him if he had any thoughts on the power of the symbol of the red dress. Red dresses hanging on trees, red dresses seen in communities across Canada as a statement, is it powerful as a statement of solidarity or is it just performative? How does he feel about it?
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- May/2/23 9:48:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her commitment to this file.
I believe the red dress has become a symbol of political action as well as a symbol of creating awareness. We have seen indigenous communities from coast to coast to coast have their own different displays, many artistic, in their cultural centres or in music videos. All of them have the same idea that we need to do more.
We need to create more awareness. We need to create a society that understands we need to do more for missing and murdered indigenous women, for missing and murdered indigenous people all across Canada. Until we get to that awareness where people understand there is a historic problem we are trying to remedy, we need to continue to promote the red dress as a symbol and as a political statement everywhere across Canada.
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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 10:50:23 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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