Hon. Nancy J. Hartling: Honourable senators, today I rise to congratulate and honour my friends from the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Elsipogtog means “river of fire” in the Mi’kmaq language and is located on the beautiful Richibucto River about one hour from my home in Moncton.

This year, the Elsipogtog Mi’kmaq Cultural Center Tours & Artisan Gift Shop, which runs the Mi’kmaq Heritage Path Tour, won the Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s prestigious Indigenous Tourism Award. The award recognizes Indigenous businesses that demonstrate a commitment to the development, promotion and delivery of authentic, innovative experiences that promote Indigenous culture and tourism growth in the region.

This award is well deserved, and we welcome you to our Senate. I understand you have an invitation from the other Senators to attend their game in Ottawa tonight and set up a booth to display your products.

Last summer, my husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Lynn Francis, director of the Elsipogtog Economic Development and members of her staff, as well as Chrissy Guitard, co-owner of SheBuilds construction company.

We met with Lynn’s team to learn about the various economic development projects at Elsipogtog First Nation. Our meeting began with a smudging ceremony by an elder, after which we had a chance to learn about the Mi’kmaq Heritage Path Tour, which is a guided walk through the traditional lands of the community.

The tour features historical, cultural and spiritual teachings designed for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It includes an authentically constructed wigwam, longhouse and sweat lodge made by their local elder and knowledge keeper.

The tour ends inside the cultural centre where we were greeted by a group of young women wearing traditional ribbon skirts. It provides visitors a safe place to ask questions about Mi’kmaq culture, which is an excellent way to connect for folks who may not know about this profound history in New Brunswick. The Artisan Gift Shop offers very beautiful products for sale. We also enjoyed a special treat of bannock and fresh blueberries.

Later we had a chance to see several new buildings in the community such as a new hockey arena and to visit one of the SheBuilds construction sites. SheBuilds, in partnership with Elsipogtog Economic Development, provides opportunities for Mi’kmaq women to learn skilled trades while building houses in their own community. The carpenters and apprentices we met were very proud of their work that will help tackle the housing shortage in the community while increasing career opportunities for their skilled workers.

I was so grateful to have the opportunity to visit the Elsipogtog First Nation after so many years. It’s a very progressive place and definitely a tourist destination. Mark it on your calendar for a visit when coming to New Brunswick.

Friends, again, congratulations on your achievement in creating a wonderful cultural experience to share with us, and thank you for joining us today. Wela’lioq, thank you.

Hon. F. Gigi Osler: Honourable senators, today I am proud to welcome six members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly Internship Program to the Senate. These inspiring young interns are Alina Hart, Bea Basaran, Tayla Gudnason, Cheta Akaluka, Dane Monkman and Hannah Drudge. Accompanying them is Academic Director, Professor Kelly Saunders.

The Manitoba Legislative Assembly Internship Program was established in 1985 by the Manitoba Legislative Assembly and is intended to serve three broad purposes.

First, the program provides graduates of Manitoba’s universities, or graduates of other universities who are lucky enough to be permanent residents of Manitoba, an opportunity to experience the legislative process. Interns are assigned to work with government and opposition caucuses where they perform a variety of tasks. In addition to being directly involved with the legislative process, the interns participate in a series of seminars designed to enhance their knowledge of government operations, the economy, media, journalism and the not-for-profit sector in Manitoba.

Second, the program provides MLAs with competent and educated assistance in policy research and constituency matters. The program enables MLAs to delegate some of the work to the interns, which then allows them to deal more efficiently with specialized legislative issues.

Finally, a long-term goal of the program is to develop a group of young Manitobans who understand the parliamentary system and the role of elected representatives. By fostering a knowledge of, and an appreciation for, our political system, the program brings value to both the province and to these future leaders.

Each cohort of interns can decide on a study trip to Westminster or a study visit to two Canadian jurisdictions. This year they chose Ottawa. The purpose of the visit is to familiarize the interns with the parliamentary process at the federal, provincial and/or territorial level. The visit consists of an intense program of seminars, meetings and tours with leading government and political figures, parliamentary and legislative officials, journalists, academics, community organizations and with parliamentary or other legislative interns.

With them here today are Madeleine Martin and Sarah Rollason-MacAulay, who are both interns from the Parliamentary Internship Programme here in Ottawa. I am particularly delighted to welcome Sarah, as she is from Winnipeg and I first met her years ago through her remarkable family.

The interns all shared with us how the program is an invaluable learning experience and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Honourable colleagues, please join me in welcoming them to the Senate of Canada. Thank you, meegwetch.

Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Honourable senators, it was a cold Wednesday afternoon when a young man walked into l’École Polytechnique de Montréal armed with a .223-calibre rifle. The date was December 6, 1989. He entered a classroom of engineering students and instantly ordered all six women to the back and the men to leave. Lining the women up side by side, he yelled, “You’re all a bunch of feminists. I hate feminists.” He lifted his rifle, pointed it toward the first woman’s head and shot her in the forehead. He would go on to do the same for the other five standing alongside. The shots echoed through the hallways. Students nearby heard the horrifying screams and scrambled for help.

On that dark day, 14 women lost their lives. The gunman’s suicide note stated that women had no place in engineering because they would take jobs from men, that feminists were ruining his life, and that his intention was to end the lives of all women in the Department of Engineering.

Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, and I wish to pay tribute to these 14 brave women who lost their lives 33 years ago. Their only sin was that they had dared to dream they could be engineers. Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire was the first woman to graduate from the civil engineering program at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. When asked about a possible solution to gender-based violence, she said one way to move forward after an event like this is to continue encouraging girls and women to stay in fields like engineering.

Women continue to be under-represented in engineering, but in 2020, Polytechnique’s Department of Engineering reached an important milestone. That year, just over 30% of undergraduate engineering graduates were women.

Honourable senators, remarkably, violence against women remains all too common today. According to the World Health Organization, one in three women experience some form of violence in their lifetime, and most of this is by their partners. It doesn’t take much thinking to remember the assaults and abuses against young women recently all over the world. No doubt you yourselves are remembering, perhaps even someone you know.

December 6 is an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in our society and to commemorate women such as those 14 students in Montreal who died on that Wednesday afternoon 33 years ago. They are: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne‑Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St‑Arneault and Annie Turcotte. Thank you.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

Hon. Rosa Galvez: Honourable senators, I rise today to commemorate the tragedy that occurred on December 6, 1989, at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal.

Thirty-three years ago, Quebec was horrified to learn of this crime that occurred in a place of higher learning. This multiple femicide was committed by a misogynistic killer who silenced the voices and quashed the wonderful potential of 14 female engineering students.

Since then, the rate of femicide has risen, according to the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. In 2021, 173 women and girls were killed violently in Canada. On average, a crime is committed against a woman in Canada every two days, which is an increase of 26% since 2019.

[English]

Still today, Indigenous women and girls are victims of atrocious violence, leaving communities across the country in mourning and feeling vulnerable. Just last week, we learned of another deranged man taking the precious lives of several young women. This must stop.

Since 1991, we commemorate December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This day was created to encourage us to continue raising our voices to find solutions to prevent this kind of violence. This resonates at home, but also abroad. In September, Iranian women and human rights activists gathered in nationwide protests to denounce the death of a young woman at the hands of Iran’s morality police because she did not comply with the country’s strict dress code for women.

[Translation]

Let us remember the pain that is inflicted on women just for being women. Let us not forget that being a woman should not be an obstacle to freedom of expression, the freedom to choose what to do with her body, to equality and the right to exist.

I want to thank Senators Pate, Audette, Boisvenu, Bernard, Miville-Dechêne, McPhedran, Ataullahjan and all the others who fight in this chamber against all forms of violence against women and girls.

Today we honour the memory of all the victims of the tragedy at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. This is a very emotional time for me. Let us remember all the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and all those who are victims of femicide around the world. We will never forget them.

Thank you. Meegwetch.

[English]

Hon. Senators: Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

(At 4:55 p.m., the Senate was continued until tomorrow at 2 p.m.)

Hon. Larry W. Smith: Honourable senators, as this is my first opportunity, I rise to address my unfortunate attempt at a triple salchow in the chamber last week.

While the audible thump that you may have heard was a lot harder on my ego than it was on my head, I can guarantee that I had not taken a knock as hard as that in the more than 200 games I have played in my amateur, collegiate and professional football career. I would like to thank Senators Ravalia, Osler, Kutcher and Mégie, as well as Greg Peters and others who came to my immediate assistance.

In addition to quickly assessing my condition, these remarkable physicians routinely followed up with me over the phone, as well as in person, throughout the evening and into the following day. My visit to Senator Kutcher’s makeshift clinic on the first floor of the Château Laurier that evening was indeed a highlight. I was in awe of the teamwork exhibited by these outstanding individuals, and I am indebted for their lightning-fast response.

Colleagues, my unsuccessful performance last week further highlights the importance of being conscious of your surroundings and your environment, especially during the winter months, which can be unforgiving for many of us in this place. In closing, I would like to thank all of you for your kind messages and care that you have demonstrated over the last few days. I am extremely grateful. Thank you.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator.

The government is working closely with territorial and Indigenous partners to build the infrastructure that communities have identified as their priorities. The government knows that some of those projects are facing real challenges due to the global supply chain issues or a shortage of skilled labour. That is particularly acute, as you pointed out correctly, in Northern and Indigenous communities. Indeed, the government knows that the pandemic disproportionately affected remote and Northern communities, as well.

I’m advised that the government is working closely with infrastructure project proponents to address those funding and other challenges. I understand that officials from Transport Canada remain available to discuss how all of this is having an impact on those proposed projects.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): The Government of Canada has demonstrated that it has been here for Canadians, small businesses, workers and others throughout all of the dislocations that have occurred as a result of the pandemic and the rising costs of living, which includes rising interest rates. The government will continue to be there for businesses and others as circumstances unfold.

The good news is that Canada’s economy is in a good, strong position. Our fiscal position is solid and strong. Canada will have the capacity to provide assistance where appropriate.

Hon. Leo Housakos: My question is for the Government Leader in the Senate.

Last week, Minister Omar Alghabra attended a gathering hosted by the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group. Among the guests was Nazih Khatatba, publisher of the Arabic language newspaper Meshwar Media. Mr. Khatatba is a dangerous anti-Semite, Holocaust-denier and terrorist sympathizer. His publication has referred to the Holocaust as a hoax and the biggest lie in history.

Minister Alghabra refused to apologize for standing with Mr. Khatatba at that event.

This is not the first time that Liberal MPs and ministers have been caught attending events with such anti-Semite, terrorist sympathizers. They always express regret at being caught, but these unsavoury characters continue to show up at the same events as Liberal cabinet ministers.

Senator Gold, do you think that Minister Alghabra should apologize for having attended this event with Mr. Khatatba?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question.

This government condemns anti-Semitism and offensive, abusive language and actions in all of its forms. It knows this behaviour must be called out.

As senators would know, the event that the Minister of Transport attended was a parliamentary friendship group event that included MPs and members of the Palestinian community. The invitation — and this is a matter of public record — was extended broadly to members of the community. There was no check being done by the parliamentary friendship group as to who would be attending.

I also understand that the minister had no actual personal contact with this individual, and was unaware of who that person was or that he was going to be attending the event.

The actions that you described quite probably, Senator Housakos, of this particular individual — not the minister, but the attendee — are completely unacceptable.

The government wants to assure all Canadians that the views that that person expresses are completely unacceptable and not what this government stands for. The government is committed to continuing to call out this kind of behaviour, condemn all forms of hate and all forms of anti-Semitism in our country.

Senator Plett: Well, of course, Senator Gold, I was simply repeating what Minister Mendicino stated. This isn’t something the Conservatives made up; this was Minister Mendicino on CBC yesterday.

Senator Gold, we have seen this over and over, be it for Bill C-11, the expansion of assisted suicide provisions and now taking away hunting tools that the Indigenous community use for survival. Your government refuses or neglects to truly consult Indigenous communities.

Senator Gold, why is your government only paying lip service to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP? Why aren’t they taking their responsibilities more seriously?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question, senator. As I believe I have mentioned in this chamber before, the RCMP has, in fact, confirmed that they have launched an investigation into these allegations of Chinese so-called police stations, and I am further advised that Global Affairs Canada has, indeed, made representations through the Chinese Ambassador to Canada regarding these allegations.

I want to emphasize, colleagues, as we all know, that it’s the Chinese community in Canada who are often targeted by such interference. We’re going to work with the community to combat it and protect them and all Canadians. The government is using all its tools and will employ new ones if necessary to combat all foreign interference in our country.

As commented by an official at Global Affairs Canada and recently reiterated in this chamber:

The activity that’s being alleged —

— that is the police stations, colleagues —

 — would be entirely illegal and totally inappropriate, and it would be the subject of very serious representations . . . .

Hon. Michèle Audette moved second reading of Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Audette spoke in Innu.]

She said: Honourable senators, this is the first time in 12 months that I’ve spoken as a senator on Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation.

This is an emotional week for Indigenous women, but it is also a week filled with history. That’s why I think it’s important for my colleagues to support this bill. This is an important step for many of us across Canada, not only to move forward with reconciliation, but more importantly to strengthen our country’s social fabric.

It is also the culmination of many years of advocacy for many people, groups, experts, thinkers, philosophers, survivors, our knowledge keepers and of course our communities. We’ve been calling for greater accountability for a long time; this isn’t new. We’re also calling for greater accountability for everyone, myself included. I have that role and that responsibility.

In my eyes and in my heart, this bill is of vital importance. It is a step toward healing and reparation. It enables us to take action, which is important because it is more than just words. This is about honouring everyone who came to speak to us and share their truth during the TRC hearings. This is about the families that are still here and the ones that are not, including the little beings of light who were gone too soon.

[English]

If Bill C-29 is adopted, the national council for reconciliation will monitor long-term progress, evaluate — which is very important — and report on the implementation of the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

[Translation]

This is very important.

[English]

It will also respond to Call to Action 53 to create this national council for reconciliation. I think it is very important that it will also respond to Calls 54, 55 and 56, which deal with funding, responsibilities and transparency agreements between the government and the council.

[Translation]

These are hard truths, but it’s important for us to continue to share them. We have a duty to do so.

As you know, colleagues, before the first contact with Europeans, First Peoples were a sovereign society with their own systems of governance. We lived according to rules of reciprocity, interdependence, and respect for the land and what it provides. Even then, there was diversity among First Peoples. I have said it before and I will say it again: Our ancestors welcomed the so-called great explorers. We shared with them our knowledge, our science, our medicine and our way of living on the land. We taught them how to survive.

Things changed when greed took over the relationship between our nations. We went from being economic and military allies to being an Indian problem. We did not learn this until later, after we educated ourselves about our own history. What I also know is that we went from being welcoming, warm, strong people to being heathen, savage, inferior, lazy, and the list goes on.

[English]

As with so many people, I am the product of a residential school. I’m the daughter of a residential school survivor, Evelyne. Some of my colleagues here in this chamber are also residential school survivors. It is the story of my mom, my auntie, my uncles and my mother-in-law. It is also your story, my dear colleagues from the Indigenous communities. But what if it was also the story of all of us?

[Translation]

Throughout my childhood, in my beautiful Maliotenam on the beautiful North Shore near Sept-Îles, I normalized the effects of colonial violence. For a long time, I believed that our life was the result of destructive policies, and that was what was setting off each of my five senses daily. Do you know why I thought that? It was because I didn’t know the source of this violence, this way of being or this uneasiness; I didn’t know where it all came from. However, as we grow older, we come to realize that we’re all connected by this little thread. Then the domino effect kicks in and we realize that we’re being stripped of our identity, our language — my Innu-aimun — our relationship with the land and, above all, our dignity.

An Atikamekw residential school survivor wrote a book called Je reviens. I want to read you the introduction, which says, and I quote:

My story is your story. We have no reason to be ashamed. Our children and grandchildren have the right to know. Taken from our families, uprooted from our culture and traditions, we thought that we had lost all of our origins, losses that we thought we would carry in our hearts forever.

Non-Indigenous people never knew the real story of residential schools. Those who did know it, never dared to talk about it.

Then, one day, there were some elders who had enough courage and bravery to speak out, to reveal what happened so that everyone would know. I admire those who wanted to speak out and I’m deeply grateful to them.

The truth will heal us.

Senators, I think you will understand that truth is a way for me to heal too, as is an understanding of Indigenous peoples’ past.

How could I change my feelings of rage and shame? How could we stop normalizing what we hear people saying about us, that we’re “savages,” inferior beings, lazy or slackers? At some point, I realized that the way for me to stop doing that was to set down my heavy burden of de-victimization and focus on rebuilding. I had to understand, to reclaim my history, the history of Indigenous peoples, and above all, to understand the systemic causes of that history.

I didn’t learn any of this in school. I came to understand it by listening, reading, and from the reports of the commissions of inquiry. I read in a report from the Bagot Commission in 1844 that it was believed that if Indigenous children were separated from their parents, that would ensure their assimilation.

Later, when I was president of Quebec Native Women, I learned about the existence of An Act to Encourage the Gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes, 1857. It talks about us, who had ancient knowledge, and yet they wanted to assimilate us gradually as though we were incapable of doing anything. That hurts and it becomes hard to take.

Later, still through this way of learning, I found out that, in 1867, the federal government took control of the First Nations and this authority also extended to the education of Indians.

All this became official in 1883, when Prime Minister John A. Macdonald brought in residential schools to deal with the Indian issue, thereby “killing the Indian in the heart of the child.”

More than 150,000 children were forcefully brought to these places. As you’ve already seen and heard, our ancestors were forcefully brought to these residential schools, these cursed places as some like to say, where they suffered abuse to their souls, their bodies, their way of life, places where people were punished for speaking their Indigenous languages, our beautiful languages.

Today, at 51, like many other people, I have to relearn our language.

However, in 1922, Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce published The Story of a National Crime, a book that exposed the neglect that students were subjected to. I wish I’d known this at a younger age, at an earlier point in my process. I wish I’d understood that these little beings of light, these tiny human beings would never return to our land because they were guinea pigs used for research, starved to death, or suffered physical, sexual, and psychological abuse that took them too soon.

At the same time, my grandmother, my little nukum, also explained to me the memory she has, as do many other women and men from that time, and how all of this has left silences in our communities. It sent elders and parents into the dark abyss, and it broke the parental bond. It broke our values by eroding our family values. It broke and destroyed our relationship and our reciprocity, the interdependence that exists between a mother and her children and between a community and its children, but also between parents. It ended up breaking so many things.

Now I’m beginning to understand. We also saw, a few moons ago last year, how struck everyone was when it came to be known that these little beings of light were buried in unmarked graves. The reaction was palpable, but for many of us it was something we had already expressed and explained.

Fortunately, communities have done incredible work. Yes, it caused them suffering, but it was important to talk about locating and commemorating the little beings of light who left us during the residential school days.

As devastating and difficult as those realities are, they are part of Canada’s history. We cannot undo the past, but we must use these truths to put things right and do better here and now, and especially tomorrow.

Because of the things you have done, I know I don’t have to convince you that this dark time in Canada’s history occurred. Let us also remember why it’s important for me to say these things to you. There are many people here, in the other chamber, in other places and spaces, across Canada and even around the world, who come from these territories and who are rising up today, who are stepping up as the teachers reminding us of this important history.

Like many of us, I carry in my heart always the courageous people who are still living. They are strong, they are resilient, they have suffered and they continue to suffer. They pass on to us their languages, their experience, their ceremonies, their spirituality and their knowledge. I thank them.

There isn’t just one path to recovery, there are many, and we must respect these differences and move forward at each individual’s pace. There is no one solution that will solve everything, there are many. Together we can do more, that much is sure.

Colleagues, I’d like to go over the ins and outs of how this bill came to be introduced in the other place in June 2022. There’s an interesting story there, which I think is worth mentioning.

An interim board was created in 2019, made up of six individuals from First Peoples communities, whether Métis, Inuit or First Nations, including a former TRC commissioner, Wilton Littlechild.

The board was given a mandate to reflect, to propose recommendations for this national council for reconciliation, to name it, to guide its vision, mission, mandate, structure and funding, and to establish a legislative framework for consultation that could serve as a basis for reflection.

On top of that work, they travelled virtually to several countries, from 1973 until very recently, to document thirty or so truth and reconciliation commissions. They wanted to see what is being done elsewhere. They wanted to see what exists elsewhere once an exercise like this is completed, and what kind of entity does this accountability work.

I draw your attention to the fact that several entities were created to act on the recommendations of these commissions. These entities created different models to guide them. When they tabled their reports, they even added a recommendation; there was a mandate with a beginning and an end. Given that we don’t want to lose momentum, we’re proposing that a transitional committee be established to ensure that the issue remains in the public eye and on the political agenda so that it never again goes, in my words, “poof, and no one talked about it again.”

Next December, this transitional committee will be established and will examine the bill or legislative framework, the model. It will consult academics: Indigenous experts who work in universities, who are lawyers, thinkers, visionaries, men and women in different regions, even artists, to make sure that the right things are being done the right way.

The transitional committee will make recommendations, but it will also exert pressure so that the bill becomes a reality. Why? Because there are a lot of people who would like to see what this council for reconciliation could look like and how it will evolve in their lifetime.

I thank all those who participated in the work from the beginning. You played an important leadership role. I’m thinking of the interim board and the transitional committee. You played an important role in the process and I thank you.

Bill C-29 was introduced in the other place on June 22. Then, in the fall, it passed second reading and was referred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs on October 6. The committee heard from 32 witnesses, including individuals, organizations, chiefs, men and women who made recommendations to improve the bill. Many changes were made, which are now reflected in the content of this version of the bill.

Honourable senators, the bill proposes a formal structure. This is crucial to achieving sustainable progress and, most importantly, to anchoring the progress we need to see on a daily and long-term basis in an organizational culture, be it political or governmental, across this great country.

Imagine the situation had we created this kind of mechanism when we were going through the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Just imagine. I was there. I was a witness along with my eldest son. We can now look at how that was implemented one year, five years, 10 years, 20 years and 30 years later.

That’s why it’s important to implement the mechanisms that will enable us to follow through on the Calls to Action. To me, this is obviously crucial to improving the lives of First Peoples and to rebuilding our relationship. We do not know each other well enough. There are great divides. They’re there, and we have to rebuild relationships because they’re important.

There must be accountability, and not just amongst ourselves. There are many Canadians and Quebecers who are more informed, better informed and aware of our challenges, the challenges of First Peoples. They also deserve accountability.

I’d also like to present to you the objectives and principles of the proposed bill. It will establish a council as an independent, non-political, permanent and Indigenous-led organization.

This bill will also serve as the legal framework for the national council for reconciliation. It will define the functions of the council, including the monitoring of progress being made towards reconciliation and the preparation of an annual report to Parliament and Canadians.

The bill will also set out the federal government’s responsibilities to help the council carry out its mission. It establishes the process for creating the council, for example, appointing the first directors, the articles of incorporation, the purpose and functions of the council and the responsibilities of the board of directors.

That is all important, especially where I come from. We must ensure that this board of directors includes representatives of the Inuit, First Nations, Métis, seniors, residential school survivors and their descendants — people who have experienced the impact of discriminatory policies — Indigenous organizations, young and older women, men, gender-diverse people from different regions of Canada, including urban, rural and remote regions. In these regions, there are Quebec nations where missionaries spoke French. French was imposed on us and we accepted French; today we speak French, like several nations in Quebec. This bill will have to ensure that those for whom French is their first or second language have their small place in this big family.

Colleagues, the 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada are a path to follow. They present a road map for all levels of government, for civil society, for teaching institutions and the health sector, and for the private sector.

As Edith Cloutier so eloquently stated when she testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, and I quote:

 . . . reconciliation requires collective and sustained efforts over time, but also a willingness to venture down uncharted paths to work together. Innovation is needed to move reconciliation forward, and this relies on trust and complementarity among those who wish to participate in this great reconciliation.

As an aside, this woman represents several realities. She is Anishinaabe, a woman, urban and francophone.

Ms. Cloutier continued, and I quote:

Diversity is represented here, as we are as many men as women. We have to be confident that we will have the capacity, the opportunity, the will and the innovation to choose a board of directors that is representative of Canada’s indigenous peoples.

I thought her testimony was wonderful, and I had to share it with you.

This initiative is important and requires everyone’s commitment. Of course, each of us has the right to say “no.” Each of us has the right to offer ourselves up or simply be a witness and watch it happen. I’m the sponsor of this bill, and there are reasons behind that — this bill gives me the opportunity to commit myself to my past, to our past. It also leads me to commit myself to the present, but above all to build things together. That’s what gets me excited; we have to build things together.

There are thousands of us involved in the decolonization process. Let me tell you a little secret: I make up a lot of words. For me, as an Innu woman — and someone who is overflowing with creativity — I often say “Innuize” instead of decolonize. My children are also Wendat, so they might say, “We need to ‘Wendatize,’ Mom,” instead of saying decolonize. I have to make sure that, for me, this prompts me to “Innuize” a space, to understand the real history of Canada and Indigenous peoples. There are also beautiful things that are worth knowing.

Every day on Facebook, Twitter and other social media — I don’t have a TikTok account but I know others do — in our friendships and our professional relationships, we see the beauty of Indigenous nations across Canada, the celebration of Indigenous languages. We see it. We see a lot of young people reminding us that we are beautiful and proud and that we should honour that.

I can feel the wind of change. It may have been there before, but it is blowing stronger. I know it is there. I thank my parents and ancestors for their strength and sacrifices. I am very grateful to them. Thank you to you too, senators, because, before I came here, I listened to what you were saying, I watched, I read and I saw that there are people here with open hearts, eyes and ears, who are ready to accept our truths. That made it less stressful to become a senator.

I have also often heard it said in this chamber that we have a shared responsibility. The institutions also have a responsibility.

[English]

It is important to continually monitor each Call to Action in order to see the meaningful and structural change necessary to improve the lives of our people — or, I should say, the lives of Indigenous people. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, or TRC, emphasizes education as the foundation for raising awareness on what needs to happen to ensure true reconciliation.

[Translation]

I couldn’t agree more. Education plays a key role in addressing the ignorance and unconscious bias about what is happening to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in our own communities. More and more educational institutions are integrating these issues into the curriculum, and are taking the history, or histories, the realities and the contemporary issues of First Peoples into account. This is having a direct effect, then, because teachers, nurses and other professionals in various fields are better equipped, better trained and better informed.

As a result, when we’re appointed to this place, as Indigenous senators, we get fewer requests for assistance. The next generation will have a lot of information. I wish to say thank you to all those institutions doing this educational work. We will see more and more publishing houses taking important steps and giving us this space. We could also encourage some of them to follow suit by integrating the history of First Peoples, by and for First Peoples, into textbooks, so that it becomes part of the organizational culture and doesn’t hinge on the will of individual professors or faculties.

We also know that municipalities and communities together can do wonderful things, if they’re not already doing so, and create spaces where people can share their truths so that we can live together and do things together.

Imagine the survivors who will listen to the government every year. They will hear what’s going on directly from the government, what’s not being done, what’s working, what’s harder. When we know why things haven’t progressed, when we’re told the truth, when someone explains to us why things haven’t progressed, we can understand. However when we’re not told the truth, of course we will take a stand. I think that this will enable us to organize all of that.

This is for everyone who, like me, wants to understand. I need to understand, not because I am a senator, but because I am a mom, a lover, a kokum — a grandmother. I am also the daughter of Évelyne, and I need to understand. The government is going to create important commissions, which will give us a chance to write new chapters, but there’s no accountability mechanism here. We’re voting to create commissions, but they have to be connected to that culture, to that accountability. What then?

For me, Bill C-29 gives us the opportunity to start laying the foundation for the shaputuan, the big tent of the Innus, or to take a step towards our collective responsibility. You will remember that when I gave my inaugural speech I mentioned that I like to bead. I realized that it will be difficult to bead in the Senate because we work hard. However, I can sometimes take a few minutes to do some beading.

I would ask you to recall what I told you: At times, I will leave some beads for you. If you can pick them up and assemble them, together we can create a just, fair society that values every individual’s diversity, language, culture, values and history. I am leaving many beads for you.

Honourable senators, this was a new experience for me. I thank you for listening, for accepting some of my truths and the truths of those I carry in my heart. I know that your questions, your comments and the path that this bill will take will all be in the interest of improving it. Thank you very much.

Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Thank you very much, Senator Audette. Are you sure that this council has sufficient funding to ensure long-term sustainability?

Senator Audette: Thank you for your question. In the long term? I don’t have a magic wand to see what we need to do, but I can say that this requires a long-term commitment. Funding will be a daily reality for this not-for-profit organization. The commitment that we have right now, the information that I have right now, seeks to reassure us that this is a start. From what I understand, the organization will receive, if it hasn’t already, a charitable number, which will allow it to get funding from sources other than the federal government.

Yes, the federal government should fund the council for the long term, but the commitment that we have and the numbers that I have right now will be used to start the work and to invest.

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada on COVID-19 Vaccines, pursuant to the Auditor General Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. A-17, s. 8.

Hon. Percy E. Downe: Thank you, Senator Audette for your wonderful speech. I enjoyed it immensely.

I want to bring to your attention as well that, of all the other concerns that I have heard from the Native Council of Prince Edward Island, they are also concerned about representation. They represent 1,244 members of the Native Council of P.E.I. and 3,385 Indigenous people residing off-reserve in P.E.I. They share the same concerns that have been expressed by others.

They want to make sure that the representation is there from all of the interested groups. I simply wanted to pass that on to you. It’s more than a question. The question would be: Do you agree or would you take it under advisement? We only have a few seconds left.

[Translation]

Senator Audette: I will take just a few seconds to answer. I want to believe that the people who are appointed to sit on this new board of directors will have the expertise and knowledge to serve everyone across Canada. I feel confident of that at this point in time.

(On motion of Senator Martin, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Cordy, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dalphond, for the third reading of Bill S-246, An Act respecting Lebanese Heritage Month.

Senator Omidvar: Thank you for your sponsorship of the bill, your explanation of it and, in particular, for putting yourself in this story in a very personal way. I really do appreciate that and, of course, I support the creation of a national council for reconciliation.

My question is a follow-up to Senator McPhedran’s question. I must confess that I now have a concern about the funding of the national council of reconciliation. You said that this organization will seek charitable status and seek funding from charitable organizations to complete its financing.

Many people in Canada now, especially people from the Indigenous community, have concluded that charitable giving in Canada is a colonial construct. By going down this path of seeking charitable funding, the council could, in effect, be buying into a colonial path.

Don’t you think it is important for the federal government to fund the national council of reconciliation to the full and commit to it in this bill?

Senator Audette: I asked that question, Senator Omidvar. I thought that they would go through an entity that looked like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for example.

By discussing not with the government, but with the people who were involved, right now it’s at the stage where they want to make sure that they are not officially attached to the federal government in order to keep their independence, knowing that the funding will either be there or it may slowly go down, or it may increase. They were aware of that when they had those discussions.

It is something that we can ask, but this is what was explained to me. I will finish in French to make sure that I am understood.

[Translation]

The important thing is that there are groups other than the First Nations, Métis, Inuit or specific groups of Indigenous leaders, for example. They’ve already begun discussions to have formal entities that have relationships with the federal government, to have a human rights tribunal for First Nations, Métis and Inuit, a space where an ombudsman can respond. This exercise is really something that should be done by a non-profit organization, the national council for reconciliation, but talks are already under way elsewhere and there’s a direct relationship with the federal government.

I see that you’re looking confused. I don’t think you understood what I was saying. I would be happy to better explain what I meant.

[English]

Senator Omidvar: Thank you for explaining to me the unfolding of this council of reconciliation. If I may suggest this, the issue of funding and independence should be seriously looked at in committee. There is a history of institutions that have been started by the federal government and then abandoned because of a lack of funding and because the position was made that charities will pick it up. Ombudspeople and tribunals are not funded by charity; they are funded by governments themselves.

Thank you, Senator Audette, for taking my question.