Hon. Pat Duncan: Honourable senators, I’m honoured to rise on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation to speak about the Ember Fire Academy. It is available to all Yukon women over the age of 16, and participants in the academy range in age from 16 to their mid-sixties.

The Ember Fire Academy is an introduction to the fire service and firefighting. It is an opportunity for Yukon women to experience the most challenging and exciting tasks in firefighting and emergency response in an inclusive, safe and supportive environment.

It’s a week-long program with twice-daily workouts where recruits learn to use personal protective equipment and gear, cut open a car to free trapped passengers, respond to hazardous material emergencies, rescue people from heights using ropes and ladders, fight vehicle and structural fires, train for functional fitness and performance tests and use proper nutrition.

As honourable senators know, in describing programs and policies, it’s about the people. Penny and Grace Sheardown Waugh, a mother-daughter team who participated in the program, introduced me to Kiara Adams. Ms. Adams blazed the way, becoming the first ever City of Whitehorse female firefighter. She inspires and empowers women by sharing her passion and knowledge through the creation and delivery as chief of the Ember Fire Academy. She does all of this, as many women have done, with a young one balanced on her hip.

Ms. Adams is joined by Ursula Geisler, the only female deputy fire marshal in the Yukon Fire Marshal’s Office and deputy chief of the Ember Fire Academy. She is a leading member of the Golden Horn Volunteer Fire Department, which is just outside of Whitehorse, and participates globally as part of the ShelterBox response team.

Women who have participated in the Ember Fire Academy have gone on to become members of Wildland Fire Management, volunteer firefighters and members of Emergency Medical Services. As those of us who are from less populated areas of Canada know, firefighters are our communities’ first responders to so much more than fires. They are the strength of our communities.

As I spoke of first responders being more to our communities than the first to arrive on the scene, Ember Fire Academy is about so much more than firefighter and emergency response training. It has been described as life changing.

I invite senators to reach out to me for the link to an Ember Fire Academy video to share with Canadians, as every year there are women from elsewhere in Canada — including attendees from Saskatchewan — who have asked to attend the Ember Fire Academy. Communities from Alberta have reached out to institute similar programs in their communities.

Honourable senators, the Ember Fire Academy begins on June 20 this year, in part on the traditional territory of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. May I wish each participant and graduate of the Ember Fire Academy success on your journey of exploring your strengths, resilience and talents. Thank you for your service to our communities wherever you live. Stay safe and look out for one another. Mahsi cho, gùnáłchîsh, thank you.

Hon. Patti LaBoucane-Benson moved second reading of Bill S-10, An Act to give effect to the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, to amend the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act and the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.

She said: Honourable senators, before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that I have always lived on and am speaking to you today from this beautiful Treaty 6 territory, where we are all treaty people.

I am pleased today to speak to the second reading of Bill S-10, which advances Indigenous self-government for the shíshálh Nation and Anishinabek Nation. This bill is a reflection of our country’s commitment to work with First Nation partners to implement their inherent right to self-government and self-determination and to support their visions of a better future for their communities. It supports Canada’s goal of addressing our long history of colonization and it’s a tangible action toward reconciliation.

Honourable senators, let’s take a step back for a moment to reflect upon what self-government means for Indigenous communities. For thousands of years before contact, Indigenous peoples operated their own forms of government. They established and enforced their own laws with their own forms of leadership, and they divided responsibilities according to their customs. When settlers arrived on the shores of this land now known as Canada, some pacts and partnerships were forged with Indigenous groups through treaties, trade agreements and military alliances. However, the rights of Indigenous peoples were gradually eroded with each new colonial decision, policy and law. The treaties and partnerships were neither upheld nor respected.

In 1876, the government passed the Indian Act, which imposed a colonial system of governance on First Nations. It actively erased systems that had been in place for centuries, and it failed to recognize the unique needs and aspirations of communities. But Indigenous inherent rights to governance were never relinquished and, in 1982, they were reaffirmed in section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. Now Canada is working to undo federally imposed systems of governance and reaffirming the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples.

Self-government agreements support this process. These agreements set out law-making authority in many areas, including how to educate their children, how to manage their lands, how to protect their cultures and languages and how to build their economies and create jobs.

Senators, Bill S-10 is dual-pronged. First, it contains measures that would modernize the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act and, second, it supports the implementation of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement. I will provide some context for both.

In 1986, the shíshálh Nation became the first Indigenous nation in Canada to achieve self‑government with their own self‑governance act. Now, almost 40 years later, the legislation is showing its age.

When I spoke with shíshálh Chief Warren Paull today, he said that, in 1986, their constitution was basically a cut-and-paste from the Indian Act. There just wasn’t time to think about it deeply. Now, over 30 years later, they want to decolonize their constitution. Canada’s policies and relationships with Indigenous partners have evolved and now, at the request of the community, we know this arrangement must evolve, too.

For the past two years, the government has been collaborating with the shíshálh Nation on proposed amendments to their self‑government legislation. The most symbolic of these changes is an update to the act’s name. If approved, it would transition to the “shíshálh Nation Self-Government Act,” removing the Crown-imposed anglicized name and spelling of “Sechelt.”

Other changes include removing outdated provisions that are not required under modern self-government arrangements; confirming lawmaking powers over social and welfare services, including child and family services for all shíshálh Nation members; and allowing the establishment of new land registries, as an alternative to the Indian Act reserve land register.

The shíshálh Nation is a leader in the realm of Indigenous self‑governance, and these amendments uphold their leadership. Support for this bill would show that Canada continues to be an active partner in supporting nation-to-nation relationships with self-governing Indigenous partners, not only now but on an ongoing basis as their needs evolve in the future.

The second part of this bill is the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement Act. In April 2022, Minister Marc Miller joined the Anishinabek First Nations leaders in signing the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement, and the proposed governance agreement act would bring this agreement into effect. This historic agreement recognizes Anishinabek control over their government and law-making powers in four key areas: leadership selection, citizenship, language and culture and government operations.

Notably, this would be the second self-government agreement concluded by the nation in a span of five years. In 2018, 23 First Nations signed a self-government agreement recognizing Anishinabek control over education on-reserve. And there’s a third one on the horizon; in 2021, an agreement in principle on Anishinabek child, youth and family well-being was reached, which lays out a road map for negotiating a final agreement in the future.

Honourable senators, the Anishinabek First Nations are ready to reclaim their inherent rights to governance. We simply need to support them.

Before concluding, it’s important to note that this legislation was drafted and co-developed in partnership with both First Nations. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the work of the shíshálh Council and Anishinabek Nation in developing these pieces of legislation. After years and years of work, both of these initiatives have strong support from these First Nations partners. I can think of no better reason for us to work efficiently and without delay on this bill.

Honourable senators, we must take action. The proposed shíshálh Nation Self-Government Act and the proposed Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement Act are just two examples of how the Government of Canada can support First Nations and all Indigenous peoples in achieving their inspiring visions of a better future for all of their citizens. It’s not the federal government’s place to control or oversee the affairs of Indigenous peoples. This bill helps remove the federal government from that colonial role.

If we want to have any hope of addressing the long history of colonization in this country, we must support initiatives like this. We must respect and acknowledge the long-standing and established practice of Indigenous governance. And we must lift up arrangements that are created by Indigenous communities, for Indigenous communities, so that they can achieve their own visions of success.

I thank the honourable senators for their time, and I would respectfully ask that we send this bill to committee today, without delay. Thank you, marsee and hiy hiy.

Hon. Pat Duncan: Senator LaBoucane-Benson, you spoke of the consultation with the shíshálh First Nation. Can you also outline, or must it wait until committee to outline, what consultation process took place with self-governing Yukon First Nations and the Yukon government?

Senator LaBoucane-Benson: Thank you, Senator Duncan. I have not spoken with the Yukon government nor the First Nations there, but I do know that the act removes an outdated provision requiring Governor-in-Council approval prior to entering into financial agreements between Canada and Yukon First Nations. This was a provision that was removed in the Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act; they’re doing that right now. Because that was a copy-and-paste into the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act, they made that change as well, but we will have to wait until committee study to find out the details of consultation. I hope that answers your question.

Senator Duncan: Honourable senators, I rise in support of the proposed amendments to the Sechelt Indian Band Self‑Government Act, but I also want to speak with regard to the provisions for the Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act.

Senators have heard me speak several times about the Yukon, and — to borrow the phrase from the Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief in the Yukon — “a Yukon that leads.”

Following up on my question to Senator LaBoucane-Benson, I asked her about what consultation process had taken place. I asked that because, by way of a bit of background, there are challenges in negotiating these agreements — the land claim agreements and the self-governing agreements. The process for the umbrella final agreement under which all self-governing agreements are negotiated in the Yukon began with discussions in the 1970s with the document Together Today for our Children Tomorrow and concluded in the 1990s. They take a great deal of time, thought and work on the part of all parties involved.

Of the 14 Yukon First Nations, 11 have self-governing agreements. As I mentioned, it’s not an easy task to reach these self-government agreements. The real challenge is giving life and meaning to the agreements.

I mentioned a consultation process. It is clearly set out in the policies and procedures of the Government of Yukon — that is, how consultation must take place in order to ensure that it is a true consultation process. A part of giving life and meaning to these agreements is ensuring we live up to them.

This minor change — a “cut and paste,” as was discussed — after my consultation and discussions with the grand chief, I believe took place at the technical level and by technicians. Really, this is a minor technical amendment, but it gives life and meaning and respect to the self-government agreements that are so important.

When I say “self-governing agreements,” what I’m referring to is also a government-to-government relationship between the Government of Yukon and the government of, for example, the Carcross/Tagish First Nation; or the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation in Dawson City; the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in Old Crow. These government-to-government relationships are really the life and meaning of self-governing agreements. They treat one another with respect, understanding and recognition of a new relationship. They are recognition, again, of “a Yukon that leads” in this particular area.

I support this amendment, and I am looking forward to committee discussions, further elaboration on what has gone on in terms of the background to this piece of legislation and the “cut and paste,” as it was referred to. And I look forward to being able to further elaborate at third reading and explain to my colleagues how the government-to-government relationship works on the ground in such manners as the Yukon Forum that is held annually with First Nation chiefs, the Government of Yukon, and how it is heard and understood as well by the Government of Canada.

I’m proud to be able to stand in support of this legislation and to recognize the work of the individuals who worked so hard in the public service of First Nation governments, the Government of Canada and the Government of Yukon in ensuring that we do indeed give life and meaning to self-governing agreements and respect to one another.

I look forward to committee debate on this and supporting it further at third reading.