Committee
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 91 - 105 of 125
Stephanie Scott
View Stephanie Scott Profile
Stephanie Scott
2021-06-03 12:44
I'll start. I just want to begin by acknowledging that I'm joining this meeting from the original lands of the Anishinabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, in the homeland of the Métis.
On behalf of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, I want to say thank you, meegwetch, to the commissioners, whom I was able to walk beside for many years during the commission. I want to thank the honourable chair and the members of the committee for initiating this timely and absolutely necessary study.
My heart goes out to the families of the children who perished at the Kamloops residential school, and all the children who did not return home. This is a time of mourning. It is also an opportunity to finally do the work to locate the children who were taken away, never to return home.
It's our sincere hope that what the Tk’emlúps te Sekwépemc have accomplished in locating 215 children will be a moment where all Canadians embrace the truth and act with genuine commitment towards reconciliation. We hope that out of this tragedy, we will see a concerted national action to locate and honour all first nations, Métis and Inuit children who perished as a result of the residential school system. This is something that is urgently needed and long overdue.
As the former manager of statement gathering during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I heard survivors talk about witnessing the murder and death of children when they were at residential schools. Many parents were never notified of their child's passing, nor told where their children were. We continue to hear these accounts at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. The fourth volume of the TRC's final report described cemeteries as being abandoned and unprotected.
The NCTR is the child of the TRC, and we continue to work closely with survivors to ensure our work is guided by their vision and reflects their truth. Five of the 94 calls to action call on governments and Canadian institutions to collaborate with and support our ongoing work.
Call to action 72 specifically calls on the federal government to allocate sufficient resources to the NCTR to allow us to maintain the national residential school student death register. Between the work of the TRC and the NCTR, we have confirmed 4,117 deaths of children in the residential schools. Due to gaps in the records, we have not been able to identify the names of some of these children.
The number of children believed to have gone missing is much higher. Record-keeping for these schools was nowhere near today's standards, nor were the records consistent. Review of the records already in the NCTR's collection is still ongoing, and we will find more children.
A significant key in piecing together the evidence remains with survivors and their families. Even today, survivors continue to come forward with accounts of deaths that they witnessed. Many are in unmarked graves. There are also accounts of bodies that were buried within walls, bodies buried in the hills or by riversides, and bodies that were never found after children died trying to escape from these schools. These sites are in fact crime scenes, and the discovery at Kamloops has triggered a new urgency for survivors and their families to share their truths while they still can.
We do not know what communities will decide concerning repatriating children to their homes. This must be the choice of families and communities. I do, however, want to underscore to the committee the urgency of documenting what survivors witnessed or what families have shared about missing loved ones. We are racing against time. We often hear from survivors that they have fewer tomorrows than they have yesterdays.
We know the Kamloops residential school is one school in over 140 across this country. We are only at the beginning of recognizing the extent of the horrific loss of precious lives. The work ahead is extensive.
I feel it is also important for the committee to recognize that, at this point, there is no ongoing federal commitment to maintain the NCTR's core funding, which is necessary for this vital work to continue.
Since we opened in 2015, we have developed a national student memorial register, created internships with other institutions to expand digital archives, and created greater accessibility of the truths within the records we hold. We also developed a commemoration and healing fund with the guidance of residential school survivors. In developing this fund, survivors prioritized accessibility, because communities deserve to pursue healing and remembrance in ways they feel are appropriate for themselves, without red tape and cumbersome bureaucratic barriers.
I will now ask Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, the chair of the NCTR's governing circle, to talk about what needs to be done going forward.
Meegwetch.
Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
View Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux Profile
Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux
2021-06-03 12:49
Thank you, Stephanie.
Thank you to the commissioners, as well, for the work you've done in the past and the truth that you brought to light.
I'd like to thank the standing committee, as well, for the opportunity to speak to you today.
I'd like to say good afternoon. I am a proud member and resident of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in Lake Simcoe.
Together with the Chippewas of Beausoleil and Rama, and the Mississaugas of Alderville, Curve Lake, Hiawatha and Scugog Island, we are all signatories to several treaties signed throughout the 18th and 19th centuries that covered lands in different parts of southern and central Ontario. I'd like to acknowledge that I'm speaking to you from the original lands of the Chippewa today.
First, I also want you to know that both my parents attended residential school and spent 20 years there between them, my father going at the very young age of four, actually being raised there and also suffering the consequences of that through the rest of his life.
I think there are two things that need to be done.
The first is to finally uncover the truth—and I mean truth with a capital T, because we've had a lot of truth-telling, but we have not had the final truth—to finally and completely identify all the children who never returned home. Paramount to this step is having all parties to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement release all the relevant records needed to document this truth.
The second is upholding indigenous protocols around mourning and ensuring that indigenous communities determine what ceremonies and commemorations are necessary and appropriate to honour the children who died and those who never returned home.
For years, the Canadian government denied indigenous peoples the freedom to practise our sacred ceremonies and cultural practices. The residential school system had a role—if not the largest role—in reinforcing this. Survivors have shared that residential schools had a detrimental impact on their ability to grieve.
It is therefore necessary that communities be supported to bring in knowledge-keepers and undertake the ceremonies that were so long denied to the missing children, their families and their communities. There is an ongoing restoration process that must be supported for our next generations.
I want to underline the TRC’s call to action 76, which says that indigenous peoples must be able to lead in the development of strategies for documenting, maintaining, commemorating and protecting residential school cemeteries.
In the view of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation—and the survivors we depend on to guide us—hiding, damaging, interfering with or destroying the graves of residential school children must be recognized as a crime and prosecuted as such.
In addition, national standards must be put in place concerning the use of investigative technologies, such as ground-scanning radar, to ensure that the privacy of affected families is respected and that any evidence of crimes is not compromised.
Finally, all measures to investigate and protect burial sites must be consistent with the rights of indigenous people in domestic and international law, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Yesterday, the federal Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations announced that previously allocated funding for the investigation of gravesites would finally be made available to first nations, Inuit and Métis Nation governments and communities. In making the announcement, the minister told reporters that indigenous peoples weren’t ready for the money to be released before this.
This is quite simply untrue. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, survivors and our partners have been working within frameworks of collaboration, respect for diverse indigenous protocols and adherence to the guidance of survivors and knowledge-keepers for many years—as you heard former commissioner Wilson say.
The federal government has been told time and time again that the need for action is urgent. The national centre and indigenous communities have been desperate to begin meaningful action in locating gravesites, but have been severely underfunded. We've made progress on this journey towards truth, reconciliation and healing, but more truth—a deeper truth—remains.
The Kamloops school brings into focus just how much more work we have to do as a country. This is going to require genuine, sustained action by the Government of Canada to meet the obligations required to right this horrific wrong. Survivors have consistently said that before we can meaningfully talk about reconciliation, we must have truth and we must have healing.
The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was cut short in its work, and its support would be very appropriate right now. Until we have identified all the children who never came home from residential schools, we will not know the whole truth. Until those children are finally returned to their families and communities, the healing journey will remain incomplete.
This is a collective task before us. We must do this in a good way without any further delay.
Meegwetch for your time and attention.
View Cathy McLeod Profile
CPC (BC)
First of all, to the commissioners, it's hard to believe I was with you at the ceremony six years ago, when the report was released.
There has been some progress, but as you reflected, insufficient attention, resources, and urgency. I represent the area of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, and I know that it was known. You brought an awareness, and this has rocked the country, certainly for people who weren't as aware as they needed to be or should have been.
I wish I had time. I would love to explore more of the issues around the records and whether there is anything we can do to compel action. I would be very interested in the comments from the Honourable Murray Sinclair about the investigation, and I wonder if it's too premature that the work needs to be done by communities for a parliamentary kind of investigation.
Unfortunately, we don't have the time. I just want to acknowledge the incredible burden you carry from hearing the very difficult testimony, which I'm sure still lives with you to this day.
Thank you.
View Jaime Battiste Profile
Lib. (NS)
[Member spoke in Mi'kmaq]
[English]
I just wanted to thank you in my language.
This has been a difficult week for most of us, but for you this was your reality for years, listening to this and hearing this.
This emergency meeting was to help us reflect and understand based on your knowledge. We felt it was important to hear from you, as you live this every day.
There are so many questions as Canadians are going through the grief, the shock, the denial and the pain. Indigenous people are going through the same and are triggered, asking why: Why was our language, why was our culture, and why were our lives so insignificant? Why were we such a threat that this is what we went through?
I think your reflections have really helped us, and your words and recommendations continue to guide our work. We're going to be working hard in this committee to make sure the recommendations are implemented in full.
Thank you.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Mr. Chair, I must first apologize to Mr. Littlechild. I have a great deal of respect and empathy for him and his testimony. I didn't mean to interrupt him earlier. I just wanted to understand his comments, with all due respect, because they were very important. I realize that I didn't handle this well and I apologize again.
I would also like to tell the witnesses that we're all saddened by the terrible news of this discovery. There may be more to come. I'm the Bloc Québécois critic for indigenous affairs and the member of Parliament for Abitibi—Baie‑James—Nunavik—Eeyou, in Quebec, where several indigenous communities are located. Small shoes were placed everywhere in memory of these children who didn't deserve what they experienced. What happened at that time remains incomprehensible.
Your testimonies are so important and touching. Meegwetch. Thank you.
View Rachel Blaney Profile
NDP (BC)
I just want to thank everyone here so much for their testimony.
As the granddaughter of a survivor, and as the spouse of a survivor, my heart is with everyone across this country that had this experience, because I know how hard it is.
I guess what I would say is that I wish all Canadians could see the gaze of my husband when he looks at his children right now.
I want to acknowledge Chief Robert Joseph, who told us that even when we are angry we must carry these beautiful, precious souls in our hands and in our hearts, and remember that as we go through this process, we must send them to the better place so that they can be okay now.
I just want to thank you for giving all Canadians a pathway to doing this, because until all Canadians carry this the way indigenous people have carried this since the very start, they will not fully heal.
Thank you for your work. I appreciate it so much.
View Maninder Sidhu Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Madam Chair; and thank you to the minister for being with us today.
Minister, the government has made reconciliation with indigenous people a priority. The need for truth and reconciliation has been highlighted this week with the horrific discovery of the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
In my riding of Brampton East, there are many first- and second-generation immigrants, and I believe it's important for Canadians, including many new Canadians who have emigrated to Canada, to learn about indigenous peoples.
Could you update the committee on the work your department is doing to implement the TRC's calls to action 93 and 94 and the importance of these commitments?
View Marco Mendicino Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Chair, I'll begin by thanking my colleague for his advocacy, and I thank every member of the committee and all members of Parliament for unanimously supporting the passage of Bill C-8 yesterday in the House of Commons through third reading. I look forward to working with our colleagues in the Senate to ensure that the bill becomes law.
I think all of my colleagues would echo the sentiment that, now more than ever, we need to continue to do the hard work of reconciliation. This past week has revealed the horrifying news of the remains of children that were discovered at a residential school in Kamloops. We would be remiss if we didn't point out that this is not just about a shameful chapter in our history, but that indigenous peoples continue to live this reality today. As parliamentarians, and certainly in my capacity as minister, I will do whatever I can to continue the important work of reconciliation by taking call to action 94 that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had put forward that would allow us to educate new citizens, but also all Canadians, by amending the oath of citizenship to reflect indigenous peoples' traditions, cultures and histories. That is something that I have seen over the course of my tenure as minister in our citizenship ceremonies. This is important work.
Again, we will continue to consult with our colleagues and with indigenous leaders across the country, but it is so important, now more than ever, that we make this bill law.
View Lindsay Mathyssen Profile
NDP (ON)
One of the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, number 16, was a call for post-secondary institutions and the creation of the understanding that culturally sensitive and inclusive programs that are indigenous-led but also in the indigenous languages be provided.
With the direct closure of Laurentian University's indigenous midwifery program, do you see that as obviously contradictory?
Angela Recollet
View Angela Recollet Profile
Angela Recollet
2021-05-06 12:45
Of course, and in fact, I just want to share some history. This is far prior to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 calls to action.
These recommendations happen and we're continuously having to repeat history, and it goes back to the the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in what you now call Canada. These same recommendations were heard then, and we're still having to tell our story now.
With the RCAP recommendations, we established the AET strategy. The aboriginal education and training strategy was established in 1989-90 and incorporated in 1991. Laurentian University was a recipient of that AET strategy, and that strategy included the recruitment, retention and increased success rates of aboriginal people in post-secondary education. That included colleges and universities, and that also included the reclamation of our languages.
I can speak to this very eloquently because I was the one who was leading it. We strived to ensure that the reclamation of our cultural identity was celebrated and that it was recognized, just as the francophone population demands success and demands that they have authority to deliver their programs, their education. The problem is that we're working in your system, in your institutions, and you're still not recognizing our form of education, our form of governance, our language, our culture, our birthing right, our inherent right to take care of our own people.
That will always be an issue and we will continue to have these conversations, and I hope to goodness that when my five grandchildren are at my stage of life, they're not having to continue to educate other citizens in what you now call Canada.
You can see my passion about this.
View Carolyn Bennett Profile
Lib. (ON)
Okay, thank you.
I am speaking to you today from the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. I wish to honour the waters they paddled and their moccasins which walked these lands.
It is my pleasure to appear at this committee to discuss Bill C-15. I am joined today by two officials from the Implementation Sector: Ross Pattee, Assistant Deputy Minister, and Marla Israel, Director General of the Policy, Planning and Coordination Branch.
I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize the leadership of former member of Parliament Romeo Saganash on developing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the “Declaration”) and on legislating a framework to implement it here in Canada and I thank him for Bill C-262, which served as the foundation for Bill C-15.
The declaration is of critical importance to indigenous peoples across Canada, including the indigenous leaders who participated directly in its development.
The declaration is the result of decades of tireless effort, negotiations and sustained advocacy within the United Nations system, including by inspiring indigenous leaders like Dr. Wilton Littlechild, who you heard from last week. As Dr. Littlechild recently told me, all together, C-15 is a reconciliation call for justice and respect through implementation of solutions-based international treaties.
I believe that implementing the declaration here in Canada is essential to advancing reconciliation with indigenous peoples. This has been made clear by both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, after six years of hearings, and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, after three years of listening to families and survivors.
The TRC said that the declaration charts a path for reconciliation to flourish in 21st century Canada. The inquiry's calls for justice also call on governments to immediately implement and fully comply with the declaration.
The introduction of C-15 fulfills our government's commitment to introduce legislation to implement the declaration, establishing Bill C-262 as the floor, rather than the ceiling.
Prior to the bill's introduction, 33 bilateral sessions took place with AFN, ITK and MNC. In addition, more than 450 people participated in 28 regional engagement sessions, providing feedback and advice on potential enhancements to the consultation draft. Provincial and territorial governments, experts and industry stakeholders also informed the development of the bill.
While we acknowledge that some would have preferred a longer engagement, it was inclusive and meaningful. The current bill reflects the content requested by many indigenous partners.
Extensive meetings were also held with indigenous partners and other stakeholders after its introduction, to explain the bill's content and work on further enhancements. As Minister Lametti has noted, engagement post introduction informed some further amendments, which the government will be supporting.
Co-development of the action plan will be a further opportunity to work in close partnership on implementation.
We have already begun preliminary discussions with indigenous partners on the design of that process. Yesterday's budget 2021 proposes to provide $31.5 million over two years to support its co-development.
Recognizing and respecting indigenous rights mean that indigenous peoples are at the table for decisions that impact their rights. In many cases, it means that economic development and stronger economic outcomes will be advanced with indigenous peoples as partners.
The declaration is broader than economic development. I'm so grateful for my conversation with Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who you also heard from last week, on her findings about racism in health care and her report, “In Plain Sight”. She was very clear about article 24 of the declaration, which states:
Indigenous individuals have an equal right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. States shall take the necessary steps with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of this right.
This will be very important in guiding the future legislation on indigenous health.
I also remember how important it was, during the summit on child welfare, to underline Article 7 of the declaration, which details the collective and individual rights to live free from violence, including “forcibly removing children”.
The declaration allows us all to develop a clear path so everyone can work together as partners with a shared stake in Canada's future.
As I said before, implementing the declaration is nothing to be frightened of. What is needed is fundamental and foundational change. It's about shedding our colonial past and writing the next chapter together, as partners with indigenous peoples.
It has been more than 13 years since the declaration was adopted by the General Assembly. I urge all members to support this fundamental and necessary change and support this bill.
Thank you. Meegwetch. Nakurmiik. Marsi.
Perry Bellegarde
View Perry Bellegarde Profile
Perry Bellegarde
2021-04-13 11:06
Thank you, Chair, and thank you to all of the committee members for agreeing to the 15-minute time.
[Witness spoke in Cree]
[English]
That was just a little bit in Cree for my friends and relatives.
I'm very happy to be here with all of you.
I used one of my spirit names, King Thunderbird Child. That is one of the names I carry. I'm from Little Black Bear First Nation and Treaty 4 territory in southern Saskatchewan. I gave thanks to the creator for this beautiful day and I acknowledged as well the Algonquin peoples here in the Odawa territory, where I'm sitting and working from today, their ancestral lands.
Chairman Bratina and honourable committee members, thank you so much for this opportunity.
I also want to acknowledge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who is with me on this presentation, and Willie Littlechild as well. I acknowledge them and thank them for their work.
Our Assembly of First Nations has long supported the adoption of a clear and strong legislative blueprint to advance the implementation of the United Nations declaration.
I appeared before this committee three years ago to support the adoption of Bill C-262, the private member's bill brought forward by Romeo Saganash, so I'm very pleased to now speak in support of a government bill that builds on the foundations of Bill C-262.
The Assembly of First Nations chiefs-in-assembly have passed numerous resolutions calling for the full implementation of the declaration. These resolutions included support for the adoption of Bill C-262.
When a filibuster prevented Bill C-262 from coming to a final vote in the Senate, where it did have sufficient support to be passed, our Assembly of First Nations chiefs-in-assembly passed a resolution in December 2019 calling for a government bill as strong or stronger than Bill C-262. That's my mandate. That's the direction the chiefs of Canada gave me as national chief: to get a government bill that's as strong as Bill C-262.
Bill C-15 meets that test. Bill C-15 provides a principled and pragmatic path forward to ensure that Canada respects and upholds fundamental human rights that have been affirmed and reaffirmed by the international community many times through consensus resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
I want to emphasize that the declaration did not create new rights, and neither does this proposed new bill. They also do not impinge on or detract from any inherent or treaty rights.
When I testified before this committee about Bill C-262, I felt very strongly that a collaborative and coordinated approach to implementing the declaration was critical to closing the social and economic gap facing first nations people.
Today, I am even more convinced that implementation legislation is the right way forward. I also applaud the work of elected officials in other jurisdictions who have taken steps to implement the United Nations declaration and note the chiefs' work with British Columbia in achieving the unanimous passage of a law in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on November 28, 2019.
Given the deep racism and discrimination that first nations still face every day, Bill C-15's critical commitment to combat all forms of discrimination makes this bill both timely and urgent. I have seen how in B.C., with the implementation of the declaration, important work has been undertaken to address the racism against indigenous peoples in the health care system, using the standards in the declaration to bring people together in the health care system.
Now, we know that every bill can be improved. Since the tabling of Bill C-15, we have heard critiques and suggestions for improvement—most importantly, from indigenous peoples ourselves. Some AFN regional chiefs and first nations leadership have appeared before you and have identified areas for improvement from their regional perspectives. You should listen carefully to those positions. In Canada, some first nations are in support of Bill C-15 and some are against Bill C-15, while others support it with amendments.
What I am tabling today is a contribution from the Assembly of First Nations that constitutes some relatively straightforward suggestions for improvements. These are intended to respond to the overall objective of first nations to make the bill stronger and clearer. So this is indeed an historic moment.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada looked closely at the UN declaration and concluded that the declaration was “the framework for reconciliation at all levels and across all sectors of Canadian society.” They set that out as their first principle of reconciliation. That's how important the declaration is as a source of guidance and as a foundation for action.
Canadians have embraced the cause of reconciliation; implementation legislation is crucial to bringing that commitment to life.
With the improvements we've tabled, Bill C-15 will better enable us to move forward in a collaborative and coordinated way, consistent with first nations treaty and inherent rights and Canada's legal obligations.
I'd like to review those 12 improvements right now.
Number one is preamble clause 6. It's our recommendation that this provision is not accurate and should be deleted.
Number two is preamble clause 8. It's our recommendation that the word “racism” be added to this clause. Racism is a critical daily concern for first nations, and we believe strongly that it should be named.
Number three is preamble clause 9. It's our recommendation that the paragraph include explicit reference to the doctrines of discovery and terra nullius, and to be clear that, as the Supreme Court of Canada said in the Tsilhquot'in Nation case in 2014, these doctrines should not be part of the law or policies of Canada.
With regard to clause 2(2), it's our recommendation that the non-derogation clause be revised to more accurately reflect the working of the UN declaration, article 37, the previous approach in Bill C-262, and wording has been provided for you to consider.
Number five, it's also recommended that you consider adding two new clauses in the interpretation section, clause 2, to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation on some matters of great importance to first nations. The first of these two new clauses is clause 2(4):
For greater certainty, the rights of Indigenous peoples, including treaty rights, must be interpreted flexibly so as to permit their evolution over time and any approach constituting frozen rights must be rejected.
This provision is important because we cannot permit interpretation of treaty rights or any of the rights of indigenous peoples as frozen in time. Approaches that reflect stereotypes and old ideas, especially on treaty rights, must be overcome as an ongoing obstacle to moving forward.
Number six, and the second of the two new clauses, is 2(5):
For greater certainty, nothing in this Act is to be construed so as to diminish or extinguish the rights of Indigenous peoples, including treaty rights.
This provision makes it clear that extinguishment of the rights of indigenous peoples is not acceptable under any circumstances and cannot be part of Canada's laws or policies. Indigenous peoples have been subject to policies that sought to extinguish our rights and identities, such as the residential schools and other unilateral crown policies. Extinguishment is a systemic barrier to reconciliation that Canada must permanently and clearly reject.
Number seven, it's our recommendation that the subtitle for clause 4 or the purpose section is incorrect and it should be titled “Purposes”. Romeo Saganash spoke to this issue in his appearance on March 11. This is an obvious grammatical problem, but could lead to inaccurate interpretation in the future and should be fixed, as it has been flagged by first nations as a concern. I urge you to correct this at this study of the bill by committee members.
Number eight, in this same clause, it's recommended that the word “framework” be removed. As acknowledged in the preamble of this bill, the UN declaration itself is the framework, and reference to other frameworks simply cause confusion.
Number nine, I also note that the reference to the “Government of Canada” in the purpose clause 4 must be removed because Canada's obligation extends not just to government, but to Parliament, and this wording as it currently reads is inaccurate. The phrase “Government of Canada” could simply be removed, and I recommend you do that as we show in the table submitted.
Number 10, it is recommended that the time frame set out in clause 6 for the action plan be reduced from the three years to two years. Implementation is already long overdue. Canada should have begun implementing the declaration when it was adopted as a global minimum standard in 2007. Canada has been committed to implementing the declaration without qualification since 2017. I don't think it's necessary to wait another three years.
Number 11—which is similar to the preamble provision in number eight—the recommendation is to add the word “racism”. This word also must be added to paragraph 6(2)(a), as the wording is tracked in both parts of the bill.
Finally, number 12, I recommend that the words “implement”, “implementing” and “implementation” be used in the bill only in relation to implementing the declaration. For all other uses, I recommend that expressions like “carry out” be substituted, and you will see those suggestions in the table attached. If I have missed other examples, as the First Nations Leadership Council of British Columbia has indicated in their submission to you, I recommend that we adopt those recommendations to ensure that the entire bill is corrected, so that “implementation” is only used in relation to implementing the declaration.
Bill C-15 deserves the support of this committee and the support of all members of Parliament and senators. In my view, the improvements we have brought forward are modest and reasonable, and I urge you to adopt them when your committee gets to that part of your deliberations.
To conclude, I want to be very clear. The AFN is eager to see Bill C-15 move forward to final votes in the House of Commons and the Senate as soon as possible. First nations leaders and legal experts like Chief Littlechild poured their heart and soul into the creation of the declaration. They did this for a reason. They went to the United Nations year after year for more than two decades because they saw this international human rights instrument as key to building a new relationship with Canada.
Canadian government officials were also active participants through that long process at the United Nations. In fact, Canada deserves a lot of credit for helping to build support among other states so that the declaration could be finalized and adopted. This is something that we accomplished together and something that Canadians can be proud of. Yet, despite what was accomplished, more than 13 years have passed now since the declaration was adopted by the UN General Assembly, more than 13 years since the UN proclaimed the declaration as “the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples [in all regions] of the world.” In this time we have had expressions of support for the declaration from federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments of all political stripes.
Canada has been part of numerous consensus resolutions at the UN committing to domestic implementation. Canada has made commitments to the indigenous peoples of the world that it would implement the declaration. It's time to complete this and make good on these commitments by working together. Canada has added the commitment to implement the UN declaration into the text of other laws passed by Parliament, including important bills on the inherent right of self-government in relation to child welfare and indigenous languages. What we still lack, however, is the legislation that implements the declaration and sets us on a course of recognition of rights and provides a framework for reconciliation, as the TRC wisely called for action. Bill C-15 provides that path. It's important for first nations, and I believe it is important for all Canadians to seize this opportunity now. We need to hear the words “royal assent” before the end of June.
Thank you. Kinanaskomitinawow.
View Lenore Zann Profile
Lib. (NS)
Thank you so much, Chair, and thank you so much to the witnesses.
I come to you today from Nova Scotia, from the unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq.
Ms. Gunn, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action report calls on governments to fully adopt and implement UNDRIP and develop an action plan to achieve its goals. It is also referenced in the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Could you please expand on why you think that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the national inquiry both emphasize that the declaration is such a key part of reconciliation, and offer your views as to why this international document is so essential to advancing reconciliation here in Canada, in particular with the missing and murdered women and girls?
Brenda Gunn
View Brenda Gunn Profile
Brenda Gunn
2021-03-11 12:18
Thank you. I will try to do so quickly.
I was trying to allude to this in my opening statement, but I'll try to be more concrete here.
I think that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission focused on the UN declaration as the framework for reconciliation because it recognizes that where states based their laws and jurisdiction on racist ideas and laws—such as the doctrine of discovery, which is based on the idea that indigenous peoples, as I said, were fierce savages whose occupation was war—this was used as the justification to undermine fundamental rights.
The UN has said that we have to start really addressing those questions, but also, really importantly, that through the process of recognizing indigenous peoples' inherent and fundamental human rights, we begin to shift the relationship from a colonial one, where a state thinks, with the paternalistic approach that we see sometimes in Canadian law, that it has all the power over indigenous peoples.
By recognizing indigenous peoples' rights as articulated in the UN declaration, it is going to help us shift our relationship and enhance harmonious relationships. It gets us new grounds for the relationship. It talks about a relationship based on the principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, non-discrimination and good faith. It's not just about colonial domination—which may have been the basis of the relationship historically—but actually trying to reset that relationship and uphold these fundamental principles.
Marlene Poitras
View Marlene Poitras Profile
Marlene Poitras
2021-02-02 11:07
[Witness spoke in Cree]
[English]
Members of the committee, friends and relatives, thank you for inviting me here today to share the perspectives of the Assembly of First Nations. I'm honoured to be on the unceded territory of Treaty 6.
Before discussing the proposed legislation, I would like to give committee members a brief history of the Assembly of First Nations advocacy and leadership that led to the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, the reason we are all here today.
Prior to the creation of the TRC, the AFN was a party to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. At that time, we stressed that compensation alone would not achieve the goals of reconciliation and healing. Rather, a comprehensive approach would also require truth-telling, healing and public education. From this, the TRC was created, resulting in 94 calls to action. I thank everyone involved in the commission, including recently retired senator, Murray Sinclair.
It has now been almost six years since the release of the final report of the TRC and its calls to action. While progress to implement all 94 calls has been slow, I am hopeful that this government's recent attempt to implement calls to action finally proceeds. We cannot waste time anymore. Ensuring first nations are included in Canada's citizenship oath will go far to symbolically affirm what first nations have known all along and what is already inferred in Canada's constitution: Our aboriginal and treaty rights already existed prior to the creation of Canada.
Here in Alberta, Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 first nations are sovereign peoples and nations. Treaties were signed to allow us to share the land and to allow for peaceful coexistence. They were not agreements by first nations to give up their sovereignty, laws, forms of governance or right to self-determination over the lands and their people. While true reconciliation goes beyond implementing all 94 calls to action, implementing this initiative will better enable new Canadians and first nations to begin the journey of peaceful coexistence.
Each year hundreds of thousands of people decide to become Canadian citizens. Hundreds of thousands of people decide to call Canada their home by taking the citizenship oath. I have heard many who have attended these citizenship ceremonies remark on the emotional significance of this day. Many of these people have their own experiences of colonization and its effects. Many of these people share first nations' love and respect for each of our sacred lands, languages and cultures. For every year this initiative is delayed, we are delaying our ability to meet one another and our ability to start on this journey of peace and prosperity.
The AFN has been involved in discussions on the citizenship oath since 2016. We have worked with the honourable minister and his predecessors, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council to develop language that reflects our unique histories and the contributions of Canada's indigenous peoples. The language contained in the bill differs from language put forward by the AFN. In 2017, our executive committee provided the following language as a guide, “I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada, including the inherent rights, titles, treaties and agreements with First Nations and the rights and agreements with Métis and Inuit peoples, and fulfill my duties as a Canadian”.
The inclusion of “inherent rights, titles, treaties and agreements” is important as it affirms Canada's legal obligations to first nations. These obligations are shared by Canadian citizens as well. As National Chief Perry Bellegarde so often says, “We are all treaty people.” That is why the AFN has been involved in providing guidance to Canada on changes to its citizenship test and accompanying materials as called for in call to action 93.
We are hopeful that with the passing of this legislation newcomers can begin to use the citizenship test and guide to develop a better understanding of the legacy of our many contributions to Canada, and the potential we all have in working and prospering together.
I'm also aware of the role the citizenship guide plays in its use as an educational tool in elementary and secondary schools across many parts of Canada. The time is now to implement these changes. Canada is reconciling with its past and renewing a commitment to a future free of racism, discrimination and intolerance. It is only through ensuring that Canadians understand this past and the ongoing injustices that we can move forward together.
This legislation represents a significant step. The only way we can truly reconcile past and ongoing injustices is by all of us, indigenous and non-indigenous peoples alike, working together to find a way forward.
I look forward to answering your questions.
Hay-hay. Knanâskomitinâwâw.
Results: 91 - 105 of 125 | Page: 7 of 9

|<
<
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data