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Results: 106 - 120 of 125
View Arnold Viersen Profile
CPC (AB)
The TRC recommendation had specific wording for the citizenship ceremony oath. The current bill that's before us does not reflect that wording directly. Your recommendation is different again.
Was there an issue with the TRC discussions when they were drafting that wording? I know we had the people from the TRC here, and they said that it was more of a suggestion than definitive. Were you at all involved in that discussion with the TRC and how they came to their wording?
View Arnold Viersen Profile
CPC (AB)
Okay. I'm just trying to figure out why there's daylight between your wording, the TRC's wording and now the government's proposed wording.
Marlene Poitras
View Marlene Poitras Profile
Marlene Poitras
2021-02-02 11:44
I'm not sure how because, personally, I haven't been involved in those discussions. Like I said, as long as we have our treaty rights, existing agreements and the title of first nations, Métis and Inuit, to me, that would go a long way.
View Marco Mendicino Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and colleagues. Thank you for inviting me to appear before you on this important piece of legislation.
Before moving forward, I would also like to acknowledge that I'm joining you today virtually from the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit. It's an honour to appear before this committee in support of our new government's bill to amend the oath of citizenship to ensure that new Canadians understand the role of indigenous peoples in this country's past and present and in our collective future.
As you know, Mr. Chair, our government is firmly committed to implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.
Our government also strongly believes that it must acknowledge past wrongdoing in our country's relationship with first nations, Inuit and Métis people.
We aim to continue to build relationships with indigenous peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.
As members will recall, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action number 94 puts forward a recommendation to amend the oath of citizenship to add a reference to “including Treaties with Indigenous Peoples”. Our government made a clear commitment to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action, and this bill is one of the many ways in which we are acting on it. This bill is especially important because the citizenship oath is much more than just words. It's an acknowledgement of newly gained rights and a commitment to fulfill one's responsibilities as a citizen. It's a commitment to Canada—past, present and future.
When considering the new language in the oath, we worked very closely with first nations, Inuit and Métis leaders. We've also engaged experts and the public across Canada. The wording put forth in this bill responds to call to action 94 and reflects the commitment to indigenous rights outlined in section 35 of the charter, which is shaped by the substance of what we heard during our extensive consultations. The language in the new oath reflects the spirit of the call to action and input from first nations, Inuit and Métis partners.
The bill that we've introduced reflects a revised proposal for an oath of citizenship that incorporates the principle of reconciliation with the hope of instilling it in new citizens.
To further enhance newcomers' understanding of the oath, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is also working to revise the citizenship guide and knowledge test to include more information on the diverse indigenous peoples of Canada. This responds to TRC call to action 93. To that end, the department is continuing to consult with national indigenous organizations, indigenous leaders and advocacy groups. We will continue to do so and will work to reflect on, and include, all the feedback we receive.
We have also been working to increase indigenous representation at citizenship ceremonies. When I have personally attended these ceremonies where an elder has joined to offer remarks or an opening prayer or blessing, I have also found it to be an enriching experience that allows us to start the proceedings in the right way and ensure that everyone involved has a better appreciation of indigenous traditions and values.
The citizenship oath, the revised study guide and test, and the enhanced indigenous presence in citizenship ceremonies together support the important work of reconciliation.
I think that the committee members will agree that the principle of reconciliation with indigenous people must be introduced to newcomers and prospective citizens early in their citizenship process.
By taking the oath, new citizens inherit the legacy of those who have come before them and the values that have defined our—and now their—country. Our history becomes their history, and their story becomes part of ours.
Now, with this bill, that story includes affirming the rights of indigenous peoples while instilling in new Canadians the obligation that all citizens have to respect these rights and uphold the treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.
These changes are an important and necessary step in advancing Canada's broad agenda of reconciliation and in strengthening our country's valuable relationship with indigenous peoples. The proposed amendment adds only a few words to the oath of citizenship, but the scope of this addition is immense.
Reconciliation is a national project, one that requires all of us. With this proposed change, the newest members of our Canadian family will now better understand their unique role in it.
Meegwetch.
View Jenny Kwan Profile
NDP (BC)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Just to clarify, I will be taking the first hour, and then MP Lindsay Mathyssen will be taking the second hour.
Thank you so much, Minister, for coming to the committee.
To also acknowledge the land, I'm Zooming in from the land of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples here in Vancouver.
Minister, in terms of the change in the language of the citizenship oath, could you advise whether or not either you or your officials consulted directly with the chief commissioner, Murray Sinclair, on the changed language? If so, what were his thoughts on that?
View Marco Mendicino Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Ms. Kwan, and thank you for your participation tonight.
I certainly had some informal discussions with Senator Sinclair in the lead-up to the tabling of this legislation, and that was part of a rather broad and expensive set of consultations with the NIOs.
View Jenny Kwan Profile
NDP (BC)
Was there specific consultation with respect to the language of the oath and the changed language—what he recommended in his recommendation 94 versus what is in this bill?
View Marco Mendicino Profile
Lib. (ON)
As you recall, Ms. Kwan, Senator Sinclair was the original sponsor and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action. As we know, there was an evolution between the specific wording of that original text and the text that is before you. Yes, I did have informal conversations with Senator Sinclair as part of an extensive consultation process conducted by my department.
Marie Wilson
View Marie Wilson Profile
Marie Wilson
2021-01-28 19:40
Thank you.
Apart from our audio check, I do want to do a proper introduction of myself. Just to let you know, I'm coming to you from Yellowknife, which is part of the traditional territory of the Yellowknives Dene, the Wiiliideh Dene of the Dene Nation. It's part of the Treaty 8 territory in the Northwest Territories. Our home area, my family's northern home, is Treaty 11, farther north, on the Arctic Circle, but we live in and work out of Yellowknife, and that's where I'm speaking to you from today.
I want to thank you and acknowledge the meeting and my appreciation, if I may say so, of the non-partisan nature of standing committees of this sort. When we're talking about issues that are really grounded in reconciliation, it's always good to remind ourselves that we're talking about an issue that is meant to be non-partisan in nature. That was evidenced in the apologies given in the House of Commons in 2008, where all the national parties spoke to their ongoing commitment to reconciliation in Canada.
I want to say a few things by way of background. I know you have had a lot of background information on the commission and our work and the calls to action generally, and of course very specifically the one before you for consideration now, but there are a couple of things I would like to remind you of that I think provide an important context. Our Truth and Reconciliation Commission was just one part of the very big settlement agreement that came about to do with the massive court challenge with regard to residential schools and the unprecedented out-of-court settlement that was the result of that. Our TRC was just one part of it. I say that because I think it is easy to lose sight of the core purpose of our TRC, which really was at its heart three-purposed. One was to document and record and preserve for posterity the complete history and legacy of the residential schools; a second big piece, to speak very broadly, was to educate Canada; and a third part was to inspire ongoing reconciliation. Those three, as you already know, are interrelated and they're interdependent.
But to the question of education, which I know has been very much on your mind in this committee, if you look at the broad grouping of the 94 calls to action, you'll find that something like 70% of them—I don't have the exact number in my head anymore, but about 70% of them—have an educational component built into them, starting, first and foremost, with a need for education in our schools and teaching our children and all the calls for curriculum changes, but also educational imperatives for people working with, for and on behalf of indigenous people: the whole child welfare and social services sector, the health sector, the justice sector, the business sector, and of course education and culture. As well, it is very important that governance systems that govern governments, not just at a committee like this but in all sectors of departmental government, be well informed about all of these things we have learned thanks to the expertise of the residential school survivors.
The challenge we faced when we said that we wanted to educate the country was that it's not going to work if we just educate the children, because children learn not just at school but at home. How do we get to their parents? How do we get to the adults in our society, who have already been through the school system? There is such a compelling need for remedial education, if I can put it that way, in a time and in a country where we've all heard, “Gee, I didn't know anything about that. I had never heard that.” As I heard you say earlier in this meeting, when I was listening in, “How come no one ever told us that?”
So there's catch-up educational work to be done. We've tried to think about all the ways we could meet the need for education in all the sectors, in professional organizations and even in athletic organizations. But what do you do about all the newcomers to Canada, who arrive and who've missed the whole story, in a way, unless we find ways to keep the story alive and make them realize they are a critical part of the story, because the story that has happened, the story that is the chapter of reconciliation, is in our midst and unfolding and they need to be prepared and equipped to play an active role in that? That means helping them understand, from the very beginning, that there is a context in Canada, that we are a huge, beautiful country, but that wherever you are in Canada, you are on someone's traditional homeland. We need to get better at equipping ourselves from an educational point of view and a societal point of view to know that context and to understand it as the basis for ongoing reconciliation.
That was the intent of this particular call to action. I want to say, because it was touched on in your earlier discussion, which I really appreciated, that the oath doesn't come out of the blue. People who are going to be taking the oath of citizenship have been given tools to work with. They have been given an opportunity to study a booklet and other materials that are offered. One of the things we also did as a commission is write and try to appeal for an opportunity for the materials—the newcomer's booklet—to be rewritten to capture some of this history as well.
To the extent to which that has been done—or not—I think that needs ongoing vigilance, but it is the way to do it, and I completely endorse and support the comment made by one of your members that there is a need for education broadly across all society. It's not just for newcomers. We're not trying to single out newcomers. On the contrary, we're trying to make sure they're not left out. We are targeting all these other sectors, as I've already described, but we're also trying not to miss newcomers to Canada, as well.
Finally, I want to leave you with a quick story to signal the point. The latest statistic I saw was that, by 2036, about 35% of the population of Canada will be racialized, if I can use that terminology, and many of them will be first-generation newcomers. We're talking about very significant populations who are enriching but also transforming the demographics of Canada, and we need to make sure that people are well informed about where they have arrived, the historic place and role of indigenous peoples, some of the mistakes we've made as a country, and the courage our country is now showing in trying to redress that and to move the country forward in a new direction, I hope, always—and I say this often—as an example to the world.
That's what's behind it, and I really appreciate the work you're doing to consider it quickly.
View Raquel Dancho Profile
CPC (MB)
I have a quick question for Ms. Wilson and Mr. Obed.
When the minister was here, we were talking a little bit about—and Mr. Obed, you highlighted this—the length of time it has taken for us to get here. This is the third iteration of the bill and the third minister. We've been talking about it for five years. We're finally at the committee stage. Hopefully, we can get this all the way to the end before any sort of election or what have you.
I just want to see if you could comment on your thoughts on the progress being made on this bill particularly, but also in general with regard to the 94 in here. My understanding is that, if this passes, it will still be only seven that have been officially implemented at the provincial and federal levels. Could you comment just generally on your thoughts on this bill and the general progress on the 94 calls to action?
Who would like to go first?
Natan Obed
View Natan Obed Profile
Natan Obed
2021-01-28 20:01
I can start. This bill is, I guess, indicative of where we are on a number of the different calls to action. It has been hit-and-miss with regard to the way in which the federal government has chosen to respond to many calls to action. The Government of Canada and the ministers responsible will quote metrics and cite percentages in relation to the implementation of calls to action. I can't believe in those figures. The tangible outcomes versus having part of your department considering a particular call to action or calls for justice from MMIWG are two very different things.
Would the minister say that calls 93 and 94 are complete because the government is working on them—as the government has been working on them for the last five years? The world hasn't changed yet. We haven't even changed the citizenship guide yet.
I wish we were able to work together in a more honest way on the implementation of not only the TRC but also the MMIWG, and figure out how we can work together to outcomes rather than work together ad nauseam in infinity.
View Raquel Dancho Profile
CPC (MB)
I appreciate that, and I think you make a really good point about statistics versus the outcome and working together. The real point of this is far beyond statistics. The point is taken on that, Mr. Obed. I appreciate that.
Ms. Wilson, we have about 45 seconds left.
Marie Wilson
View Marie Wilson Profile
Marie Wilson
2021-01-28 20:03
Well, I would draw your attention to calls to action 53 to 56. They talk very specifically about the creation of a national council for reconciliation. One of its core purposes is to keep an oversight eye on progress and implementation of the other calls to action, but also to create a mechanism for regular tracking and reporting on improvements and consequences—which is what President Obed is talking about—whether it's shifts for the better, or whether we are actually doing worse in some areas. As long as we don't have a mechanism to help us all collectively keep an eye on things, how things are going, we're busily doing things but not necessarily achieving things.
December 15 was the five-year anniversary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For the first time since that closed, I and my commissioner colleagues Sinclair and Littlechild issued a joint statement in which we basically said that progress is too slow and that there is a need for urgency. Among other things, we have too many survivors who worked for this who are not going to see the results of their labour and their courage.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm on the traditional territory of the Anishinabe and Cree people of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik-Eeyou.
Good evening, everyone. I'm happy that you're here as witnesses. The discussions taking place in the committee right now are very worthwhile.
Ms. Wilson, can you give us some background on the development of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's call to action number 94?
Results: 106 - 120 of 125 | Page: 8 of 9

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