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Results: 16 - 30 of 326
Emmanuelle Sajous
View Emmanuelle Sajous Profile
Emmanuelle Sajous
2021-06-18 13:25
I'm sorry. The connection is not very good on my side. I'm not sure I understood the whole question.
View Jaime Battiste Profile
Lib. (NS)
Okay.
How can we in Canada, with our provincial governments, create more awareness and education around the Indian residential schools?
Melanie Kwong
View Melanie Kwong Profile
Melanie Kwong
2021-06-18 13:26
Sure.
In terms of education for the national day, we look forward to the first opportunity this year, now that we have the confirmation of the statutory holiday, to work with organizations nationally but also to engage to see where we can all work together on this important day. Using some of the work we've done to date in terms of commemorating a number of projects, we are continuing to work with contacts across the country. We look forward to continuing to build on the success to date.
With respect to the provinces, as you mentioned, there is a component for education. We will explore all avenues to see how we can best work together on that.
View Jaime Battiste Profile
Lib. (NS)
Can you just expand a bit on what the $2.4 million in permanent funding coming from Canadian Heritage will address when it comes to commemoration?
Melanie Kwong
View Melanie Kwong Profile
Melanie Kwong
2021-06-18 13:28
If it's all right, just because of the connection issues, maybe I'll start and then Emmanuelle can add to it, if she wants.
What the $2.4 million offers is the ongoing funding that we're very happy to know will exist in that we will be able to continue [Technical difficulty—Editor] two-year funding that was initially announced. Again, building off of the work that's been done to date, I think there's more work to be done in terms of the national piece. It was mentioned earlier that the funding announced in 2019 allowed us to do a two-year plan, where we did a national focus in the first year and then a number of community-based projects in the second year. Our focus will now be on engaging, as my colleague Amanda McCarthy said, with the organizations and representatives who will be most using the funding, now that we have that permanency, to see how best we can use those funds. That will be the approach.
Thank you.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm speaking today from the traditional Cree and Anishinabe territory of Abitibi—Baie‑James—Nunavik—Eeyou, Quebec.
I'm pleased to participate in this meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. I wish to welcome all the witnesses who are with us today.
My question is the following: what is the government's plan for excavations? We know full well that several indigenous communities, in the wake of what happened in Kamloops [Technical difficulty—Editor] Quebec, and elsewhere in Canada—I'm not forgetting that—have decided to start excavating.
So, what is your action plan to help indigenous communities?
Amanda McCarthy
View Amanda McCarthy Profile
Amanda McCarthy
2021-06-18 13:31
Thank you very much.
I'll try this with the video on, but I'll turn it off if I'm signalled that people can't hear me clearly.
The $27.1 million was announced in order to support the implementation of calls to action 74 to 76. It is accessible to indigenous organizations, communities and survivor organizations.
We are waiting to hear from indigenous voices on how best they would like us to proceed. The plan at this point is for Canada to be a facilitator of access to the support and the resources [Technical difficulty—Editor] obstacles to providing that support and listening to them on how they would like to proceed.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Let's clear the air on the $27 million that were earmarked to excavate residential school grounds. Why didn't these excavations proceed? What happened? The Prime Minister has been claiming to uphold reconciliation with indigenous peoples and communities for over six years now, yet nothing has happened.
Why aren't things moving forward, and why is it taking so long?
Amanda McCarthy
View Amanda McCarthy Profile
Amanda McCarthy
2021-06-18 13:32
Thank you for the question.
We invited over 200 organizations, and approximately 150 participated in a national virtual engagement last summer and fall, in 2020. We wanted to hear from [Technical difficulty—Editor] on the best way to proceed. With the COVID pandemic, we suffered some delays in giving communities the time and the space to take the preparations they needed within their communities to address the pandemic. Then we received all of our authorities for us to proceed, and now the $27.1 million in funding is available.
We understand that this is an initial investment and that we may need to consider additional resourcing or sourcing in the future. At this point, we're listening to indigenous voices to determine the scope, the interest and how we should proceed.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Yes, of course.
We heard that the funding for searching for those 215 indigenous children in Kamloops came from British Columbia.
Didn't the federal government also commit to providing funding for searching for unmarked graves on residential school grounds?
Emmanuelle Sajous
View Emmanuelle Sajous Profile
Emmanuelle Sajous
2021-06-18 13:35
Canadian Heritage funding went to building a healing garden in the Tk'emlups community. A radar was purchased for that purpose and for searching for other artefacts, and that's when the remains were found.
Canadian Heritage provided direct funding of $40,000 for this project.
View Sylvie Bérubé Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you.
In December, the government answered my written questions regarding a status update on calls to action 81 and 82. In its response, the government revealed that only the equivalent of half of one full‑time employee was tasked with implementing call to action 81, which consists of building a monument in Ottawa to commemorate the victims of residential schools. When I asked Indigenous Services Canada officials this question [Technical difficulty—Editor]. So, I'll ask you the question.
Wouldn't you say that this effort isn't enough to implement the call to action?
Emmanuelle Sajous
View Emmanuelle Sajous Profile
Emmanuelle Sajous
2021-06-18 13:36
I'll start answering the question, and then let my colleague, Ms. Kwong, have the floor.
Call to action 81 calls for a monument in Ottawa to commemorate residential schools, the survivors and the families. An entire team at Canadian Heritage is dedicated to monument planning. I'm not too sure that I understand what the 0.5 number refers to.
Ms. Kwong, would you like to add something?
Melanie Kwong
View Melanie Kwong Profile
Melanie Kwong
2021-06-18 13:36
I wonder whether the response to the question was in fact related to this project.
If I may, I would like to provide a small update on call to action 81, which calls for a monument. Obviously, we would like to continue working on this project. We've already had discussions with key stakeholders to determine their vision for the monument and to be able to proceed to the next steps.
We have a lot—
View Alexandre Boulerice Profile
NDP (QC)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank the witnesses who are here with us this afternoon as we study this crucial, fundamental issue.
I can't help but make two brief remarks as an introduction.
First, the discovery of 215 children's bodies next to the Kamloops residential school shook not only Canadian politicians, but all of Canada and Quebec as well. It provided human‑scale evidence of a harrowing tragedy that went on for almost a century, where children were uprooted from their communities and abused. Several were buried without their parents knowing about it. This discovery sent out shockwaves in Ottawa. The flags are still at half‑mast, and there are flowers, teddy bears and toys next to the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill.
I'd like to thank my colleague, Kevin Waugh, for moving this motion.
However, eloquent speeches and good intentions unfortunately don't always lead to concrete action.
This isn't a question for the witnesses, but, nonetheless, something that I would like to be recorded in the archives.
My colleague, Niki Ashton, asked the House earlier today for unanimous consent to move and pass a motion to create an independent commission with the resources to conduct searches on the grounds of residential schools and determine whether other children are also buried there—because more have been found since the Kamloops discovery. The motion also seeks to obtain the records needed to conduct those searches.
Unfortunately, the motion was defeated, particularly due to the votes of certain members of the governing party. This is extremely disappointing.
I'm not asking you to respond to those questions, Ms. Kwong, because they're more of a political nature. I have something more tangible for you.
The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has 94 calls to action. There has been little to no progress on calls to action 74, 75 and 76, despite the fact that funding has been earmarked since 2019.
When do you believe that the federal government will move forward on these calls to action?
Results: 16 - 30 of 326 | Page: 2 of 22

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