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Results: 46 - 60 of 72
View Yvan Baker Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Yvan Baker Profile
2020-12-08 14:00 [p.3144]
Madam Speaker, Gandhi once said, “The future depends on what you do today.” Today I rise to honour someone who shaped our future by what she did every day.
Last month our community lost Anna Kisil. Anna immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in 1990 and with her family built several businesses. Then she gave back to our community, to Canada and to Ukraine, and not just with her generosity, but with her leadership, eventually becoming president of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations.
Anna received many medals and awards for her service, including the Cross of Ivan Mazepa awarded by the president of Ukraine.
What struck me about Anna is how she supported younger people to ensure that they could make a difference for today and for the future. In fact, one time Anna fought for me and gave me an opportunity without which I would likely not be standing here today living my dream, and I am not alone.
About that moment, Anna once said to me, “I fought for you because I believed in your potential to make a difference.” Anna Kisil not only made a difference, but helped others to do so as well. In so doing, she made a monumental contribution to Canada, to Ukraine and to our community for today and for the future.
Vichnaya Pamyat.
View Maryam Monsef Profile
Lib. (ON)
[Minister spoke in Ojibwe, Anishinabe and Arabic as follows:]
Boozhoo, aaniin, as-salaam alaikum.
[Translation]
Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege for me to stand here on traditional Algonquin land.
Fifty years ago on this day, a report was tabled in this House. I will be tabling a copy of this report in both French and English here today. The report was tabled after three years of hard work, heart-breaking testimony and courageous conversations. It was a report that was tabled in this House long before there was a charter of rights and freedoms, long before the famous phrase, “women's rights are human rights” was ever uttered, long before a gender-balanced cabinet and long before an intersectional and gendered lens being applied to the budget.
The Royal Commission on the Status of Women was chaired for the first time by a woman. CBC journalist Florence Bird took the helm. She took the lead. While the commission was mocked at first, it became really difficult for journalists to mock women's first-account experiences of rape, incest and challenges in the welfare system. I would like to thank those who pushed for this report, Florence Bird, Judy LaMarsh as the only woman in cabinet at the time, Laura Sabia and the two million women who threatened to march to Parliament Hill if the commission was not granted. I would like to thank all those who made it happen and all those who have pushed relentlessly for the progress that has been made.
The report was tabled at a time when a woman could not qualify for a mortgage without her husband's signature on the mortgage application. We have come far. We owe it to those who have come before us to ensure we protect the progress they struggled and fought so hard for. We owe it to those who have come before us to protect the fragility of the progress, but also unite a sisterhood of feminists to ensure we finish the unfinished business of that report.
Here we are 50 years later. When that report was tabled there was only one woman in this House. Today, for the first time ever, there are 100 of us in the House of Commons and gender parity in the Senate. There are more women at the table than ever before. I would like to think and work together to see what we can achieve together.
Though we have come far, when the report was tabled the gender wage gap was at 40¢ between women and men; we are now at 87¢. When the report was tabled, none of the 167 recommendations mentioned violence against women. Yesterday, though we were not able to come together as a country and mourn École Polytechnique and the Montreal massacre, we were still able to mourn together in solidarity. There may be seats for women and gender-diverse folks across the country, but only 5% of Canada's CEOs are women, and of those women at those tables, they earn 68¢ on the dollar that men earn for the exact same role.
We may be applying an intersectional and gendered lens to our budgets. We may be creating and enhancing tens of thousands of child-care spaces. We may be moving forward with the universal early learning and child-care system. However, COVID threatens all those hard-won gains. Of course, so does the inevitable backlash that comes with every step we take forward in advancing equality, women's rights and gender justice.
Today, we get to stand up in this House, one after another, all of us women working to better the lives of everyone in Canada. I hope we can reflect on that unfinished business, commit to working together in unity, focus on ensuring women are safe, their families are cared for and they are working and paid their worth. We owe it to those who have come before us to ensure that we make things better.
Yes, progress has been uneven. It has been slow. At times, the movement we all belong to, a movement that has existed long before any of us existed, a movement that will continue long after we are gone, has been divided. We owe it to stay together, stay united, focus on the common denominators, ensure we do right by those who have come before us and ensure this great country reaches its potential.
I encourage Canadians to mark this anniversary by recognizing women of impact in their own communities, women like Lynn Zimmer, who helped start the first women's shelter in Canada. She did so three years after the report was tabled in this House.
Individual actions matter. When she opened that shelter, she had no idea somebody like me would end up staying in one of her shelters some day, and I would not have known that somebody like me staying at a shelter would go on to support women's shelters and Canadians across the country.
All of us are here because someone has opened the door for us. All of us get up every day because we want to make things better for the young and the young at heart. All of us have worked tremendously hard, particularly during the pandemic, to make the most of the opportunities these seats have provided.
As we move into the next 50 years of the history of the feminist movement, let me thank those who have struggled and let me thank those who have opened doors for us. Let me thank our male colleagues, allies, accomplices, cheerleaders and mentors who have enabled the rest of us to step up and do what we can.
I will know we have reached gender equality when women are safe, including politicians who put their names on a ballot in the pursuit of duty and care. I will know we have reached gender equality when we close the gender wage gap. I will know we have achieved gender equality when women and gender-diverse folks can go outside without fear for their lives.
View Anju Dhillon Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, congratulations to everyone celebrating the birth of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji. He brought enlightenment at a time when the caste system was particularly brutal. He challenged these inhumane practices from a very young age and dedicated his life to equality and social justice.
Langar is the perpetual incarnation of that commitment. This concept of a community kitchen is about sitting down with one another and sharing a meal, regardless of any imposed labels.
[Member spoke in Punjabi]
[Translation]
This means that no act is more generous than offering food to the needy. He taught us to be compassionate and to open our hearts to love our neighbours.
Throughout the pandemic, gurdwaras' kitchens have continued to run at full capacity around the clock, sending meals to front-line workers and anyone in need.
Gurdwaras' doors are open to everyone.
[Member spoke in Punjabi]
View Tim Uppal Profile
CPC (AB)
View Tim Uppal Profile
2020-11-30 14:11 [p.2677]
Mr. Speaker,
[Member spoke in Punjabi]
[English]
Today is Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Gurpurab, meaning it is the birthday of the founder of the Sikh faith. This year, Sikhs across Canada and around the world are thinking of and praying for India's farmers, who are peacefully protesting new farming legislation. Hundreds of thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other parts of India have made their way to Delhi.
Shockingly, along the way, these peaceful protesters were met with blockades, water canons, batons and tear gas, but they persisted peacefully. In fact, they even provided food and water to the same security forces who were attacking them.
The right to peaceful protest is fundamental in any democracy. These farmers deserve to be heard and respected. Therefore, as the world watches, we urge the Indian government to hear out the farmers because the fact is, if there are no farmers, there is no food.
View Jag Sahota Profile
CPC (AB)
View Jag Sahota Profile
2020-11-30 14:13 [p.2677]
Mr. Speaker, today, Sikhs across the world are celebrating Guru Nanak Dev Ji's birthday, the founder of the Sikh religion.
The Sikh religion was established during a time of political upheaval and societal divides. Guru Nanak Dev Ji fought to uplift people regardless of religion, class, gender, caste or race by imploring non-oppositional ways of living with one another.
The passion and commitment that Sikhs display in all walks of life across Canada stem from his teachings. We believe in strength and equality in the face of adversity.
In my own community and across Canada, we saw Sikhs open their kitchens to ensure that our front-line workers had access to food and basic needs during the pandemic. This is exactly what Guru Nanak Dev Ji's teachings are, and we continue to live by those teachings.
From the Conservative Party of Canada, we wish everyone happy Gurpurab.
[Member spoke in Punjabi].
View Nelly Shin Profile
CPC (BC)
View Nelly Shin Profile
2020-11-03 14:13 [p.1612]
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the life of Corporal James Choi, a member of the Royal Westminster Regiment and a patriot who devoted his life to his country, family and community. Tragically, Corporal Choi passed away at age 29 after succumbing to wounds obtained during a live-fire training exercise in Wainwright, Alberta.
James was born in Mission, B.C., and grew up in Coquitlam as the eldest of three children to Korean immigrant parents. He was a football and lacrosse player, and studied criminology before joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 2016. He was described by his family as having been exceptionally responsible. Everything he did was about serving others and ensuring that his loved ones were safe and well.
Corporal James Choi will forever be in the hearts of those who were touched by his humility and love. I express my deepest condolences to his family, and I am here to support them during this season of grief.
[Member spoke in Korean]
[English]
May James rest in peace.
View Marilène Gill Profile
BQ (QC)
View Marilène Gill Profile
2020-10-30 12:31 [p.1492]
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Joliette.
Today, I want to begin my speech by extending heartfelt greetings to the Innu and Naskapi communities in Nitassinan on the North shore, which is in my riding.
Essipit, Pessamit, Uashat Mak Mani-utenam, Ekuanitshit, Nutashkuan, Unamen Shipu, Pakua Shipi, Matimekosh, Kawawashikamach: It is for them and for all indigenous communities that I rise today in the House to talk about Orange Shirt Day and Bill C-5, which would create a holiday of commemoration and celebration of indigenous first nations and their culture.
I would like to speak to them in their language, Innu.
[Member spoke in Innu]
[Translation]
When we think about the residential schools, it is impossible to really understand or experience what these first nations peoples went through and, I would add, what they are still going through.
What we can do, and what we should humbly do, is to listen, to try to understand and to work toward reconciliation. I listened with respect, friendship and trust and I felt and still feel sick. I understood and I am still listening to what the first nations have to say and what they want for our common good.
Canada's efforts to wipe out indigenous peoples would not succeed, but the first nations paid dearly for it. Children were abused and kidnapped. Children disappeared to never be seen again. Children were stripped of everything: their language, culture, land, family and future.
We must not mince words. Canada's objective in the past was to eliminate indigenous peoples. Today, in the chamber where members voted on the Indian Act, we are taking the time to speak in an attempt to repair the horrors of the past, the effects of which are still felt to this day.
We must certainly learn from the past, but it is important to put into practice what we have learned about the Indian Act, residential schools and missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Orange Shirt Day is a step in the right direction, but everyone agrees that we need to do much more.
It is much easier to understand when we take the time to listen. Today I decided to give a great woman and constituent of mine, Marjolaine Tshernish, an opportunity to speak. She is the executive director of the Institut Tshakapesh, which advocates for Inuit culture and identity. Here is what she has to say:
Let us remember in order to draw closer together. On September 30 of every year, Canadians across the country participate in Orange Shirt Day. The Innu nation in particular, most of whom live on the North Shore, commemorate Orange Shirt Day to show support for every individual whose life was and may still be affected by residential schools.
It is a day to reaffirm to survivors and all those affected by residential schools that they are important and that their experiences are respectfully acknowledged.
Every child counts, even if they are now an adult. We recognize and honour all residential school survivors and all those who never came home.
There are as many stories as there are children who were sent to residential schools, children who were taken away from their families, their communities and their culture, people who are still in search of their lost identity and pride. Imagine, as a parent, having your child taken away from you. Imagine, as a child, being forced to learn a language and live in a culture different from one's own, finding oneself in a whole other world. Imagine if they had resisted.
Some families never saw their children again, do not even know what became of them and cannot find them. They do not know how they died. There is no greater pain than the loss of a child. Imagine.
Need I remind the House that it has been proven that having one or more parent who attended Indian residential school increases one's likelihood of experiencing childhood trauma or spousal abuse?
Intergenerational transmission has also been well documented. Imagine the repercussions: having to reclaim your past; living your present while constantly struggling; having difficulty envisioning your future because everything has been taken away from you; having to defend your own identity; fighting prejudice; being subjected to looks, comments, actions or inactions; suffering violence; and being asked to be content with resilience and patience.
We must remember in order to understand not why it happened, but rather the needs that exist and why there has been so much suffering since. We must remember in order to share the story and the need to become oneself and have a common future that respects everyone. We must remember to respect everyone's desire to live fully and to understand. We must remember to support the right of all children and all individuals to have a dignified and serene life and to look to the future with as much optimism as possible. We must remember to share and to come together. That is the way it should be.
I stand in solidarity with all the families and friends of the Innu nation. I hope we will all have the privilege of remembering, learning and making connections, one day and one opportunity at a time, and especially to add all sorts of colours in our lives.
[Member spoke in Innu]
[Translation]
I wish to thank Ms. Tshernich whose message I am conveying in my own words. I would like to say that, when it comes to respecting first nations and working with them in their best interest, the Bloc Québécois will naturally be an ally.
My Innu and Naskapi friends, I respect and admire you. Know that I will always be by your side to march from history to truth, from truth to reconciliation, and reconciliation to the vitality of first nations. We must never forget. We owe it to our children, to our nations, to humanity.
[Member spoke in Innu]
[Translation]
View Emmanuella Lambropoulos Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Emmanuella Lambropoulos Profile
2020-10-28 14:05 [p.1349]
Mr. Speaker, this year, for the first time in over 30 years, Canada's foreign affairs minister paid an official visit to Greece to discuss the conflict in the eastern Mediterranean with Prime Minister Mitsotakis and his Greek counterpart.
Speaking of Greece, today, October 28, Greeks around the world are celebrating Oxi Day, perhaps not all together like other years but virtually and in spirit, to commemorate 80 years since Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas' response to Benito Mussolini's ultimatum to allow the Axis forces to enter Greece or go to war.
Metaxas bravely responded, “Alors, c'est la guerre”. The Greeks held the Germans back for six weeks and played a pivotal role in the outcome of World War II. Referring to their role in this war, Winston Churchill said, “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.”
[Member spoke in Greek]
View Soraya Martinez Ferrada Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Soraya Martinez Ferrada Profile
2020-10-02 11:07 [p.476]
Mr. Speaker, October has been celebrated as Latin American Heritage Month in Canada since 2018.
More than 400,000 people of Latin American heritage contribute to the social, cultural, economic and political fabric of this country. On that note, I want to honour the dedication of certain MPs from various parties who have served in this House, including my compatriots Osvaldo Nunez, Paulina Ayala and of course, my colleague, the hon. Pablo Rodriguez.
I am Chilean, the daughter of a valiant, resilient people that takes pride in our ancestors. For over 20 years, our freedom was taken away. Children, women, men, members of my family, and artists and journalists were tortured, arrested, kidnapped or murdered, including Victor Jara, one of Chile's greatest poets and singers.
[Member spoke in Spanish]
View David Sweet Profile
CPC (ON)
View David Sweet Profile
2020-09-28 14:14 [p.174]
Mr. Speaker, yesterday at sundown, Jewish communities across Canada and the world gathered to observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Marking the end of a 10-day period of prayer, fasting and introspection, Yom Kippur is a sacred day of atonement when those in the Jewish community seek forgiveness for the past year and reflect on where better choices and actions could have been made. However, this is not only a time for reflection, but also a chance to look forward to the future for new and more hopeful days of joy and opportunity.
Hamilton is blessed with a vibrant Jewish community. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of Beth Jacob Synagogue, Temple Anshe Sholom and Adas Israel Synagogue, along with all Jewish Canadians, for the profoundly positive contributions they have made to Canadian society and will continue to make for generations to come.
As Yom Kippur draws to a close, I hope the day has been an easy fast and brought meaningful reflection to all Jewish people who are celebrating this solemn, sacred day.
G'mar chatima tova.
View Majid Jowhari Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Majid Jowhari Profile
2020-03-11 14:05 [p.1925]
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this House once again to speak on the occasion of Nowruz.
On Thursday, March 19, at 11:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, those of Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Azari, Baluch, Afghan and Pakistani descent in my community of Richmond Hill, and in the greater Toronto area, will ring in the new year with festivities, dinner and charity drives.
We face an uncertain time in Canada and the GTA as cases of COVID-19 are on the rise. However, I want to acknowledge the ongoing hard work of all levels of government and our health care providers in helping to maintain public safety. I thank all event organizers who put the safety of our community first and postponed, rescheduled or reformatted their celebrations.
To the 300 million people celebrating Nowruz in Canada and across the world, I say:
[Member spoke in Farsi]
View Jenica Atwin Profile
Lib. (NB)
View Jenica Atwin Profile
2020-02-25 14:00 [p.1504]
Madam Speaker, in light of the recent tensions in this House, I wish to call attention to a bright patch in the Canadian record, something we can all be proud of. Today, I want to honour and congratulate the Translation Bureau.
The Translation Bureau's staff support the Government of Canada in its efforts to serve Canadians by communicating in both official languages, but their efforts go far above and beyond that mandate. I was touched to learn how incredibly inclusive, respectful and committed their work is.
A fine example of their efforts is the new gender and sexual diversity glossary, a free glossary that lists the English and French equivalents of 193 concepts on gender and sexual diversity.
The Bureau also offers translation for international languages, sign language and five indigenous languages and counting, including recent work to include Wolastoqey latuwewakon, a language with only a few hundred speakers in my home riding.
[Member spoke in Wolastoqey and provided the following text:]
Wolasuweltomuwakon, Nuhkomossok naka nmuhsumsok, Woliwon ciw latuwewakon, Kisi monuwehkiyeq ‘ciw nilun, nilun oc tokec nuleyutomonen, ciw weckuwapasihtit. Nit leyic.
[Member provided the following translation:]
Maliseet language honour code, grandmothers and grandfathers, thank you for our language that you have saved for us. It is now our turn to save it for the ones who are not born yet, may that be the truth.
View James Bezan Profile
CPC (MB)
Mr. Speaker, today we honour the lives and memories of the Heavenly Hundred.
For three months, thousands of Ukrainians occupied Kyiv's Independence Square and peacefully protested the corrupt regime of President Viktor Yanukovych.
I stood on the Maidan in Ukraine six years ago among the ash and bloodstains left from the brutal crackdown on these innocent Euromaidan protesters. Their bravery and sacrifice as they stood up against Yanukovych's thugs deserve our highest praise.
Ukraine and their friends around the world now carry forward the legacy of the Heavenly Hundred and all those who took part in the Revolution of Dignity as the battle for democracy and the territorial integrity of Ukraine continues even today.
Canada's Conservatives will always support the people of Ukraine in their pursuit of freedom, democracy and human rights.
[Member spoke in Ukrainian]
View Angelo Iacono Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Angelo Iacono Profile
2020-02-18 14:00 [p.1151]
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by wishing my son, Gabriel, a happy birthday, as he turns six today.
[Member spoke in Italian]
[Translation]
The work we do in this House is for him.
This week we are celebrating Hooked on School Days, which highlights the hard work and efforts of our students.
Whether it is creating favourable learning environments or connecting youth with inspiring role models, we can now play a role in encouraging perseverance among the young people in our communities to help them reach their full potential.
I invite my colleagues to actively participate in this social challenge by recognizing success and encouraging young people in their communities, since all such actions contribute to their success. That is what I have done for the primary schools in Alfred‑Pellan, where grade five and six students who have excelled will receive a certificate of recognition.
I congratulate those students for all they do every day to contribute to their own success.
View Taylor Bachrach Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Speaker, to begin I will note that I will be splitting my time with the member for Winnipeg Centre.
[Member spoke in Wet'suwet'en]
[English]
We stand here today at a historic moment when trains across this country are at a standstill, critical infrastructure is being blocked, Canadians are so concerned about what is going on and indigenous people across this country are wondering what the Prime Minister means when he says the word “reconciliation” and when he says there is no relationship more important than the one with indigenous people.
The riding I represent, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, has been living this issue for years now. It is a difficult one for many people and for no people more so than the Wet'suwet'en.
I asked Sue Alfred if I could share her story and she gave me her permission. Sue carries the hereditary Wet'suwet'en name Wil'at. She is 80 years old and she lives in the community of Witset just west of Smithers. Peter Michell and Annie Tiljoe were her grandparents.
In 1914, her mother was one year old and one of seven children. Her grandparents lived in a place called Misty Falls near the community of Houston where they had a homestead. They were living on land the Wet'suwet'en had occupied for a millennia and one day in 1914 the RCMP came to her property with the Indian agent and told her grandparents that they had to move along.
They packed their things and walked dozens of miles to an area near Smithers called Glentanna. They tried to establish a home there. What happened? The same people showed up. The RCMP and the Indian agent came and again told them that they had to move along, and so they did. They moved to another place on the Telkwa High Road near the community of Witset and made their home there.
Sue tells me she remembers her grandmother crying as she told her this story of displacement. We can understand why the police action we have seen in recent days and weeks on Wet'suwet'en territory is so troubling to so many people who call that place home. This is why further police action threatens to undermine any chance of real reconciliation.
In the northwest we have been having the difficult conversations around reconciliation, resource development and respect for indigenous rights for years. As communities, we have started to face the difficult colonial history that has held back our relationship with indigenous people. We have begun to work on how to work together to be better stewards of the lands and waters and create a future for our children.
In my hometown of Smithers we sat down with the Wet'suwet'en chiefs and elders and they told us their stories. We worked with them, the municipal government and the hereditary government, to tell the difficult stories about our community's past. It is one of the first steps in moving forward together.
Across the region I represent courageous indigenous people have been working for years to gain recognition and respect on their own lands. Some, like the Nisga'a people, succeeded in achieving British Columbia's first modern treaty, a treaty that set out a path for self-government and was signed in 1998.
At the same time, it was the hereditary leaders of the Gitxsan and the Wet'suwet'en who went to court to establish and affirm their rights, to have them affirmed by the court, in the Delgamuukw-Gisday'wa court case. They fought for 20 years against the Crown, which for all that time maintained a policy of denial. It denied them their rights and denied them their stories.
They fought it all the way to the Supreme Court where on appeal their rights were affirmed and the judge said that their stories did matter and that they did have rights on that land. The Supreme Court ruled that their title to the land in northwest British Columbia that they have occupied for thousands of years remains unextinguished.
We have landed at a place where the only way out of this crisis is through dialogue, understanding, humility and true nation-to-nation talks. I am very pleased to see that those talks are starting. No matter how late in the game they are coming, they are of the utmost importance. I want to commend the Minister of Indigenous Services for the respect and dignity he has brought over recent days to those conversations.
We also need to ask ourselves whether we could have foreseen this. The Wet'suwet'en heredity chiefs are the same group that fought that Delgamuukw court case all the way to the Supreme Court. They fought against the government policy of denial and established a precedent for indigenous groups across the country.
The court recognized their standing and it set a precedent. In that ruling the judge directed the federal government that it had “a moral, if not legal, duty to enter into and conduct those negotiations in good faith” on the question of their indigenous title.
In over 20 years since that historic ruling, successive Liberal and Conservative governments have failed to step up and begin the difficult work of upholding, acknowledging and affirming Wet'suwet'en title.
There has been so much said in recent days about what percentage of people support what, and my fear is this only serves to further deepen the divides that have been created.
The assertions made today by the leader of the official opposition suggesting that the Coastal GasLink project has majority support by one group or another group very much fall into this category. The reality is that the heredity chiefs represent a legitimate decision-making body for indigenous people outside of reserves. The court has said so.
I was at the balhats, the feast in Witset, where the chiefs ratified their non-consent for this pipeline. This came after they had recommended and suggested alternate routes, which were rejected by the company.
Throughout all of this, where was the federal government? Where was the Prime Minister and his commitment to reconciliation?
The reality is that we talk about changing our relationship with indigenous people, yet we see a reluctance to change anything about the status quo and the way we do business. As the blockades have shown, that is just not going to fly.
We have landed in a predicament that cannot be fixed by police action. If it could have, it would have been fixed in January 2019 when the police arrested and removed 14 people from the Morice West Forest Service Road, or it would have been fixed last month when they did the same thing again.
The images of RCMP tactical teams pointing rifles at unarmed Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan people, the images of indigenous people being dragged over the very land their ancestors once walked, and the vicious racist social media commentary we have seen online in recent days and weeks have sparked a solidarity movement the likes of which our country has never seen.
We find ourselves where we are today with people across the country blocking the infrastructure that Canadians need in their daily lives for the services they rely on and the products their lifestyle relies on. We can discount the voices of the people blockading as those of fringe radicals or anarchists. We can choose to discount those voices, or we can listen closely to what indigenous people on those blockades are saying.
If we listen closely we can hear there is too much of a gap between what the government says about indigenous people and its actions. Do we actually grasp the gravity of a situation in which young indigenous people are telling us that reconciliation is dead? I am not sure we do.
As I said before, this issue is a very difficult one for northwest B.C. communities. There are indeed indigenous groups in the riding I represent that support this project and that stand to benefit from it. I spoke today with Crystal Smith, the chief councillor of the Haisla Nation. She told me about the educational and employment opportunities that people in her community are already experiencing. These voices are important too. We cannot ignore these voices.
Ultimately, the only way out of this is through nation-to-nation talks, dialogue and humility. The problem is that the government keeps talking about doing things differently without being willing to change the status quo one iota.
Sue Alfred's late husband was Wah Tah K'eght, Henry Alfred, who was the last living plaintiff from the Delgamuukw-Gisday'wa court case. Her daughter is Dolores Alfred, who teaches the Wet'suwet'en language and culture in Smithers, and her grandson is Rob Alfred, who opposes the pipeline.
The story of her family, the story of displacement and of being denied a voice and fundamental rights, is the story of so many indigenous people. It is time to write a new story, and that starts with the Prime Minister sitting down with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and hearing their stories.
[Member spoke in Wet'suwet'en]
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