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Results: 1 - 10 of 10
View Raquel Dancho Profile
CPC (MB)
View Raquel Dancho Profile
2021-06-18 11:48 [p.8773]
Madam Speaker, Elder Eliza is a constituent of mine and a residential school survivor. She and her daughter applied for their status cards and were promised it would take six months to review. It has now been nearly three years. Every time they call Indigenous Services Canada for an update, they are left on hold for hours and given the runaround, time and time again. Perhaps it is because the minister has only 10 people at the call centre to process thousands of status card applications.
Elder Eliza feels this delay is just another form of mistreatment and disrespect of indigenous peoples. Will the minister ensure Elder Eliza and her daughter receive their status cards before the third anniversary of their application on July 7?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Madam Speaker, I would ask the member to forward that information to my office and reach out. We will do our utmost to expedite that process.
View Michael McLeod Profile
Lib. (NT)
View Michael McLeod Profile
2021-06-17 14:46 [p.8674]
Mr. Speaker, a person's name is fundamental to who they are. Indigenous names are endowed with deep, cultural meaning and speak to indigenous peoples' presence on the land since time immemorial. Yet, the impact of colonialism means that many indigenous peoples' names have not been recognized.
Could the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship please update the House on the progress the government has made in responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action 17 to enable residential school survivors and their families to reclaim and use their indigenous names on all government documents?
View Marco Mendicino Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, supporting first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in reclaiming and using their indigenous names is an integral part of the shared journey of reconciliation. We have now established a formal process for residential school survivors, their families and all indigenous peoples to reclaim their indigenous names on passports and other travel documents free of charge.
Fulfilling call to action 17 means that indigenous peoples can proudly reclaim that which was always theirs, their names, which will allow us to continue on the road to reconciliation.
View Rachel Blaney Profile
NDP (BC)
Mr. Speaker, Indigenous Services Canada has taken up to two years to process applications for Indian status, while a Canadian passport is processed within 16 weeks. Status cards are necessary for first nations people to access health supports, including vaccinations. If the process is so complicated that it can take over two years to figure it out, there is something wrong with the system. I have a constituent who has been waiting for over three years. This is unacceptable and this is systemic racism.
When will the Liberals stop hiding behind the bureaucracy and talking points and actually fix it?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, the member will know that this government has made significant investments in accelerating the processing times in and around status. The cases can vary from one person to another. If the member has any particular case she would like to advance, the ministry would be more than happy to look at it and pass it onto my team.
View Taylor Bachrach Profile
NDP (BC)
Mr. Speaker, Max Johnson is an amazing local artist in Bella Bella. When I first met him two summers ago, he was painting artwork on the front of the new big house in his community. It was heartbreaking to later hear that he and his granddaughter had been racially profiled by BMO staff in Vancouver and had been handcuffed by police for trying to open a bank account.
Now we have learned it was Indigenous Services Canada who told the bank manager they should call the police. Will this minister apologize, and inform this House of the steps he has taken to investigate this situation and ensure that it never happens again?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, incidents like this should never happen again. The incident in question was exceedingly alarming.
I would invite the member opposite, and indeed all Canadians, to review the 911 transcript. It is unclear at this time, but if there is any trace that Indigenous Services Canada, or any part of the Government of Canada, was involved in that type of advice, as well as what information was conveyed when they relayed what was alleged, we will get to it. We will take responsibility for that action, apologize, move forward and ensure that status cards are respected by all Canadians within this country.
View Gary Vidal Profile
CPC (SK)
Mr. Speaker, pointing a finger at the provinces is not going to solve the problem. Let us try something different.
On December 20 of last year, Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter were handcuffed and put in the back of a police cruiser simply for attempting to open a bank account using a status card as identification. Today we learned that it was ISC, the minister's own department, that encouraged the bank to call 911.
Does the minister actually think this was a appropriate response by his department?
View Marc Miller Profile
Lib. (QC)
Mr. Speaker, the incidents in question are exceedingly alarming. Indeed, they did occur a year ago, and what we saw was the process of systemic racism showing its head on the ground, and the results that it had with the police intervening.
Clearly all members of society need to know and respect the validity of a status card. I only recently got the transcript of the 911 call. In the process of reviewing it, it is slightly unclear, but if there is an issue with Indigenous Services Canada and its involvement, we will act swiftly.
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