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Dec/7/22 9:07:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was a very important report and it was a very important study. We heard very powerful testimony from witnesses. I am not sure if it has yet been tabled in the House but I know that the full report will be released soon. It is a challenge because the oil and gas industry is the number one employer for first nations, so we do not want to take away the opportunity that, hopefully, it will provide. However, there are often things that are happening that are not okay. We heard testimony and I think that the study was very effective in putting forth recommendations on how to prevent further tragedy, abuse and violence. I think that there is a lot that we will learn from that report and I am very proud to have sat on the committee that studied this.

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Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC)

Dec/7/22 9:08:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is a fierce advocate in her home community for mental health and talking about real supports for people who are facing a number of challenges. I wonder if the member could comment on some of her own experiences. I know one came to light through her last election campaign. Perhaps she could comment as well on some of the challenges that she has seen in her community.

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri

Dec/7/22 9:09:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been a very big proponent of mental health. First nations have experienced this very differently from everyone else and they know this first-hand. The short answer to that question is there is a mental health transfer that is in the works. The sum of $4.5 billion was promised by the Liberal government for a mental health transfer, in particular for indigenous treatment and recovery. It is going to be different so we need to look at that. There is a lot that we can be doing in terms of treatment and recovery and helping the trauma that is a result of a lot of past governments and a lot uneducated people, basically, would be the short answer to that. I would love to see the $4.5 billion of mental health transfer help people who are suffering.

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Mrs. Jenica Atwin (Fredericton, Lib.)

Dec/7/22 9:10:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin and Anishinabe people. Land acknowledgements are not intended to simply check a box or even state a fact. They are meant to set the tone with pre-colonial respect and recognition. I wish to pay homage to matrilineal societies that thrived in Wabanaki territory, like where I am from, where women decided who the chiefs were, who the speakers were, held them accountable and could remove them, and democracy was by consensus. Women were revered as life givers and two-spirited peoples were held in high regard for their strength and gender fluidity. Tonight I am grateful for this essential take-note debate to further bring awareness to the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and two-spirited peoples. However, I am devastated that as time passes, we continue to lose mothers, sisters, aunties, daughters, cousins and friends. It feels as though we cannot move beyond this point of awareness to action. Through you, Mr. Speaker, to this House, to our government and to people watching at home, I say, no more. When will this stop? Reconciliation is indeed a process. It is a journey, but the time it takes to heal wounds and to build bridges cannot mean more bright lights will be snuffed out as we iron out the details. It cannot mean that we will continue to stand idly by while families go without answers. It cannot mean that we refuse to do all we can to bring these women home. Our discussion this evening was spurred by the latest loss of life of four important sacred women with value, with purpose, whose deaths must not be in vain: Rebecca Contois, 24 years old; Marcedes Myran, 26 years old; Morgan Beatrice Harris, 39 years old; and Buffalo Woman. Our goal tonight is to honour them by demanding action and accountability. I want to acknowledge the strength and the incredible courage it took for Cambria Harris of Long Plain First Nation in Treaty 1 territory, the daughter of Morgan Harris, for her powerful speech delivered just outside these doors. She spoke truth to power and rightfully called out our collective inaction and indifference. Her plea to bring her mother home must be honoured. We must commit to deliver justice for those whose lives have been cut short. I have mentioned many times in this House that I was an educator before coming here. I worked with indigenous students whose leadership and activism inspired me to fight for a better future where these discussions will no longer be needed. I remember clearly a time in 2010 when awareness in MMIWG had just started to grow. A viral campaign occurred and my students participated by taking photos with signs that said, “Am I next?” I love those students like they are my own children and it was gut-wrenching to think that we could lose them. Unfortunately, many of them know someone who has been murdered or who has gone missing. Imagine having to carry the weight of that reality around. We know the statistics. Indigenous women make up 16% of all female homicide victims, 11% of missing women, even though indigenous peoples make up 4.3% of the population of Canada. According to the inquiry's report, they are 12 times more likely to go missing or be murdered. They are not numbers. They are human beings. It is important to note that the current public data on MMIWG oversimplifies and under-represents the scale of the issue. It still demonstrates a complex and pervasive pattern of violence against indigenous women and girls who are often targeted because of their gender and indigenous identity. Violence against indigenous women and girls is systemic and a national crisis that requires urgent, informed and collaborative action. The Sisters in Spirit initiative highlighted various systemic issues, including the impunity of many of the perpetrators. Their study found that nearly half of the cases involving indigenous women and girls remain unsolved and no charges were laid in about 40% of the cases. It is now recognized that the high risk of violence experienced by indigenous women and girls stems in large part from a failure of police and others in the criminal justice system to adequately respond to or provide for the needs of indigenous women and girls and we see history repeating itself. More than 2,380 people participated in the national inquiry. Expert witnesses, elders and knowledge keepers, frontline workers and officials provided testimony. The truths shared tell the story or, more accurately, thousands of stories of acts of genocide against first nations, Inuit and Métis women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation. It is intended, rather, to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of life, of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. As stated in the executive summary of the inquiry's final report: The objectives of a plan of genocide would include actions aimed at the “disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups.” Sadly, we have met that threshold. As the inquiry's final report explains, “the steps to end and redress this genocide must be no less monumental than the combination of systems and actions that has worked to maintain colonial violence for generations.” The calls for justice are based on a solid foundation of evidence and law. A human rights based approach is critical in efforts to bring about the paradigm shift required in Canada's relationship with indigenous peoples, particularly indigenous women and girls. Exposure to violence must be seen as a systemic violation of the rights to gender equality and non-discrimination, requiring broad structural changes, such as policing practices or judicial restructuring, instead of as a symptom of service gaps requiring temporary solutions. Families and survivors consistently refer to four general ways their experiences were rooted in colonialism across first nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives, as well as from the perspective of 2SLGBTQIA people. These four pathways that maintain colonial violence are historical, multi-generational and intergenerational trauma; social and economic marginalization; the maintaining of the status quo and institutional lack of will; and the ignoring of the agency and expertise of indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Justice for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls is justice for all women, and this work is critical for any hope of reconciliation. Women are the ones leading the collective healing required to move forward. We need to tackle the disease that is poisoning our society, namely misogyny, racism, white supremacy and colonialism. We all have a responsibility to do better, to end this cycle of suffering and to heal. Until the root cause of hate is truly addressed, the tree of reconciliation will never grow.

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Mr. Larry Maguire (Brandon—Souris, CPC)

Dec/7/22 9:17:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a tragedy that has happened in our major city in Manitoba, in Winnipeg, and I just wanted to offer my condolences personally to the families of the victims. I also want to ask the member, as a member of the government, what she thinks should be done in regard to some of the questions that have been raised by other speakers here tonight and other questioners in regard to the future of dealing with the uncertainty around the people who have died and as to the whereabouts of their remains. I know her colleague has indicated there are dollars and that we will all work toward finding the solution to this, but can she provide us with anything the government members may have spoken about among themselves to this point?

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Mrs. Jenica Atwin

Dec/7/22 9:18:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a personal note, I certainly support the very practical and reasonable demands of the family. I think we should treat this as we would treat our own family members. We would want to leave no stone unturned. I particularly am interested in supporting the red dress alert. I think it is incredibly impactful that, as other members have stated, the earlier we act, the more likely it is we can bring members home to their families. We should also absolutely put a moratorium on the landfill until more can be done and until there can be an assessment of how best to address this issue. I understand there are logistical concerns, but certainly we must have technology. There has got to be something we can do. I think what the family really wants to see from us is that we are really looking at all options, and I know colleagues have had this conversation and that we are certainly committed to doing that. I will always add my voice to ensure that we do everything we can.

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Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Dec/7/22 9:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke very powerfully about the need to pursue justice for the families of the women murdered here in Manitoba. One of the clear calls to action is around housing, and particularly the need for access to low-barrier shelters for women fleeing violence. That is something the federal government can act on right now. Does the member support her government taking action to establish low-barrier shelters for women fleeing violence in cities like Winnipeg and across our country?

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Mrs. Jenica Atwin

Dec/7/22 9:20:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague is a staunch advocate and fights so hard for her community and all communities across the country around housing in particular. We had a discussion today with our colleagues about how important it is to support not only urban communities, but also rural, remote and northern communities. There have been commitments made by our government. We see initiatives and investments made in housing, and we continue to push for more. I do not think there is a number that is really going to hit the level of crisis we are seeing, particularly in the north, but I just want to remind my hon. colleague as well that it is even in small towns. We have a member missing in the Fredericton region as well. We certainly know that if there was low-barrier access to shelters, so many more people would be safe and secure, rather than find themselves in very dangerous and precarious positions, and perhaps we could save lives.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

Dec/7/22 9:21:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been very moved by what I have heard from colleagues on both sides of the House, and particularly my colleague just now. What I am interested in hearing about is her work as an educator. She talked about the human rights based approach and pathways to reconciliation. I would like to hear more, particularly on the application to education today. What more can we be doing to bring this very painful topic outside the House?

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Mrs. Jenica Atwin

Dec/7/22 9:22:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am extremely passionate about education. It is the key to unlocking so much of this. Some of the issues I mentioned were misogyny and racism. These are big issues. It is going to take so much to really get to the root causes of these societal and systemic problems. I think back to my wonderful times in education and working with students. If one empowers their voices, if one teaches the truth about their history, about colonialism and, again, listens to their lived experience and provides that springboard for action, it is incredible to see the heights these students will reach. So many of my students are pursuing now their master's in social work or law. They will be the leaders who will replace us in the House. Those voices and that representation will matter in such a big way that it will start to break down some of these barriers that continue to oppress in society. Absolutely, education is the key. It will always be my passion, and I bring that into the House any chance I get.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Dec/7/22 9:23:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the issues that would be very important in addressing the safety of indigenous women and girls is access to housing. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls actually mentioned housing over 200 times, yet Canada still does not have an urban, rural and northern, for indigenous, by indigenous housing strategy despite the government promising it over and over again. The government's own national housing council is calling for an investment of $6 billion over two years dedicated to a for indigenous, by indigenous urban, rural and northern housing strategy. Would the member support that for budget 2023?

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Mrs. Jenica Atwin

Dec/7/22 9:24:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I very much respect my colleague. Actually, earlier this evening, during a question she asked another member, I wrote that down to say this is something I want to push for and advocate for, that very tangible number. Of course, indigenous-led and for indigenous, by indigenous is so critical. I am happy to add my voice in asking for that to be included in our 2023 budget. Again, to highlight some of the work that has been done in my own riding, we did see $18.6 million given for a friendship centre that also has housing options and also deals with intimate partner violence. It is going to have social enterprise for women. It is going to provide those opportunities. Those individual projects are going to have ripple effects in each individual community. I hope to see that across the country. I think it could also lead to some solutions.

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, CPC)

Dec/7/22 9:25:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I start debate tonight, as other colleagues have done, I want to provide a bit of a warning at the top end of my speech, because what we are discussing here tonight is graphic and should not make anyone comfortable. It should make every person in this country deeply uncomfortable. What we are talking about tonight are the horrendous murders of four indigenous women and countless others in our country, but I want to talk specifically about these four women and what the families have been going through, and then contextualize that with how much I really feel our country and our government has failed these families and what we need to do going forward. The remains of these women are in Winnipeg-area landfills. That is what the Winnipeg police have expressed, I believe. I would like people to think about the refuse that they have produced. They should think about their kitchen trash bag or the smell of their garbage in the summer in their garages, and then think about the garbage they have produced being piled on top of these women. That is what these families had to go through this week. They were told by the Winnipeg police that it was not feasible to provide closure to them by searching the landfill for remains. That really got me. When would it be feasible to provide closure to families? What would it take? Would it take it being the remains of a former male premier of Manitoba perhaps? Why are we just content to let these women's families sit like this? I cannot believe it, yet I can. I grew up in Winnipeg. I spent 25 years in Winnipeg, and I can believe it because the conversation we are having here tonight is something I have heard for the entire duration of my time on this planet. I was eight years old when J.J. Harper was shot in Winnipeg by Constable Robert Cross. J.J. Harper was doing nothing wrong and was unarmed. He was just walking around and got shot for the crime of being a first nations man in Winnipeg. There were supposed to be all of these recommendations to make the police less racist in Winnipeg, and here they are today saying it is not feasible. Can anyone imagine? I cannot believe it. I am just going to say it. If it had been a man of upper-class society in Winnipeg, that type of a man, it would not have been okay to say it is not feasible. The government is comfortable with its not being feasible. It is comfortable with it. Why? It is because for seven years first nations people have been tokenized, given platitudes, given promises and given nothing. That is fair to say because we are having the same debate again, six months after we had it the last time. This is a perpetual debate that we have in the House of Commons. The government allocated $78 billion-and-something in 2017 to address homelessness, and this past year the Auditor General said that, even though homelessness under this plan was supposed to have been cut across the country by at least one-third, there were more homeless people in Canada on the streets than ever before. When the government announces funding for homelessness, which is the number one determinant of the cause of death in missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada and the number one thing that the report talks about, how can Liberals sit here with a straight face and talk platitudes? How are we having this conversation? There needs to be action. This is not about a government going and tokenizing women. I will say it again: The government had an indigenous woman with her hands on the reins of power in the justice ministry, and it turfed her. The Liberals are content to give platitudes and photo ops on funding but never to deliver. They are not content to allow for independent first nations oversight of government funding to address some of these issues. Some of my colleagues, particularly my colleague from Winnipeg Centre who called for this debate tonight, have some really concrete suggestions to address, in the short term, the pain and suffering that these families are going through, but there are so many more. First of all, she has called, and many of us across party lines have called, for the federal government to address the fact that saying that it is not feasible to provide the families closure and saying that we cannot do anything about those remains in that landfill is not good enough. I agree with her. That line normalizes remains being left in a landfill. That is what it does. I know in my heart that if it were not a first nations woman it probably would have elicited a different response. The federal government needs to move on that. It needs to give closure to these families. If anything, it needs to give closure to these families. We have also talked tonight about having independent oversight of government spending or lack thereof. It is not just about spending. It is actual outcomes on some of the big issues, like housing, education and changes in justice. There needs to be independent first nations oversight. Clearly, this is not working. We are here talking about women in a garbage dump, and we are still getting platitudes and no concrete plan. It is my job to hold the government to account. There is nothing to celebrate here. There is only tragedy to mourn and make right. Also discussed tonight was the need to have a red dress alert. Why do first nations women not have some sort of tool available to let the public and those around them know that there has been an abduction or a missing woman, or some sort of effort to find them and to intervene early so that we are not talking about the feasibility of excavating a garbage dump for remains? Frankly, we also need to address the issue of trust with police for those growing up in Winnipeg and growing up through the J.J. Harper case. There was a report issued in 2020 that I remember basically saying that nothing had changed, that the vast majority of people since the J.J. Harper shooting in 1988 who were on the receiving end of deadly force by police in Manitoba were indigenous persons. When a family is sitting in with police and they are being told that it is not feasible to find remains or find justice, can we blame them if they do not trust them? This is particularly true when there is a government that is content to give photo ops and say thanks for the donation, and then fire a first nations indigenous woman from the justice ministry and hope that we are all going to go into holiday recess and forget about it. Then what? Do we have this debate again in three months? That is the cycle here. That is the cycle that has to end. Something has to be done to establish trust within first nations communities, first nations survivors and first nations women that we are going to do something here. Nothing has been done. We are having the same debate. In closing, the last thing I want to say is that I want to disabuse anyone of the notion that it is up to the first nations communities, and first nations women particularly, to do the emotional labour and heavy lifting of getting the government to move on these issues. They have enough to do just to survive on a daily basis. It is up to each and every one of us in this place, and at home listening to this tonight, to understand that the government has not delivered. It has failed, and we cannot allow it to keep tokenizing women in these communities and abdicating its responsibility to provide action.

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Mrs. Jenica Atwin (Fredericton, Lib.)

Dec/7/22 9:35:43 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague mentioned some of the failures of the police and some of the mistrust that exists. I wonder if she can speak to some specific reforms that need to happen within communities to address the policing issue, and the role of the police in this problem as well.

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Dec/7/22 9:36:02 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there is a report that is about three inches thick that was developed by the missing and murdered indigenous women inquiry and it has numerous calls for justice, including specific reforms around establishing trust with the police. Those are the words of first nations women who spent years putting those recommendations together, and the government has not moved on them. Similarly, on a local level, particularly in Winnipeg, I know there was a similar report on how the police could reform, and numerous calls specifically dealing with some of the inherent racism, poverty and inequity issues. The point I am making is there are reports. We all know these requirements. My job here tonight is to tell the government that it is not doing its job, and to do it.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Dec/7/22 9:36:59 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague, not only for her intervention but for sharing her thoughts as somebody who lived in Winnipeg for a long time and knows the history of racism we deal with as indigenous people and certainly indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in the city of Winnipeg. I have been asking across party lines whether members of Parliament will stand behind these families and support the call for a moratorium on any sort of usage of the Prairie Green Landfill until further investigation can occur. I think it is a simple answer. Of course. Of course they support that, because to treat loved ones that way, as the member explained, is unacceptable. The answer should always be yes. I wonder if my colleague supports the family's call for an immediate moratorium on the use of the Prairie Green Landfill site.

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Dec/7/22 9:38:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, of course we should be providing closure for these families. I understand that there will be questions about logistics and this and that, but we have to understand how difficult it is for first nations and indigenous women in this country. Sometimes I think we prioritize our comfort over their discomfort, and that is why we are here. I know my colleague has spoken about the need for an independent inquiry and assessment in this matter and said that it needs to happen because of that lack of trust in police. I agree with her. I cannot imagine being a member of that family and having the police just lay out a PowerPoint presentation for the family that is going through this, given the history and knowing the lack of trust. Of course.

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Mr. Larry Maguire (Brandon—Souris, CPC)

Dec/7/22 9:39:21 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague from Calgary Nose Hill for her presentation tonight. I also want to thank my colleague from Winnipeg Centre, whose call for this debate has allowed us to provide our remarks in the House of Commons this evening. One of the major issues of a government is to make sure the country is secure. We often think of that as a defence mechanism against a whole country, but a secondary process of security is the safety of every citizen in this country. We are talking tonight about how the safety of four individuals was completely compromised and the results of those actions, some of which have stemmed from many different situations with respect to the welfare and safety not only of these persons, but other individuals in Canada. I just want to close by asking this question. My colleague mentioned 78.7 billion dollars' worth of support for homelessness since 2017 and that it obviously has not been enough or has not been used properly. Can she elaborate on why it is going to take a lot more than just money to fix this situation, and what she may recommend with respect to that?

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Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Dec/7/22 9:40:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, talk is cheap. We need action. For seven years, the government has talked, and it has spent but I am not sure on what. How many first nations persons across this country still do not have access to basic, clean drinking water? How many first nations persons have no hope of shelter? I feel the government has tokenized first nations and indigenous persons. I feel the lack of seriousness the government has shown in seeing why their “spending” has not resulted in any better outcomes for first nations and indigenous women should be lighting on fire the hair of every person in this country regardless of how they vote. The government does not get a free pass on creating action for first nations and indigenous persons simply by virtue of it being Liberal. They have failed, and they have to be held to account for it.

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Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Dec/7/22 9:42:10 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to first acknowledge the member's advocacy around the violence that women face online. It has been reported that this serial killer expressed white supremacist views, neo-Nazi views, deeply misogynistic views and anti-Semitic views. This has been widely reported in mainstream media. Does the member believe that the federal government needs to take action when it comes to the dangerous rise of white supremacy, which includes deep ties to misogyny, as a way of putting an end to violence against indigenous women and all women?

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