44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 7, 2022 02:00PM
- Dec/7/22 3:10:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the news out of Winnipeg is horrific. We know that indigenous communities across this country are reeling.
Indigenous leaders have laid forth a path to save lives in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which calls for specific steps to be taken. Every day of inaction means more lives are needlessly lost.
When will the Prime Minister take this genocidal violence against indigenous women seriously and put in place real action to save lives?
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- Dec/7/22 3:11:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be clear, it is a serious issue in Canada. Indigenous women are 12 times more likely to go missing and be murdered, and that is why the government has invested $2.2 billion toward addressing this situation. In fact, in Winnipeg alone, for Manitoba indigenous women and 2SLGBTQ, just recently we made an announcement of $8.4 million for those supports.
We are going to continue to move forward. We know there is more work to be done, and we are going to work with the member opposite to make sure we get that done.
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Mr. Speaker, I would be surprised if there were a province that did not agree to ask for more money.
When I was the health care critic for the Province of Manitoba, I suggested that the greatest threat to health care at that time was not necessarily an issue of financing as much as how important it was to manage the changes necessary in order to be able to afford the type of health care expectations Canadians have. I believe there is a role, through the Canada Health Act, for Ottawa to say there is an expectation that, whether someone lives in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax or anywhere in between, if they need a hip replacement, it should be available for them in a reasonable time frame.
I do not believe for a moment that the federal government should just hand out a pile of cash. I believe the federal government has a role, through the Canada Health Act, to meet the expectations Canadians have that it ensure a quality health care service coast to coast to coast. Some provinces will do better than others, but overall we need to ensure this social program is there for all of us.
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- Dec/7/22 6:30:27 p.m.
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I just want to add that there were definitely members talking. I will not say whether they were Conservatives or not. You are at this end of the House. Obviously, at the other end, there are other members from two other parties. I do not know who was talking. The hon. member asked for respect based on what she could see from her side.
Resuming debate. The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.
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- Dec/7/22 6:40:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for sharing a reality that sends a very powerful message, not only here to Ottawa, but also outside the Ottawa bubble, where things really need to not just be heard, but where we need to see action.
There are far too many girls who are in the position of making very difficult life decisions. I wonder if the member could provide her insight on how our urban centres are becoming unsafe. Could she provide that type of insight? It seems that it has been very challenging for governments at all levels to get to the core to try to stop the murders that are taking place.
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- Dec/7/22 6:44:41 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank the member for Winnipeg Centre for amplifying the voices of an indigenous woman, the daughter who lost what sounds like a beautiful mother.
In this year's budget, there was reconciliation money for the RCMP to have reconciliation with indigenous peoples so they can help with the finding of gravesites. I thought that was a terrible injustice. I wonder if the member could share her thoughts on what more the RCMP should do to make sure that they too are sharing in the reconciliation, stop with the systemic racism and do better to protect indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.
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- Dec/7/22 6:47:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Winnipeg Centre, for her passion, her belief, her strength and her heart in speaking out for the families and for justice for indigenous peoples from coast to coast to coast.
I come from Vancouver East, and in my riding, we too have devastating situations of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. We also experienced a situation where there was a serial killer. Of the 33 women who went missing, he was only prosecuted for six of those cases.
Many families do not have closure. To this date, despite the inquiries and calls for justice, the government has not taken action and the police have not actually made the necessary changes to address the systemic racism and discrimination within the system.
To that end, I would ask the member what we need to have the police do to ensure justice is served.
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- Dec/7/22 6:48:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I think that, in this case, it is very clear. There has been, as a result, and for very good reason, a relationship of distrust that has developed over time.
In this particular case, out of respect for the families, I believe it is in the best interest of the Winnipeg city police to call for an independent investigation with support and access to the information required to assess whether it is feasible to complete a search successfully. If not, there is nothing that screams systemic racism more than to have an active crime scene and to continue to throw garbage on our loved ones. There needs to be an immediate moratorium so loved ones can rest in peace.
Kera Harris, Morgan Harris's other daughter, said something to me the other day that was really telling. She said, “I need a place to give an offering for my mother, and I can't do that at a garbage dump.”
I want her to have that closure. They have a right to have closure. Our families have a right to have closure. We deserve that respect, and I am asking for everybody in the House today to give us that closure. We need that closure, and we need help and support now.
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- Dec/7/22 6:50:26 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will say first off that I appreciate the very passionate remarks of the member for Winnipeg Centre. It is very difficult to follow her, but I will do my best.
I am not an expert in this area, although in the last 20 years I have had an opportunity to learn a bit more about what has happened to indigenous women and girls in Canada over the last several centuries and, in particular, in the last number of years.
Just this past week, a man was charged with four first-degree murder charges for murdering four indigenous women. Three have been identified and a fourth has not. The indigenous community has called her Buffalo Woman, so I would like to put her name on the record as well. I hope we can find out who she is and where her remains are.
It is very upsetting to talk about this, so I will try to keep my composure. I feel it at such a core level. It almost seems like every other week we are learning about another indigenous woman who has been brutally murdered, who has been raped or whose remains have not been found. It seems just so commonplace that people seem to think, “Oh, there is another one”, like it does not matter. It does matter. This is in Winnipeg and nothing has changed. In the almost 10 years I have been in politics, we are having the same debate in the same House over and over again, and nothing really seems to happen.
There were years during which 231 calls to action were established. I have not a heard a robust debate in the House about those. In fact I believe the Liberal government, unfortunately, took three years to make a plan of implementation. That was about a year ago. I am not aware of any full movement forward. We had a debate six months ago in the House on this very issue. It was about different women but the same issue. I have not heard of any meaningful action in that time. I fully understand and recognize the rage, upset and tremendous disappointment and internal pain caused by repeatedly asking for help and change, and nothing seems to be happening.
I am from a small rural town. I did not have any experience in this area, but my first introduction to how indigenous women and girls in Canada were treated was by a very intelligent and progressive teacher in high school, who told us about Helen Betty Osborne. She was a young woman in the 1970s who was walking home in the dark, in The Pas, Manitoba. She was kidnapped, raped repeatedly, beaten and stabbed 50 times with a screwdriver. Her naked body was just thrown in the woods and was found by a 14-year-old boy. There was a lot of coverage about how the investigation was not taken seriously and how it was bungled. In fact the provincial government issued a formal apology many years later, in the year 2000, for how that case was handled. It took far too long for that apology, but it was given, and rightfully so.
That was my first introduction, not knowing anything about what indigenous women and indigenous peoples face on a regular basis. That was in high school. About 10 years later, I started in politics at the provincial level in Manitoba. In my very first week, the body of Tina Fontaine, a tiny 14-year-old girl who had been murdered, rolled up in a mattress and chucked in the Red River, had been found. She was 14 years old, a child. That was my introduction to working in politics. That was in 2014, eight years ago, almost to the month, last month, and I have not seen any meaningful change. That is shared by all parties and all levels of government. I want to acknowledge that.
The member made a very impassioned statement that people are tired of waiting. We need supports from everyone and we need to put politics aside. We may not always agree on the solutions, but surely where there is a will, there is a way. We could be providing better support to families, women and children who are being abused, raped, murdered and thrown in ditches and landfills like it is nothing.
I completely understand the outrage from the families. If it were my mother who had been murdered, thrown in a bin and dumped in some landfill, or if it were my sister or best friend, I would be outraged. These women were mothers, sisters, aunties and best friends. They have a whole community around them who will miss them forever. If I were related to one of these women, I would feel the same. I would want to get a shovel and go find these women. I would wonder what is taking so long.
I understand it is very complicated. I understand that it has been a number of months and that this is a commercial dump site. There is a lot of clay, asbestos and things from various slaughterhouses, hog plants and things like that. I understand a forensic investigation would be complicated. I also understand the police have found enough evidence to charge this vile serial killer with four first-degree murder charges. Although we cannot intervene, I do hope that, if he is found guilty, he rots in prison for the rest of his life. I think everybody would agree with that.
I understand it is complicated and like finding a needle in a haystack, but I do believe there should be far more discussion about making this happen, at least trying to find these women. If it were my mom, I would want her to be found. Why should these women be treated any differently? I completely understand, and I hear the people who are speaking up about this.
I believe the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg police are doing their best. I understand it is extremely complicated. However, why not call on the federal government for some money? Why not call for the military to come and help out? I do recognize that the manpower and womanpower it would take from the Winnipeg police to conduct this investigate may pull many police officers off the street. We do not want that either. However, surely there are enough people in Canada that we can conduct some sort of recovery mission for these women, to at least give some hope and say that we tried. That is the position I am taking on this.
The landfill these women are in is in my riding, West St. Paul. My understanding that the Prairie Green Landfill is privately owned. It is not run by the city. It is provincially licensed, so the provincial government has a responsibility to take leadership here as well. I call on my friends in the provincial government to do so. I call on the mayor of Winnipeg and the chief of the Winnipeg police to do the same. I know they have been trying.
I would ask again that we do everything we can to provide some dignity to the women who have been murdered. The member mentioned that, if they are not found, perhaps this site should be closed and turned into a burial site or something, where garbage is no longer dumped on women who were loved and who were brutally murdered and tossed in dumpsters. That is not a lot to ask.
I understand this is a commercial enterprise, but surely that is reasonable. If it were my mom or my sisters, I do not know if I could live with myself if I did not do everything I could to stop garbage from being dumped on the bodies of my loved ones, or of the women who have been killed by this man.
I completely understand. I just want to put it on the record that I recognize where they are coming from. I do not know what it is like, but I can understand how they feel.
I was doing some research in the lead-up to my remarks today. Indigenous women and girls are six times more likely to be murdered than any other demographic of women in Canada. Certainly this has been the case in the past. I know there are examples from folks who have experienced these types of investigations that indicate it also may be continuing. It is happening so frequently that the police sort of brush it off or perhaps do not give it as much time as they could. I know police officers care about justice and care about having these vile killers held accountable, but I wonder if this would be a bit different if it were not indigenous women. Would it be treated differently? We will never know that.
I believe we should be putting every effort we can into finding them or at least honouring where they lie. If that is where they are going to be for all eternity, should we not honour that space? I will be reaching out to the West St. Paul city council to gather more information on how we could proceed with honouring this area. I will take that responsibility on, and I am happy to work with the member for Winnipeg Centre on those communications.
I will also commit to ensuring I am much more familiar with the 231 calls to justice. I have not familiarized myself enough to be able to recite them. I should be able to do that as a lawmaker. I should at least be able to know what they are, top to bottom, and have an opinion on how we could implement them. We do not always agree on solutions in the House, but I hold myself responsible for doing that work. This has certainly been a reminder of how important it is, as a lawmaker, an elected member of Parliament, to know more about this issue. That is my responsibility and I make that commitment today.
In conclusion, I feel very out of place and do not feel I can do this enough justice. I do not have these experiences but I have great respect for my colleague from Winnipeg Centre. We have had many good discussions about this and I hope we have many more. I think there are things all parties could agree on about this.
My ask would be that the federal government work with the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba to pursue every avenue to see if there is anything we could do to find these women and give dignity to them. This should be done whether this is their final resting spot or whether we find them and allow them to be buried with their appropriate cultural practices within the indigenous community, giving some peace and justice to the families. That is my ask.
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- Dec/7/22 7:02:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, yes, I will fully commit to working with the member for Winnipeg Centre. I mentioned I do feel her expertise is unmatched in this House. I know there are other colleagues in the NDP and other members in the House who are indigenous. I do not want to take anything away from their experience and expertise. However, I know she has dedicated her life to learning, advocating and fighting for indigenous women and girls, and for indigenous communities across Canada in general.
I would be honoured to work with her and work together to find solutions we can all agree on, implement and see change hopefully within the next few years. I would love not to have this same debate over and over. Next time, we could be talking about the great progress we are making. That would be wonderful. If we can do that, I am game for that.
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- Dec/7/22 7:04:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am heartened to hear the non-partisan approach of tonight's take-note debate. I want to thank the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre for being a champion and voice for this. I had the privilege of standing alongside her, the families and the many community leaders who came to this place to advocate, including the incredibly inspiring and strong children.
There is a lot of talk about complexity on this issue. We heard in the previous answer that we need to perhaps revisit this. The truth is this is something that has been studied. This is something that has been captured in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
In fact, families, advocates and indigenous leaders, including Chief Kyra Wilson of the Long Plain First Nation, have highlighted the need for immediate federal funding to build and operate more low-barrier shelters for women fleeing violence. I know the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre championed 24-hour safe spaces in Winnipeg.
Does the member agree we need to expedite federal funding for the building of new safe spaces, including through the government's $724.1-million violence prevention strategy, which today, to our disgrace in this House, sits mostly unspent?
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- Dec/7/22 7:09:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, first of all, on indigenous housing, I certainly agree that there needs to be solutions led by the indigenous community. We see first-hand in Winnipeg very clearly that every effort made, whether it is by the federal government, which has spent billions of dollars on affordable housing, or otherwise, has failed. It has failed. The problem has only gotten worse.
I drive in downtown Winnipeg every day. I live just outside of Winnipeg. I lived in Winnipeg for almost 10 years. The problem has never been worse. Bus shelters have become de facto residences for people. It is everywhere. There are tent cities. I have never seen it so bad and I have been around the area for 32 years.
I also volunteer at the soup kitchen, so to speak, downtown. There are several of them. A lot of them provide temporary housing. I can see the need first-hand. I think it is important that we all take the time to volunteer at non-profits and charitable organizations that feed and house people, at least temporarily, so that we understand the failures of public policy and the impact they have.
I would agree there needs to be an indigenous-led housing strategy, because the money that has been spent thus far on affordable housing has clearly not met the need. We are seeing the need increase.
Right now in Winnipeg it is almost -30°C, so, clearly, we need to find more solutions for affordable housing for our indigenous community and for all those facing housing vulnerability.
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- Dec/7/22 7:31:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by acknowledging that the Parliament of Canada is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
I cannot begin to imagine the pain and anguish that the family and friends of the four women who were found are going through today. I am so sorry for their pain and for their loss.
Winnipeg is where I grew up, and Winnipeg will always be my home. It is where I raised our four children. It is where my three granddaughters are currently living. It is a community very close to my heart. It is my community, and I know that many people in my community in Winnipeg, my city, and for that matter all across Canada, are suffering tonight. My heart goes out to absolutely everyone who is impacted by this horrible, senseless tragedy.
This has to stop. It simply must stop, this hatred and senseless violence. The racism is absolutely brutal. It has no place in Canada.
We all—the federal government, provincial, territorial and municipal governments and, of course, indigenous governments—have a role to play.
I would like to thank the members of the House for their participation in this evening's debate, which is taking place the day after the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Each and every Canadian has a responsibility to speak out against anti-indigenous racism and misogyny when we witness it. It is going to take every single one of us to stop this senseless violence.
The calls for justice clearly tell us what we need to do. The final report on the national inquiry speaks to the factors that lead to the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. We have a responsibility to address those contributing factors if we hope to make any progress at all.
We need safer neighbourhoods, where indigenous women and girls, gender-diverse people and everyone can live and thrive. Supporting indigenous-led, 24-7 safe spaces, emergency shelters and transition homes is a very important part of the Government of Canada's federal pathway to address violence against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.
This October I joined the Minister of Indigenous Services and the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth in support of Velma's House and funding for indigenous women's organizations across Manitoba.
Velma's House is a 24-7 safe space in Manitoba to support victims of sexual exploitation. It was created through the collaboration of community-based organizations serving indigenous women, gender-diverse people and other women at risk of violence and exploitation. It provides extremely important services, including access to traditional medicines and cultural ways of healing, hot meals, hygiene and harm-reduction supplies, as well as extensive support in helping to navigate systems of employment and better housing. It does such incredible work, and I thank its staff for their incredible and tireless efforts.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done. That is why we are making investments to address the factors that contribute to the disappearance and murder of indigenous women, namely in housing, education and fundamental changes that must be made to police interventions in first nations, Inuit and Métis communities.
Precarious housing conditions put indigenous women and girls, as well as 2SLGBTQQIA people, at higher risk of violence. The work we are doing with partners to co-develop the 10-year national first nations housing and related infrastructure strategy is absolutely key to all of this. The Assembly of First Nations chiefs endorses this strategy, and we continue to work with the Assembly of First Nations to advance this.
We are also working directly with Inuit and Métis partners to implement co-developed housing strategies based on their needs and priorities. As we have stated in the House before, federal budgets have invested in indigenous housing every single year that this government has been in power. We work very closely with other federal departments to ensure alignment of our various initiatives and efforts.
We fully recognize that an important contributing factor to addressing this issue is education. The calls for justice call upon all governments to ensure that equitable access to basic rights such as education is recognized as a fundamental means of protecting indigenous and human rights.
Education that is equitably funded and rooted in first nations, Métis and Inuit culture provides indigenous people more choices and more power. Nine regional education agreements have been concluded and signed across this country. The regional education agreements are designed jointly with first nations communities. They reflect the visions and priorities of first nations education systems to provide high-quality, culturally appropriate education for first nations living on reserves.
Another area we are focusing on is indigenous leadership's continuous call for fundamental changes to how police services are delivered in their communities. This includes calls for legislation that recognizes first nations policing as an essential service that must be funded accordingly. We are also investing in support of culturally responsive policing in indigenous communities through the first nations and Inuit policing programs. The money will also be used to expand this program.
To address the overrepresentation of indigenous women in Canada's prisons, Justice Canada is introducing an indigenous justice strategy to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of indigenous people in the justice system.
Another priority is ending racism towards Canada's indigenous people. We must provide real support to indigenous people and communities who have expertise in fighting various forms of racism and discrimination. The strategy recognizes the different experiences of first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, which lets these peoples express their viewpoints and make decisions about the initiatives that best meet their needs.
These are just a few concrete actions that the government is taking to address the root causes of violence against indigenous women and to correct long-standing systemic inequities. Communities across Canada are also taking action locally.
I recognize that this provides absolutely no relief from the ongoing pain that Canadians are experiencing or the suffering and trauma that the news of these horrible murders brings. There are no quick solutions to resolve the deep-rooted, systemic inequalities and racism that lead to the intimidation, violence and murders of indigenous women and girls. Creating systemwide changes to address this national tragedy is something I know this entire House recognizes must happen for today and for future generations, for my kids and for my grandkids.
I offer my sincere condolences to the families and communities that have lost their loved ones. I am so deeply sorry for their loss.
Meegwetch, qujannamiik, marsi.
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- Dec/7/22 7:46:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe I stated in my previous response that our government has not done enough. We need to do more. We need to continue the partnerships with community groups. We need to continue the partnerships with other levels of government, including the City of Winnipeg.
Yes, I will work with the member for Winnipeg Centre. We had a great working relationship when, together with other ministers, we delivered Velma's House, a 24-7 safe space for indigenous women and girls in downtown Winnipeg. I would be pleased to work with the member on finding other solutions to ongoing problems that, unfortunately, have been around too long.
We need to work in partnership to find those solutions, and I would be happy to sit down with the member to work toward solutions.
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- Dec/7/22 7:52:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Winnipeg North.
In our country, there is a genocide against indigenous women that has happened and continues to happen. We have a government that continues to fail to do anything about it. That is the reality.
I just spoke with an indigenous woman who works with the National Association of Friendship Centres. She said that as an indigenous woman she is afraid to walk the streets. She is a young woman. She is a president. She carries a strong role in her community and a strong role with that association. She just wants to walk in her community without fear. That is what we want.
The fact that indigenous women do not have the ability to walk freely without fear in our communities is a shame on this country. The fact that, knowing how serious this is, the government continues to fail to act is a greater shame.
Indigenous leaders have laid out a clear path. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and two-spirit people, laid out a clear path with calls for justice that would save lives. Every single day that these calls for justice are not put in place, are not acted on and are not implemented means more lives are lost.
Indigenous people should not have to beg or plead to be able to live with dignity and respect. They should not have to beg or plead with elected officials or with police to do their work. However, that is what is happening. Indigenous people have to beg the police to do what they are supposed to, which is to do their jobs. They have to beg elected officials to take their lives seriously. That is the reality of what we are up against.
I want to acknowledge the recent horrific events coming out of Winnipeg. I want us to realize that when we talk about these horrific incidents, we sometimes dehumanize the lives. We lose track that these are real people. These are daughters. These are sisters. These are loved ones who have been stripped of their lives.
Let us remember their names: Morgan Harris, 39 years old; Marcedes Myran, 26 years old; Rebecca Contois, 24 years old; and Buffalo Woman.
These are lives that were ended. These are lives that were lost. Government inaction continues to put lives at risk.
I want to acknowledge the incredible courage and strength of our colleague, friend and champion for people, the member for Winnipeg Centre. She has, in the face of a very difficult time, shown incredible courage, and I want to acknowledge that. She wants it not to be about her but to be about the families who are here today, the families across the country who are reeling from the violence against their loved ones and the families who are living in fear.
I want to acknowledge that the member for Winnipeg Centre called for an emergency debate, because this is an emergency. This should be deemed a national emergency. The fact that lives are being stolen from us this way is a national emergency. The purpose of having an emergency debate is to shape our response to it, to put some urgency into the fact that we need to see action and that the federal government has a responsibility to act.
One specific point that the member for Winnipeg Centre continues to raise is that hundreds of millions of dollars remain unspent. That is money that should be going toward protecting and providing safe spaces for indigenous women and girls. The member for Winnipeg Centre has raised the fact, multiple times now, that the Liberal government has not spent money on building new shelters. No additional funding was announced in this last budget, and this is wrong.
We need concrete action. We need to acknowledge the pain. We need to move beyond that acknowledgement to actually doing something about it. We have the power to do something today.
It is undeniable that there is a genocide of indigenous women in our country and we must take action. Every day that the federal government does not act, the lives of more indigenous women are in jeopardy.
We must implement measures to protect the community. We must address this genocide. It is our duty and our responsibility.
New Democrats are using our power and using our voices to stand in solidarity with indigenous communities, doing whatever we can to stand with them in the fight against violence against women.
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- Dec/7/22 8:03:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Rebecca Contois, Morgan Beatrice Harris, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman, as earlier referenced, each and every one of those incredible, wonderful and beautiful women's lives were cut short because of racial and many other complicated issues that led to the termination of their lives.
I do not believe there is a member of Parliament in this chamber who is not upset with the reality of what has taken place in Winnipeg. I know all of us extend our most sincerest condolences to the grieving families, friends and communities. I want to extend my personal condolences to each and every one.
I do not come to this debate lightly. Tina Fontaine was a wonderful young lady. Back in 2014, she went missing. It was on August 8, 2014. Her body was found in Winnipeg North along the Red River nine days later, on August 17, 2014. The community came together in a very real and tangible way.
I remember going to the Manitoba legislature, and there were indigenous women and others who showed up and stayed overnight in tents for days. They wanted to see a public inquiry. Whether it was called by the province or the federal government, they wanted to see something take place.
Tina was a wonderful young lady put into an environment that was very challenging. I recall back in 2014 raising the issue here of needing to have a public inquiry. A short while after that, there was a change in government and the current Prime Minister indicated we would have that public inquiry. Out of that public inquiry came 231 calls for justice.
If people want to do a Google search on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, they will find many of the things within those calls for justice are in fact being acted on. As the minister who spoke before me said, there is still so much more to be done. I do not believe for a moment that we should let anyone off the hook. There is a responsibility for all stakeholders, provinces, municipalities, indigenous leaders and community members.
There are some wonderful groups out there, such as the North Point Douglas Women's Centre, the Mama Bear Clan, the Bear Clan Patrol on Selkirk Avenue and Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata. There are many different organizations that care, that want to see ideas brought forward and want to see results. The minister made reference to some of those results, but again, there still needs to be more.
The Tina Fontaine safe place for young people on Selkirk Avenue was established a few years back and runs 24-7. There is also Velma's House.
Yes, the Government of Canada plays a critical role in this. It is bringing people together and making sure we collectively deal with this issue. For anyone to believe the federal government on its own can resolve the problem, it is somewhat misguided, whether it is intentional or not. The federal government does need to step up, and I believe every member in this House recognizes that. Our Prime Minister not only recognizes it but is stepping up, and at the same time recognizing we still need to do a lot more.
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- Dec/7/22 8:09:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would encourage and welcome this issue being depoliticized.
If the member would like to come out to Winnipeg North, I would assist. Let us have the province, municipalities, indigenous leaders and others sit at the table. All of us need to be held to account for our actions, including the federal government. Whether it is me, the minister or others on the government benches, we have all said that we need to do more.
I do not know if the member does a service when she tries to give the impression that the Government of Canada has done nothing. I would disagree with that, and if she is saying that it is wrong for me to say that, I would disagree.
I think that we are here to inspire hope and inspire the fact that not only when we recognize what needs to be done, we are committed to doing more.
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- Dec/7/22 8:27:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that is an excellent question because I was also taught that we cannot just throw money at problems and hope they go away. Some problems we can throw money at and they will go away, but life is not that simple.
Frankly speaking, we are not seeing money being spent in the right ways. One of the things that has been championed quite a bit by the member for Winnipeg Centre is the idea of a red dress alert. Something like that, similar to what we have with the Amber Alert, could possibly save lives because it would quickly draw more attention.
We do know that the faster people go out looking for someone after they go missing, the better chance they have to come home alive and the better chance they have to have that case solved if they are, unfortunately, already missing.
Suggestions like that are meaningful, tangible suggestions that do not necessarily require a whole bunch of money. They just require will from the government to do so.
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- Dec/7/22 8:43:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank hon. members who are here tonight to talk about this extremely important issue.
I would like to express my thoughts and condolences to the families and communities of the four first nations women in Winnipeg. The news is tragic, and it is a painful reminder of the discrimination and horrific violence that indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people continue to experience in this country.
These tragedies, these injustices, to put it bluntly, happen far too often in Canada. It is unacceptable. However, far too often when I come to the House and hear these debates about indigenous people, it is always in a very pejorative light. It is always very sombre and tragic and often filled with a lot of emotions, and I do not think we do enough to celebrate the indigenous women out there.
I think about my home, my Mi'kmaq community of Eskasoni, with 4,000 people. I think about the young girls possibly watching this debate tonight and what they must be feeling knowing that there is this despair and reality coming to them. We have seen it highlighted through the public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and the calls for justice. I also cannot help but think that we have to talk about the indigenous women champions out there who have done some great things over the years. I do so because I want those indigenous young women to feel that there is more in this country than despair.
We can look at the most recent Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, the first indigenous woman to hold that role. This is a thing of pride that we should have as indigenous people in Canada.
I think about RoseAnne Archibald, the very first woman national chief. Young women in our communities can now say, “I could be a national chief someday.”
I think about Michelle O'Bonsawin, the very first indigenous woman Supreme Court of Canada justice. I want the young girls at home to think they can be a Supreme Court of Canada justice in this country as well.
I think about all of the courageous women in my home province of Nova Scotia who have fought to ensure that their advocacy and their voices have led to a better tomorrow for indigenous women.
I think about the Native Women's Association of Canada, and the phone call I got to make to the then president Bernadette Marshall, who is a community member of Potlotek. I think of Lorraine Whitman, a former president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, and her daughter Zabrina Whitman, who helped push this proposal forward. These are proud, strong, amazing Mi'kmaq women who have advocated. When we made the announcement of more than $8 million for something they had been fighting for for 30 years, they had tears of joy. They said, “We have been fighting for this.”
I think if we just focus on some of the tragic things, we are not focusing on some of the amazing accomplishments of indigenous women, Mi'kmaq women.
I think about most recently, over the past month, going to the Mi'kmaq Native Friendship Centre in Halifax, where Pam Glode-Desrochers was able to work with our government and work with her staff to get a commitment for more than $28 million for all the important services that Mi'kmaq friendship centres provide to indigenous women who leave their communities to go to university or in search of better employment. These are important supports they have and continue to move forward on.
It is important that when we talk about indigenous people and women in this House, we also talk about the champions. We have to give indigenous people hope for a better tomorrow. That is why I continue to have conversations about what we need to do.
We have the calls for justice, which are important, and I am committed to working with every member of this House to make sure that we fulfill them. However, I am open to ideas on how we move forward. I am also open to some of the programs that we are currently moving out.
One thing we have been able to do is make sure we look at projects across the country that are rolling out. Sixty-five projects have been funded from coast to coast to coast, and they are making a difference for indigenous communities. Some examples are longhouses, women's lodges, improved powwow grounds, heritage parks, cultural centres and other facilities to support cultural ceremonies and teachings with elders.
It has been an amazing experience, during my short time of three years as a member of Parliament, not only to be a part of and see this change, but also to recognize, as a first nations person living on a reserve for 43 years, that I am able to look at the indigenous women in my communities and say there is some important work going on.
I want the indigenous girls at home to know that when we are talking about them in the House, we are talking not only about the tragedies, but also about the hope we need to have in a better Canada, and about the fact that they are going to lead that for our country.
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- Dec/7/22 8:54:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour to rise in the House to speak on behalf of the members of my community of Peterborough—Kawartha. The purpose of tonight's take-note debate is to bring forth a discussion on a very serious issue and to call on the Liberals to listen. We have a crisis that has been happening for decades, and tonight we are demanding action.
I will provide a trigger warning for anyone watching or listening: This is a very heavy topic, and it can be triggering for some people.
Tonight, we are speaking about murdered and missing indigenous women and girls in Canada. Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman are the names of the four indigenous women murdered in Winnipeg. It is important to say their names. It is important to bring these women home to their families. It is important that the families of these women see justice.
The last updated number I could find was 307 murdered and missing indigenous women. As shocking as this statistic is, it is from 2018. How many more are there? Why is this not a priority? Indigenous women and girls in Canada are disproportionately affected by all forms of violence. Although indigenous women make up 4% of Canada's female population, 16% of all women murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012 were indigenous. The 2019 general social survey on victimization, along with Statistics Canada data, has indicated that indigenous women were more likely to experience intimate partner violence than non-indigenous women.
During a study on sex trafficking of indigenous peoples, experts said that 52% of human trafficking victims are indigenous and that the average age of exploitation of an indigenous girl was 12 years old. Although the indigenous population up to the age of 14 makes up 7.7% of all Canadian children, they represent 52.2% of the children in the child welfare system. Studies have shown that these children in the system are more likely to enter into prostitution. This is not information that is new to the government. It is at the disposal of the government, but nothing has changed. We see no action on this human rights issue.
I will quote from Amnesty International's report, “Stolen Sisters: A human rights response to discrimination and violence against Indigenous women in Canada”. It says:
When a woman is targeted for violence because of her gender or because of her Indigenous identity, her fundamental rights have been abused. And when she is not offered an adequate level of protection by state authorities because of her gender or because of her Indigenous identity, those rights have been violated.
The date of that report's release is 2004. It has been 18 years. This is shameful. Past governments, all of them, must share the blame in perpetuating the broken system that has left indigenous women and girls behind.
Two years after the release of the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report, the government finally released an action plan on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. It is a plan that many have called flawed, toxic and unsafe. I will quote from an article:
University of Western Ontario professor Michael Arntfield — an expert on serial murder and cold cases — told the Toronto Sun the government and its army of bureaucrats are “chiefly to blame” for the continuing crisis.
“This is another solemn reminder of the fact that despite all the lip service in the world, the proper resources from the top down are still not being properly allocated.”
Meaningful reconciliation involves more than just funding announcements and photo ops. It requires partnership and collaboration with indigenous communities across Canada. There is so much more work to be done to protect the lives of indigenous women and girls across our country. “Bad people commit these horrible crimes against Native women,” said Malinda Limberhand, mother of Hanna Harris, who was murdered in 2013 on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Malinda Limberhand continued, “but it is the system that allows it to happen generation after generation.”
There has to be change. Enough is enough. We need to see tangible results that meaningfully improve the lives of indigenous women and girls. This starts with the federal government implementing its portion of the 231 calls to action from the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report, including calls for a “standardization of protocols for policies and practices that ensure that all cases...are thoroughly investigated”, “the establishment of a national task force...to review and, if required, to reinvestigate [cases] from across Canada”, and ensuring “protection orders are available, accessible, promptly issued and effectively serviced and resourced to protect [victims].”
Canada’s Conservatives are focused on bringing forward policies that make real and measurable improvements in the lives of Canada’s indigenous people.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak about a devastating loss in my local community of Curve Lake First Nation. Cileana Taylor was 22 years old when she was brutally attacked by her partner on September 3, 2020. Cileana was on life support for six months before she passed away with her family at her side. The man who attacked her was out on bail for a previous assault charge dating back to 2019, when he was charged for aggravated assault on Ms. Taylor. He was released on bail on February 3, three weeks before Cileana died.
“The charge of aggravated assault is not enough when one of our young Indigenous women has died from his violent assault,” is a quote from Chief Laurie Carr, who sent a letter of support on behalf of the Hiawatha First Nation Council. “Our community has supported Cileana’s family and Curve Lake First Nation through prayers and offerings as they sat with Cileana in the hospital, and after her death. Cileana, as all our Indigenous women are sacred and a part of the continuation of life for our people, our culture and our traditions. They are the link, and the connection to our future generations,” Chief Carr said in her letter. She went on, “Cileana had value. Cileana had a full life ahead of her. The loss of Cileana's life is unacceptable to our First Nation, to all our Peoples and to humankind.” The man who attacked Cileana was never charged with murder.
We do not need more headlines of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. We need them to be safe. Cileana and all of our indigenous women and girls deserve justice. Tonight I ask the Liberals to listen and, most importantly, to take action.
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