44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- May/2/23 10:10:49 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am sharing my time today with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
It is an honour to speak in this place, located on the traditional and unceded territory of the of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. “Unceded” is another word for “unsurrendered”, which means taken without permission or agreement, like so many of the women and girls we will remember today, who were taken by force from their families and loved ones.
I am from the traditional territory of Fort William First Nation, and I represent a vast geographic area that includes many first nations communities that have been deeply impacted by decades of racist policies imposed by colonialism. Of course, my region is home to indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, who have to fight daily for dignity, safety and their inherent right to exist in their communities and hometowns. All across my riding and indeed this country, many have disappeared, been tortured or died despite these efforts and those of their families. Many indigenous women and girls exist daily with threats, intimidation and overt racism.
Friday is Red Dress Day, a sacred day to remember sisters, daughters, aunties and loved ones. Each dress serves as a reminder of a life that ended too soon and is a recognition of those who are living in constant fear. This is the reality for indigenous women and girls. It is a manifestation of a country formed by displacement, a colonial and patriarchal system imposed on indigenous culture and a dehumanization of indigenous lives and bodies, especially of women and girls.
The recent discoveries of the bodies of women in Winnipeg dumps are horrific examples of these long-held perspectives. How much clearer can it be? Despite public outrage, it was not as shocking as it should have been. After all, finding naked, raped indigenous bodies is something many Canadians have heard about for a long time.
The first time I heard this was with the discovery of the body of Sandra Johnson, who was murdered in February 1992, her body dumped on a frozen river and the crime still unsolved. There are so many names, including Rena Fox from my region, a mother of four who was murdered in February 2003, her body dumped on a rural road, her four children left without their mom and her killer still at large. They are just two women in a list that is so long, and the stories go on and on.
Eighty-one per cent of indigenous women who are placed in child welfare systems will experience physical or sexual violence. Imagine that. A system with the stated goal of protecting children is doing exactly the opposite.
Changing colonial, patriarchal systems is not easy work. Governments at all levels must invest and change laws. Organizations must change governance and add indigenous people and, importantly, cede power.
However, change is happening. I have had the immense honour of signing four agreements with indigenous nations and the provinces to return care and control of family services to communities. A total of seven of these agreements are in place, with more under way. Each ceremony is extremely moving, with a recognition of loss and the hope of healing.
This spring, the government signed an amended settlement agreement to compensate first nations children and their families who suffered harm and pain by Canada's discriminatory underfunding of the child welfare system. This settlement is an expensive reminder to Canada that fiscal discrimination must end and has no place in the budgets of Canada or any order of government.
The federal Liberals ended long-standing discrimination in primary and secondary education funding, are investing to close the infrastructure gap and are taking significant steps to ensure economic reconciliation. These are all important factors in protecting women and girls, as the national inquiry's final report noted. Called the “social determinants of health”, they help to prevent violence, abuse and risks that lead to murdered or missing women and girls.
For the decade under Stephen Harper, the party opposite refused calls for a national inquiry into the situation of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and it maintained inequities in funding for water, infrastructure, child welfare and education. However, in 2016, the Liberal government launched that inquiry and reformed the way education is funded. The government set provincial education formulas as a new minimum base, and agreed to modifications that address specific first nations needs and priorities. To match the policy, the government invested $781 million, increasing the national education funding formula by 52%.
The way to make a difference for indigenous women and girls is through the tools of equity and self-determination and through a relentless commitment to truth. Then and only then will we see an end to this tragedy. We have begun this work with indigenous peoples and we must be relentless in the next steps.
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- May/2/23 10:16:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I appreciate the comments by the member opposite, in particular about retraumatization of victims. I agree, and I am grateful for the reminder. I have also reflected on the fact that it is difficult to discuss this without, for me at least, reflecting on the serious and ongoing nature of the violence that women are facing every single day. However, it is an important point in terms of how I speak about this, particularly in public forums.
In terms of the budget and the alert, the commitment of this government is clear. We have invested historic amounts of money in many of the calls to action that are very significant, including, for example, closing the infrastructure gap and some of the inequities that exist in child welfare and education, as well as the very difficult job of closing a number of other gaps that put women, girls and, indeed, all indigenous people at risk.
We are going to continue that work. It is not easy, and it is not simple, but it is certainly worthwhile.
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- May/2/23 10:18:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I can say that this government is laser-focused on all the calls to action. I will work with my colleague, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, to make sure that we are doing this in an appropriate fashion, in full consultation with indigenous partners and in an expeditious way to ensure that there are as many tools as possible to protect indigenous women.
I will say, as the Minister of Indigenous Services, that my focus remains on the social determinants of health, on the preventive factors that actually lead to families that remain intact and reduce the risk factors for women and girls that many members in this House have spoken to. The risk factors are increased by things like poverty, exclusion, racism and underfunding. I continue to focus on them in the work that I do, day in and day out.
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- May/2/23 10:20:45 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in fact, part of the work that the government has been doing is to improve what is called postmajority care for people coming out of the child welfare system and ensuring that supports extend beyond these people's emergence from the system.
I want to pick up, though, on the member opposite's rightful focus on post-secondary education. It is wonderful that B.C. is pursuing this. It is an example of a partnership with a province that can go a long way. In fact, I think we have an untapped source of incredible talent in indigenous peoples, and I spend a lot of my time thinking about how we can accelerate—
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