44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 2, 2023 10:00AM
- May/2/23 6:52:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the member for Winnipeg Centre has been a tireless advocate for justice, for decency and for bringing our sisters home.
It is no secret that this prolonged and continuous genocide is persistent. It is persistent not only in the forms it has taken, such as violence against women or the results of poverty we are seeing, but it is also nefarious in the way the government operates. It is nefarious that it continues to limit the funding necessary to get to the organizations that need it most.
We have young people who are present with us today who need these kinds of resources. They need the support of their government to put that money into their pockets so they can do the work of community life saving.
Can the member speak about the importance of young people and their contributions to ending this crisis?
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- May/2/23 7:24:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in good Conservative fashion we began this conversation talking about the risks to indigenous women and have now gone to the discussion of resources. However, I digress.
I would like to ask the member a question with respect to her speech. She mentioned the right to consultation. Would she agree that the right to free, prior and informed consent includes the right to say no?
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- May/2/23 8:19:33 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, today, as in times before, I unfortunately have to rise in this place to speak to this issue. I am a new member of Parliament. I have sat in this chamber for less than two years, and we are again debating the crisis facing murdered, missing indigenous women and two-spirit folks.
This is not just a crisis. We often talk about this being a crisis, but these are people's lives, just like those of my colleagues and just like mine, and they have been affected so greatly by mistreatment, neglect and, oftentimes, ignorance. It is the will of ignorance when it plays out this way.
What I mean by that is those times when we know that solutions exist, and there are champions to implement them, but we do not show up to the table with the resources to support them. That is one of the most critical problems we are here to address. It is one I want to highlight in a different way.
The last time I spoke to this issue, I spoke about my family. I spoke about my mother, who is no longer with us. I spoke about my sister, who is no longer with us. I spoke about the people in my life who are not here anymore. There are individuals right across this country who feel the same way I do. They feel robbed of the kind of justice that Canadians deserve. They feel neglected by the systems that were built to support us. We feel broken by a country that does not want to see who we are.
There are fundamental questions about what kind of country we want to build. Who belongs in this country? When we allow women to be murdered, go missing and find themselves in dumps, that is not a society that values indigenous women and two-spirit folks.
We think we understand this issue, when it is far greater than its results. What I mean by that is that the issue that is present to indigenous people is much greater than the consequences we often find ourselves in. We are talking about the consequences of serious issues. We are talking about the consequences of government in action. We are talking about the consequences of wilful racism. We are talking about the consequences of genocide.
In order for us, and all Canadians, to understand how deeply important this issue is, we have to understand how deeply wounded our country is. Canada may present itself to the world as just. We even, oftentimes, as members of this chamber, have a belief in the kind of country we have told ourselves is just. It is a process, not a destination. We need to ensure that we take more seriously the concerns and solutions of indigenous leaders in this place.
I spoke to young people who were invited here by my good friend, the hon. member for Edmonton Centre, to speak about what youth are doing, given this crisis. Young people are having to fend for themselves right now. They call it peer-to-peer support. They say that because they are only there for one another, when in fact they should have the support of the government. They even went so far to say that residential schools took so much from them, and now that the government recognizes that, it does not want to give anything.
Members of the New Democratic Party spoke previously about the things we need to do to see resources get into the hands of organizations such as A7G, the Assembly of Seven Generations, which has fought so long to see just one call to action implemented of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, call to action 66.
Although the willingness of the government was there to find people to do a report and to commission results, the results did not hit the mark. Those youth are still asking for support. Those youth are still here looking for ways to survive. Some of those youth found themselves in the street because of the failure of our inability to see the solutions and put the tools of those solutions in the hands of those who will do the work.
I will end with this: Indigenous youth are not just victims. Women, girls and two-spirit people are not just victims. They are resilient. They are here because of their will. They are here because they fought, and they are here because they are valued. They know that. We will stand with them, and we will not let up.
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- May/2/23 8:25:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that is such a good question, and it hits on part of the solution. I am very grateful for the member's candidness in offering of this topic and giving me a chance to deliberate on and talk about the need to ensure this.
Men, particularly indigenous men, have also suffered the kind of history that indigenous women had to, but they suffer through that in a different way. They suffer that in a way that has often resolved itself in substance abuse, broken families and not knowing how to teach our loved ones what it takes to have a good and stable family. That is something this country has taken from so many men, particularly indigenous men.
That is why we need to see investments in indigenous healing circles for men. I have been part of indigenous men's circles, bringing in and holding other men accountable for their actions. Nine out of 10 times, I have found that those men are remorseful. They break down, cry and commit to doing better. They show up every single day, and that circle grows.
We can bring these men into a position where they understand, one, that what they are doing is harmful; two, that it needs to end; and three, that they can be part of the solution and ensure that other men continue to be part of the solution.
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- May/2/23 8:27:39 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I have the great pleasure of sitting with my hon. colleague on the public accounts committee and often find that her words are not only guiding, but in this particular case, provide me another opportunity to speak to the solutions. I appreciate that.
I said in my speech, and I will talk again about where resources need to go. The government cannot be the decider and the administrator of all solutions, particularly this solution.
We know that indigenous-led organizations, and the example I gave was indigenous youth organizations, are doing work, such as peer-to-peer support. They are the ones dealing with those who need the support most, and they are the ones who need the support. It should be our job in this place to support those who are best supporting indigenous advocates and those working on the ground. It is an opportunity for us right now. We can do this. We can do this tomorrow, as long as we have the will.
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- May/2/23 8:30:09 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for her consistent advocacy. I had the opportunity to visit her community to speak directly with indigenous folks who are experiencing many of the difficult issues she has spoken about, particularly some of the issues related to murdered and missing women.
What she spoke about just now is a sad and terrible truth. For 21 years, this woman has been missing. I was there, and I was able to feel her spirit in the people's advocacy with posters and signs. Her name was spoken daily in Nanaimo—Ladysmith when I went to visit. However, the solutions need to be solutions of accountability when it comes to ensuring that our sisters are found.
The police need to take an honest and clear look in the mirror to understand what their obligations are. As a matter of fact, we need a national inquiry into the conduct of police when these things happen.
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- May/2/23 9:44:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, tonight we heard testimony, stories and the voices of many of our colleagues. We heard their personal experiences and what they have faced in the light in their community and how they face that issue here today. We witnessed learning, and that is one of the most incredible pieces of today and something we can all be grateful for.
However, this speech does not hit that mark. It talks greatly about the government's spending plans but does not speak to the reality that there are human lives at risk. I will take the Liberals' near unanimous speeches about how supportive they are of this issue and will remember the fact we had this exact same debate over a year ago, where we heard Liberals agree right across the bench.
We heard Liberals agree this is a tragedy. We heard they have some money in their pockets. When will they actually ensure the money they plan to spend in their budget actually gets to the organizations they say are going to support?
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- May/2/23 10:02:39 p.m.
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Madam Chair, tonight we have heard a great deal of conversation. We have heard, from the Liberals and the Conservatives, quite compassionate speeches about how many people have had to reflect and learn. I did not hear that in the member's speech, and I want to take this as an opportunity to ensure the member can learn from someone I have learned from in my own life who is a resident of Lakeland.
His name is Dr. James Makokis, a resident of Lakeland and one of the most fantastic physicians we have in our country who helps and treats trans youth, in particular, trans youth in indigenous communities. He works in the Kehewin first nations. He says that FNIHB and institutional barriers for first nations to access gender-affirming care make it difficult to get. There are access barriers and the government is not participating in reducing those barriers.
Would the member speak directly to how important it is to support trans lives in Lakeland and to ensure that doctors, like Dr. James Makokis, can continue to ensure that his patients of the Kehewin first nations and the trans youth can get the access to this life-saving and life-affirming treatment they need?
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