Hon. Michèle Audette: Esteemed colleagues, I would like to thank the Anishinaabe Nation for allowing me here on its territory.

Today, in honour of Moose Hide Campaign Day, some beautiful little square pins were distributed for you to wear. You look wonderful, thank you.

This campaign is about ending violence against women and girls. For the colleagues who are joining us remotely, don’t worry, we have some for you, too.

I also want to thank all the campaign organizers for these pins and for all the information on their website.

This beautiful story began in 2011, when Raven Lacerte and her father, Paul, came up with the idea for a campaign while hunting on their ancestral land. After harvesting a moose, they decided to tan the hide and cut it into small squares to inspire change. The Moose Hide Campaign was born: a grassroots movement of Indigenous men and boys committed to ending violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Today, this movement embraces everyone, men and women across Canada, in a bid to end violence against women, girls and their families.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 exacerbated family violence situations in 2020 because of financial stress, lockdowns and limited social contacts. According to federal government surveys, in March and April of 2020 and 2021, the rate of gender-based and family violence rose between 20% and 30% in some parts of the country. These numbers underscore just how important it is to condemn violence against women and girls.

I would like to invite schools, teachers and everyone to visit the Moose Hide Campaign website because it contains a lot of information and plenty of ideas and resources for those wishing to participate in the movement.

Let us join the movement, join the dance known in my Innu language as the makusham, to help end violence, create safe and secure spaces, and, of course, support reconciliation.

The campaign enables participants to respond to several calls to action, including the call to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It’s also an opportunity to speak out against the tragic reality of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. This is a response to the calls for justice 1.8 and 1.9 issued by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

We can get a lot done when we work together. We have the power to change things and do great things.

I would like to say tshinashkumitnau for wearing your pin.

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