Senator Greenwood: — since I have been appointed to this honourable chamber.

I begin by acknowledging the ancestors and unceded territories of the Anishinaabe Algonquin peoples. I express my gratitude for the privilege of working and living on their lands.

I also acknowledge the many people who have supported me on my journey to the Red Chamber. It was only with the love of my family, my community, my friends and colleagues that I am here today.

I rise today to address Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts. I recognize the committee and all those who worked so hard to shape this bill.

I also want to personally thank Senator Audette and Senator Clement for their championing of the rights of Indigenous peoples in this bill.

With much of what I’m going to say tonight, I am probably repeating what you have already heard, but so be it.

Esteemed colleagues here have spoken about the importance of language to their culture and their way of life.

During an earlier debate on this bill, Senator Cormier shared a quote from the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on Ford v. Quebec:

Language is not merely a means or medium of expression; it colours the content and meaning of expression. . . . It is also the means by which one expresses one’s personal identity and sense of individuality.

These words from the ruling are quite moving. The ruling goes on to state:

. . . there cannot be true freedom of expression by means of language if one is prohibited from using the language of one’s choice.

Honourable senators, I am here to add to this discussion. There is a richness of linguistic diversity across the lands now known as Canada. Yet not all languages hold the same privileges and protections. This hierarchy lays bare an injustice. Parliament and, by extension, the Senate created many injustices in our nation’s history. The Senate has also fought to address these injustices.

I believe our job in the Senate is to address injustice whenever possible. It is one of the reasons that I am here. Addressing the injustice of privileging some languages over others affords us such an opportunity.

I want to take a moment to reflect on the nature of language. Language is a manifestation of how we think and how we are in the world. Language shapes our realities. Language is culture. Language transmits our ways of knowing and being across the generations. Language creates profoundly different worldviews.

Many Indigenous languages are rooted in ever-evolving verb-based relationships. These are relationships between humans and the natural world. These relationships are sacred. They are relationships characterized by specific sounds, by silence and by mindful words reflective of the land in which Indigenous languages have always been rooted.

Imagine the sound of the great blue heron as she rises from the water. Imagine the sound of the high-pitched whistle of the eagle soaring overhead, the rustle of icy cattails in a spring wind and the sharp yip of the coyote.

These sounds are embedded in Indigenous languages. Our sounds embody the relationship between humans and the land. These specific sounds are unique to specific places and spaces. These are the places and spaces of Turtle Island.

Our languages are the first languages of this land of Turtle Island. But these first languages are in crisis. We are in a moment of losing many Indigenous languages across Turtle Island. When a language is lost, so too is a way of knowing and being in the world lost.

Colonization is responsible for this loss. This bleak history is shared by everyone across Turtle Island. Even before Confederation, generations of Indigenous children and families were exposed to the eradication of their languages in residential and day schools. Often, children were beaten for speaking their language.

Indigenous peoples do not have the privilege of having their languages recognized as official languages in their own lands. Recently, Canada has taken important steps toward reconciliation. There have been apologies for residential schools. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its Calls to Action, which called upon the federal government “. . . to acknowledge that Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights.”

In 2019, the Indigenous Languages Act received Royal Assent and recognized Indigenous languages as the first languages of the land. That same year — and Senator Audette will know this — the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report and Calls for Justice. Call for Justice 2.2 states:

We call upon all governments to recognize Indigenous languages as official languages, with the same status, recognition, and protection provided to French and English. . . .

In 2021, Canada adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. UNDRIP has many articles regarding Indigenous languages.

This brings us to today. This brings us to the efforts of fellow parliamentarians to further the cause of reconciliation. Bill C-13 acknowledges the richness of linguistic diversity. But not all languages hold the same privileges as official languages. The Official Languages Act does not exist unto itself.

Every piece of legislation that passes through this chamber is an opportunity for truth, reconciliation and action. Every piece of legislation that passes through this chamber is an opportunity for a departure from harmful colonial policies of the past. Bill C-13 offers us an opportunity to address some of these policies. Bill C-13 recognizes the existence of Indigenous languages but, unlike the Indigenous Languages Act, does not acknowledge them as first languages. Senators tried to amend Bill C-13 to mirror this acknowledgement. This would have been an important step to advance reconciliation. Unfortunately, this amendment was defeated.

There were also proposed amendments to recognize Canada’s commitment to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or UNDRIP Act, provides a road map for the Government of Canada and Indigenous peoples to work together to implement the declaration. The UNDRIP Act has numerous articles detailing the importance of Indigenous languages, like Article 13, which states:

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.

This UNDRIP Act was designed to ensure that all federal laws are consistent with the declaration. Unfortunately, this proposed amendment was also defeated.

There have been many arguments that instead of amending the Official Languages Act, we should amend the Indigenous Languages Act. The Official Languages Act must not be siloed from goals of reconciliation. Amending the Official Languages Act could strengthen the use of Indigenous languages here in Parliament. Amending the act could strengthen the use of Indigenous languages in public service. As well, amending the act would let Canadians know that the government takes seriously the advancement of reconciliation.

Implementing Call for Justice 2.2 — recognizing Indigenous languages as official languages with the same status and protection provided to French and English — is a fundamental step toward reconciliation. I hope you do see it, Michèle, in your tenure here and mine. By elevating Indigenous languages, we are not removing French or English. That is not the point as official languages. But by elevating Indigenous languages, we are removing some of those barriers to reconciliation.

It is my responsibility as a senator to further the cause of reconciliation whenever possible, including today and every day.

Where do we go from here? I extend to you an invitation. If senators truly believe that Bill C-13 is not the appropriate bill to amend, and should it be passed, then I invite you as parliamentarians to expedite legislation with me that will create true equality for Indigenous languages of these lands.

Honourable senators, I thank you for giving me this time and I would like to leave you with a final quote from the commissioners of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples:

Canada is a test case for a grand notion – the notion that dissimilar peoples can share lands, resources, power and dreams while respecting and sustaining their differences. The story of Canada is the story of many such peoples, trying and failing and trying again, to live together in peace and harmony.

I look forward to continuing to work with you, my fellow senators, on achieving that justice.

Hiy hiy.

Hon. Margo Greenwood: Thank you, Your Honour, and congratulations on your new role.

Honourable senators, I have a memory from my youth that I want to share with you this evening.

It was on a sunny afternoon, an Alberta afternoon. I came in from playing outside and found my father sitting at the kitchen table writing his name over, over and over again. I could see his signature on the page multiple times. I asked him, “What are you doing?” And he said, “I write good English.”

I have often thought of this memory, and it makes me sad.

My dad only had a Grade 6 education, we think. Life and school taught him not to communicate in his first language, Cree. My dad believed that this was what was best for his own good. My dad believed speaking good English meant the safety of his children.

My dad never taught me to speak Cree. The colonial experience had achieved its goal.

Honourable senators, I am —

[Editor’s Note: Senator Greenwood spoke in an Indigenous language.]

— from Treaty 6. I share my Indian name with you so that you might know from where I speak. I rise today for the first time —