Senator Audette: Yes.

[English]

Senator Audette: Thank you very much. If the choice of words hurt you, I’m sorry. If the words I used for quotes from a former commissioner hurt you, I’m sorry. However, for many people in my family, and for me as I participated alongside them, when we were asked if the consultation was clear and precise, I might reply that we were asked if we had any recommendations or suggestions.

I suppose it depends on the region, but there will never be enough dialogue. We can do away with the term “consultations.” I will heed your message, however, because it’s important. You are among those who were subjected to these traumas. I’m so sorry. I’ll be careful.

Nevertheless, I want to honour those who asked us to do more. Maybe we can choose better words together so we can get more done together.

[English]

Hon. Michèle Audette: Thank you, honourable senators.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Audette spoke in Innu-aimun.]

I also want to thank the Anishinaabe people. Thank you for welcoming me on your land every day. I hope that will continue for a long time as I continue working as a senator.

Thank you also to my fellow senators.

Honourable senators, I’m rising today to discuss and share some thoughts with you about Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation.

I really like history, so before I get into the crux of the matter, I think it’s important to review what has been done here in this chamber, what you did long before some of us arrived in the Senate.

As you may have heard when I gave my maiden speech, I really like talking about beading, portaging, the path of healing and so on.

Every bead that we leave is precious and helps us along the path of healing and reconciliation, but also along the path to building a new relationship and maintaining the existing one, a relationship that is, of course, built on respect, partnership and the recognition of rights.

In 2007, we were all very animated. For those who remember, our leaders, members of our families and people who were affected by residential schools worked very hard to reach a settlement on residential schools to provide reparations. This settlement contained several provisions, including the one to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Obviously there was talk of making an apology. I want to thank the leaders, the people of that time for their courage and their determination, who allow us today to pick up where they left off, to start over and move forward in partnership.

In June 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to Indigenous peoples. For many of us, for me too, this apology was important. It was more than symbolic. It put words to our pain and to much of our suffering.

In his message, which I encourage you to reread, Prime Minister Harper apologized to the First Nations, the Métis and the Inuit for those who experienced the effects of residential schools or suffered at the residential schools.

This was part of his message:

The government now recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation. Therefore, on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in this chamber so vital, so central to our existence as a country, to apologize to aboriginal peoples for the role the government of Canada played in the Indian residential schools system.

In 2015, a man we knew and worked with, our former colleague, the Honourable Murray Sinclair, together with former commissioners Wilson Littlechild and Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, submitted and made public their final report. Many of us were there. I was there. We remember.

During a 2018 study by the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, Marie Wilson, a former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, explained the following:

It was the largest substantive consultation of indigenous people on any subject in the history of our country, Canada’s 130-year history of forced residential schooling for indigenous children. We based our 10-volume findings on almost 300 days of public hearings in every region of the country, from coast to coast to coast. We based our findings on dozens of commissioned research reports, together with an exhaustive reference of hundreds of documented sources.

She added the following:

Most compellingly and most centrally, we based our findings on almost 7,000 recorded statements from former students who spent their childhoods in the more than 150 church-run, government-sponsored institutions known as residential schools. They were isolated from traditional lands and cultural groundings and deprived of kinship ties and parental devotion, protection and love.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, after receiving the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, stated the following:

Today, on behalf of the Government of Canada, I have the honour of accepting the Commission’s Final Report. It is my deepest hope that this report and its findings will help heal some of the pain caused by the Indian residential school system and begin to restore the trust lost so long ago.

On June 3, 2021, the Senate passed Bill C-5, to create the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. During the legislative process leading up to Royal Assent of the bill, which responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 80, our colleague Senator Francis said the following:

Honourable senators, the national day for truth and reconciliation is but one step. However, it is the sum of all our individual and collective actions, of all the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that, when fully implemented, will create our new normal. If we follow this path, we will continue to move forward as a country in a positive direction.

Colleagues, this chamber also passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 43 and 44.

Of course, the Senate also followed suit with an Act to amend the Citizenship Act, which responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 94.

Some things have happened, and it’s important for me to talk about them.

[English]

It has been nearly eight years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its final report and the 94 Calls to Action. These Calls to Action present a pathway as well as a road map for all levels of government, no matter where we are or where we live. It could be municipal, provincial or territorial government. It could be the education sector, private sector or the health sector. It is everywhere in this country. We’re all responsible for doing something.

For me, it’s also very important to remind ourselves that it’s to ensure that Indigenous people are respected, valued and, of course, included for today, tomorrow and the next generation to come.

[Translation]

That is what Bill C-29 seeks to achieve by establishing a national council for reconciliation. This is one more positive step forward, one more thing Canada can do to make major strides along the shared path of reconciliation.

Bill C-29 acts on Calls to Action 53 to 56 in the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It will create a national council responsible for monitoring progress on reconciliation in Canada, publishing reports and making related recommendations.

In addition, Bill C-29 will enable the conduct of research in accordance with a multi-year plan. Research is important; data is important. Integrating Indigenous and western knowledge and thinking is crucial to advancing reconciliation in the hope of developing new approaches and new programs to support understanding among people outside the government apparatus.

Marie Wilson, a former TRC commissioner recently testified before the committee during its study of the bill. She reminded us of the following:

We are all aware, I hope, that we have lost more than half of the survivors who were alive at that time. All these many years later, we are still not able to answer questions about whether things are getting better or worse. What are the inspirational things we can learn from? What are the discouraging and deteriorating things that we need to put a sharper lens and attention on? So the national council, as we said at the time, was essential.

[English]

The journey of this bill has been very long. Remember, when I started as sponsor of this bill, as we say in English, or to embrace it, as I would say in my own words, I was with a group, and now I wear another pair of moccasins, but my passion, feelings and emotions are the same. We have to remember that the people who were involved before us who worked on this are key people. I would say thank you, of course, to the people who provided their knowledge, passion or expertise, which is the interim board and the transitional committee. Remember this: They were and today are still independent and Indigenous-led — we’ve been asking for this — who were key in this process. I want to say thank you for all your hard work.

[Translation]

Almost a year ago, on December 1, 2022, this bill was passed unanimously in the House of Commons. I want to thank all the political party representatives and everyone involved for their hard work on this bill in committee. Thank you.

I’d also like to thank my colleagues, the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, who took the time to listen to the 52 witnesses who agreed to come and see us and share their concerns, vision or interest in taking the matter further, and who made it possible for the bill to move forward. It took many hours of consideration, not to mention all the briefs and written responses that the committee received. As you will remember, the task was difficult, but we made it through and I’m confident. Thank you to everyone who came and shared, once again, their truth with us.

Their testimony allowed us to make observations and engage in constructive discussions among colleagues on the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples and, of course, to propose ways of strengthening the bill.

[English]

Following Royal Assent, the first step for establishing the national council for reconciliation, of course, will be to establish its board of directors, which will be composed of between 9 and 13 people who have knowledge of and experience with Indigenous people and the work of the council. The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and the transitional committee would jointly select the first circle of people. It would form the first board of directors with a composition of no less than two thirds being Indigenous people — a place where it was very sensitive, and I think it’s important that I say this in French, because in French it will be more comfortable.

[Translation]

Rights-holding organizations, what does that mean for an Innu woman, a woman from Quebec? I celebrate both my cultures.

For example, I’m a member of the Uashat mak Mani-utenam community, and my band council if we use the jargon of the Indian Act — Our chief will participate if he wishes, whether I vote for that person or not. It is our form of governance, which I completely respect, regardless of where a person lives, regardless of the place of residence. Our elected members can participate in the assembly of chiefs of Quebec and Labrador, which can also participate at our discretion — we, the elected members of the community, have that power — at the assembly of chiefs.

That’s what it means when we talk about rights-holding organizations.

We give a mandate, as in the democracy of Canada, where it is possible to belong to a political party or a social movement; it is your individual right. It is very important when we talk about these organizations. They have been very sensitive to our approach to organizing or proposing this board of directors.

As a result of this sensitivity, of course, there will be exchanges to ensure that the Inuit, the Métis and the First Nations members of these political rights-holding organizations can appoint people to sit on the board of directors.

We also got a lot of comments and had many conversations about making sure that men, women, young people, older people, people who live in the North, people with expertise, residential school survivors and second-generation survivors are all represented.

When we look at the provision of the bill on who can be or become a member, we find these people. They are there. Of course, they’re also there to represent those who speak French as a first or second language. French is the first language for some Indigenous nations in Quebec. We must therefore make sure that there is a place for those people and for those who want to keep their Indigenous language. This will be an important exercise for the board of directors, which will have to ensure that this mosaic and this expertise from the various territories and communities have a place in this big circle.

Those who were there may remember Mr. Case, who is part of the transitional committee. He was wearing a beaded vest. I want to paraphrase what he said, which was very important.

He told us that we must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In other words, we need to understand that when we start something, it’s not always perfect, but it’s still fundamental and important.

Once the board of directors has been chosen, of course, the whole technical aspect will be paramount in incorporating this organization under the law governing non-profit organizations. Subsequent to that, the board will be able to obtain non-profit status, which will also give it legal status so it can obtain contracts. Most of us have worked in this kind of non-profit organization. The organization can have its own name, sign contracts and, most importantly in this case, it is not part of the government apparatus.

Ensuring that the organization plays an independent role was a very important Call to Action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For me and those who followed the work, the importance of independence must be emphasized once again.

[English]

In their testimony, witnesses raised concerns over funding — the lack of funding or concerns about the annual funding for the council in Bill C-29. That is an important point that I want to raise. We were concerned about this as members of the Indigenous Peoples Committee and want to make sure that is also in the report as an observation.

I don’t think I was there during our study on the day the minister came and that question was raised.

I will go through what Minister Anandasangaree said about the funding.

[Translation]

Budget 2019 included $125.6 million to support the establishment and operation of this council, including initial establishment funding of $1.5 million in the first year and a $125-million operating endowment fund. It is enshrined in legislation in addition to being included in Budget 2019.

It’s obviously impossible to know what the costs are in the first year. We have to rely on experts who have administered much larger funds than these $126 million for Indigenous peoples. This trust is important, of course.

I thank my colleagues for the questions they asked when the minister appeared. Minister Anandasangaree committed to provide additional funding if the council requested it. This is what he said:

In this particular case, one of the key recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is that this council be independent. It would be independent of government, which means there is no ongoing dependency on government. The initial $125 million is a significant investment into an endowment that will enable the council to operate from a starting point in a robust way. Now, as we develop the council and as the council comes up with an action plan and figures out the scope of the work and budgetary requirements, we need to be open to definitely increasing that. I, for one — and I can assure you our government — will respond when that call is there. As a starting point, $125 million is a significant amount of money, you will agree, that will get this started. As the work plan is developed and implemented, we will certainly be open to additional conversations, and my personal commitment would be to support additional funding when required.

Then, we heard from representatives of political organizations. Senators will recall that last spring, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, ITK, raised a number of issues concerning rights-holding organizations already working towards reconciliation and preserving the integrity of existing bilateral mechanisms. I thank my colleague Senator Patterson for working with those organizations and the government to propose amendments. Nakurmiik, thank you for the work you have done.

In my beautiful little office, members of the transitional committee and political staff capitalized on our relationship to discuss how to ensure that this council doesn’t simply serve as a box to be checked off when government decides to consult an Indigenous organization. No, this shouldn’t overshadow the important work being done with governments, including the federal government. That is important. Thank you for the proposed amendments to this effect.

[English]

That said, the amendment adopted by the Indigenous Peoples Committee recognized that the council will not take the place of the existing nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown or government-to-government relationships. That’s very important. This council will be entirely different than the permanent bilateral mechanism and the relationship already in place. It will not be an agent of the Government of Canada. That’s very important.

It will be a non-political body led by strong Indigenous leadership which operates independently of government and promotes and monitors progress towards reconciliation.

Within three months after the end of each fiscal year, the council must submit an annual report to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations on the state of reconciliation and its recommendations. Within 60 days of the release of this report, the Prime Minister must, on behalf of the Government of Canada, respond to the report by publishing an annual report on the state of Indigenous people that outlines the Government of Canada’s plans for advancing reconciliation.

[Translation]

What we still need to know is how the council will get the information it needs to do its job and fulfill its mandate. Bill C-29 provides clear direction in that regard. Under the bill, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations must, in collaboration with the national council, develop a protocol respecting the disclosure of information by the Government of Canada to the council. Bill C-29 provides for the development of such a protocol within six months after the council is incorporated.

Such a protocol will make it possible to coordinate and streamline the disclosure of information from several federal departments while, of course, respecting the provisions of the Privacy Act. There are precedents in Quebec. Once laws and protocols are in place, then many people will finally be able to get on the path to healing. That is another subject.

If the council has an interest in information held by a province or territory, it will have the ability and the latitude to negotiate other agreements.

Honourable senators, our responsibility is to go a little further, to take another step to ensure that we can celebrate, react to or learn from what is being done or what should be done. The independence of this council is a fundamental principle. It is very important.

When we were examining this bill, Minister Anandasangaree reminded us that it is important for his government that the council be independent.

In conclusion, honourable senators, there are people who leave an impression on us sometimes. There are people who touch us, but there are also those whom we love. I remember that man, Jay Launière-Mathias, who participated in a march last year from Mashteuiatsh to Quebec City to meet the pope. He gently reminded us to focus on what is important: supporting the survivors of residential schools.

I was also touched by the words of our colleague and friend Senator Greenwood, who said, and I quote:

Sometimes the purpose is already there. The purpose is that we are lifting up the survivors and the gift that they gave us with their stories.

[English]

Colonization is interwoven into this country’s social, economic, political and cultural fabrics. Untangling it and repairing the wrongs caused by its legacy won’t be an easy path, but we need to do it and we need to acknowledge that many of us have already started that.

As we debate this legislation before us today, I urge — with love, of course — my colleagues to maintain their focus on the clear path in front of us: advancing reconciliation.

This bill is an important step along this journey. It responds directly to four Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It also commits Canada, which is very important, to taking meaningful action year over year — not only in one year but year over year — on initiatives that bring us further along in our journey of reconciliation.

We have an opportunity here through this legislation to fulfill a vision and make good on a significant part here in this chamber but also, of course, across Canada, across this big place, Turtle Island, the place where I live.

But creating this national council for reconciliation is overdue. It will also bring more and more people to read or embrace the report that comes every year, even the national political organizations. They might use it or add something, or they might say, “No, not this time,” but that’s normal. In my world, we’re not all the same, and that’s what makes us special and powerful.

[Translation]

I want to once again quote Mr. Case from the transitional committee. Some of you might have seen the beadwork on his vest. This is what he said:

I’m a pretty good bead worker.

As a beader myself, I can say that he’s amazing.

He continued:

Do I think this vest is perfect? Absolutely not. To you, sure, but I can see that there are still things that I would change about it. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a beautiful vest and that it should not go out into the world and do some nice work.

I will end with a personal note. When trying to figure out the impact that all of this could have and which amendments could be made, we turn to those we love and ask, “Mom, am I in a good place with this bill?”

I want to tell you about Nishapet, a woman who was born in the woods. She has never been to a hospital. She was born in the woods and is among those who almost lost their lives due to the great famines that our people have endured on our land of Nitassinan. Her mother, a nomad, told her, “Nishapet, you must go to school. You must receive an education. You will be the only educated member of our family.”

She was talking about being educated at residential school. I’m sharing the story of my mother-in-law, who is 82 years old. Living in a residential school cut her off from everything she knew, affecting the integrity and dignity of this Innu woman, but also affecting her relationships with her sons, with her children.

The same is true of my mother, Evelyne. She was told, “You are going to school. You’re going to go and you will stay there.” Then, like thousands of other people, they were subjected to abuse and certain situations.

However, during the Pope’s visit last year, I was with them every day, and I told them that I heard some people say, “I’m not interested in any apologies,” while others were saying, “Finally, I’m hearing something meaningful.”

At the end of the visit, these two women said to me, “Why does he have to be the only one to apologize? Why is Canada not putting a program in place?”

I told them, “Yes, lots of things are happening, mom.” Anyway, the point is, last September 30, we passed legislation on this subject. We got a society and governments to rally around a bill that is now part of our culture in Canada. It will bring about action, education and empowerment. Go to a mall, go anywhere and you’ll see people who aren’t of Indigenous or Inuit or Métis origin proudly wearing orange shirts. Education about this is happening.

Then the two women said to me, “It’s good to see people walking with us. It should have started long ago, but you can thank them.”

Little things like that are what make me realize that coming here every day is worth it because there are good people. We don’t always agree, but for some things, we’re the ones who have to spread this message on behalf of the women and men who experienced these horrific things. Like me, they are very hopeful. I’m a very optimistic person. I wasn’t always this optimistic, but as I’ve aged, I’ve gained some wisdom.

I’m an optimistic person, despite the multi-generational or intergenerational trauma. I have hope and determination.

Just imagine if we had the kind of collaborative, coordinated approach across the country that many people have taken within their communities by creating wonderful initiatives to bring people together and get to know one another, to take action or work together for reconciliation.

That is how I see this national council. It could help us to take another step forward and to be better. We have the right to be better.

In closing, I want to say that I left you a little bead during my maiden speech in this chamber. I left you another one today, and it is up to you whether to pick it up, take it or just look at it. I will respect your choice, but it will respond to some of the Calls to Action, and we should give ourselves a gift.

[English]

We need to do more, we need to go further, and we need to build this together. I hope you will support this bill. To my mom and to my mother-in-law, thank you.

Hon. Michèle Audette: I will try to be short, but I’m speaking in English, so it might take longer — ensuring that my colleague Senator Martin gets it. Thank you so much for advocating for this group because maybe one day I’ll ask you, “Can you also advocate for this group?”

I want to be very honest in terms of where I’m coming from: I’m coming from a place where, not long ago in Canadian history, we weren’t allowed to be more than 10 people. We are called “Indian” under the Indian Act, so I would say the “Innu people.” It was illegal.

In the 1970s, many organizations were popping up or created, such as NWAC and AFN — it was another name: the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. But it slowly opened the door for any government that came into power to say, “I will consult with them. I will speak with them.”

But at the end of the day, it was taking my voice away as a human being, as an Innu woman and as a person who wonders, “If I don’t belong to those organizations, where do I go, or who is speaking on my behalf?”

It’s important for us to have that debate today.

So here is what I propose. Maybe it won’t be through this bill, because it’s a deep-rooted problem. There are so many places where we can go further. If we’re sincere, we can have a study on that. But with Bill C-29, I can understand groups. I don’t only mean CAP, which wants to get in to make sure they have the urban voice.

I live in Quebec City. It used to be the traditional land for many nations. Reserves made us think that “this is our land,” which is false. So that is no matter where we live.

For me, I believe that with the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, I was honest with them. I said, “I’ll be the sponsor. I’ll be quiet. I’ll let you do the work, your lobbying and advocacy, but I cannot support. This is why: You are not my government. If you want to be a non-profit organization, perfect, but to say you’re my voice, you’re taking something that we fought to take back.”

So let’s have that dialogue, discussion and debate somewhere else and not within this bill, please. Thank you.