Hon. Mary Coyle: Honourable senators, I rise today on the traditional and unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation to speak to you on Bill S-16, An Act respecting the recognition of the Haida Nation and the Council of the Haida Nation.

Colleagues, today is a day to celebrate this historic and hard-won accomplishment of the Haida Nation, one that has been 50 years in the making. It is a moment to congratulate the Haida people on their steadfast leadership and perseverance, and it is time for us to learn about and understand the historic and present-day role of the Government of Canada — our government — in this history, this process and now this positive outcome.

Colleagues, this bill is about the Haida people and their ways, territories, governance, future well-being and relationship with Canada — and frankly, the well-being of our nation.

Colleagues, last week, our Indigenous Peoples Committee heard from Gaagwiis, Jason Alsop, the elected President of the Haida Nation, who spoke strongly in support of Bill S-16. This was important to hear from him. He described the bill as a “. . . co-developed piece of legislation . . .” and said it is “. . . an important part of the journey of reconciliation between the Haida Nation and Canada. . . .” He told us that Haida language speakers came up with an articulation of the concept of reconciliation in their own language — and apologies for my pronunciation —

[Editor’s Note: Senator Coyle spoke in Haida.]

Colleagues, that means “good people working together to make things right.”

What are those things we are “working together” on to “make things right”? President Gaagwiis spoke to us about the troubled history between Canada and the Haida Nation. The first written record of this history is from when the royal commission came to Haida Gwaii in 1913 with the intention of speaking to Haida leaders about reserves and reserve boundaries. The position of the Haida Nation then is identical to its position today: The Haida Nation had never ceded, surrendered, signed a treaty or been defeated in a war, and all of Haida Gwaii is Haida territory. President Gaagwiis reminded us:

Canadian law and policy have been designed to assimilate Indigenous people, disconnect us from our culture, our history, our territories and from each other and have done great harm to our people, our lands, waters and territories over the years. Canada had made it illegal to exercise our traditional governance and legal systems through the banning of the potlatch system.

The cultural genocide of the residential school system was designed to silence our language, disrupt our culture and values and break up our family structures. . . .

As a further example of the problematic history, President Gaagwiis told us:

With Crown laws and the way that things are set up . . . . If you come to Haida Gwaii and look at the billions of dollars in timber value that has been taken out of Haida Gwaii —

 — all the trees harvested and shipped down south —

 — you’ll see no infrastructure, no swimming pools and no recreation centres. There’s really little to nothing to show for all the people of Haida Gwaii of what’s left from all that has been extracted.

Colleagues, there are many aspects of the relationship between Canada and the Haida that need to be made right, but these two key aspects — first, the recognition of Haida governance and laws; and, second, very critically, title to their territory — are the foundational aspects of the right relationship that is the ultimate goal of this process of reconciliation. Bill S-16 is foundational in this reconciliation.

As the bill’s sponsor, Senator Margo Greenwood, told us in her second- and third-reading speeches, this bill will do two important things. First, it will affirm the Government of Canada’s recognition of the Haida Nation as the holder of inherent rights of governance and self-determination; and, second, it will affirm the Council of the Haida Nation as the government of the Haida Nation.

What does that governance look like? President Gaagwiis told our committee in his testimony that 50 years ago — that’s a long time to wait:

In response to this oppression of Canada and the Crown in an act of self-determination, the Haida people formed the Council of the Haida Nation . . . to assert our full Haida title to all Haida territories and to uphold our inherent responsibility to look after Haida Gwaii — the land and the water.

In 2003, the Haida Nation formally ratified the Constitution of the Haida Nation. That constitution recognizes all people of Haida ancestry as citizens. It affirms that the governing power of Haida Nation shall be vested in the Council of the Haida Nation. It establishes the Hereditary Chiefs Council. It recognizes the Haida Nation as a matrilineal society, the prominent role the hereditary matriarchs hold and the formal role of the hereditary matriarchs in the governing body through the —

[Editor’s Note: Senator Coyle spoke in Haida.]

 — citizenship table. It articulates the role of village councils to perform the functions of local government and to assume responsibility for the well-being of the communities, and it establishes a house of assembly as the law-making authority. All bodies of the Haida Nation operate on a 75% majority.

All of that has been in place for some time, and President Gaagwiis told our committee that Bill S-16 would not change it:

That’s internal, inherent Haida Nation business, but this bill and the coming work can help to solidify the environment in which we work through applying those laws to the land base and, to be honest, the relationship between the Haida Nation, the Council of the Haida Nation and Canada in the resources for supporting the continued evolution of our self-governance . . . .

That’s what this is about.

Colleagues, this land base, Haida Gwaii, that President Gaagwiis identifies as so key to this whole equation is, as you know, one of the most beautiful and unique places on this earth — one that I and many of us dream of visiting. Senator Greenwood described these 200 islands located 100 kilometres west of the northern coast of British Columbia. Haida Gwaii, which means “the islands of the people,” is the homeland of the Haida people. The origin story tells of the raven creating the islands of Haida Gwaii out of the water and coaxing the Haida out of the clam shell to join the raven on the beautiful new land.

There are the sacred lands of Haida artist Bill Reid and the land that captivated artist Emily Carr. President Gaagwiis stated:

The land — a fundamental piece for us in our mandate and responsibilities is really first and foremost to look after the culture, look after the land, all the beings and that will all look after us. It’s kind of sometimes a bit maybe flipped from other ways of looking at things where it’s more individualistic or people-centred. . . .

Colleagues, remember that 50 years ago, when the Haida established the Council of the Haida Nation, that body was charged with upholding their inherent responsibility to look after Haida Gwaii — their lands and waters. I can’t even imagine the frustration they must have felt all these years, knowing they have that responsibility to the lands and waters of Haida Gwaii without being fully able to exercise that responsibility.

On this journey of reconciliation, working to make things right, the Haida Nation has been hard at work. The other key players on this journey are the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia. Earlier this month, the B.C. government signed a pact with the Council of the Haida Nation, formally accepting that the Haida Nation has Aboriginal title to all 1 million hectares of the islands of Haida Gwaii. At the ceremony, Council of the Haida Nation President Gaagwiis said:

Now we can look into the long future and prepare for the challenges we may face in the coming years, when it comes to climate change. We’ll be governing with our people on the forefront, because they’ll take the lead on everything that happens in our home.

This agreement with B.C. is critical, as is Bill S-16 — another important step toward full recognition, resolution and reconciliation.

Colleagues, it is important to look at the next steps, and the next steps for Canada in this journey are to pass Bill S-16 and get it to the other place for swift passage. This governance recognition legislation lays the foundation for the next critical elements. Minister Anandasangaree said at committee:

Self-governance helps our federalism evolve, strengthening it so that it is based on fairness and equality rather than on paternalism.

Next and most critical to the Haida is the matter of land title. The minister admitted to being behind on this, as there are a number of very complex issues that they are working through: the parks system, the Department of National Defence lands and the lands associated with Transport Canada, among others. This issue of land title will be critical for us to monitor closely. It is the linchpin to full reconciliation and justice, so it cannot be allowed to slow down.

Other areas to be resolved are related to taxation — to come soon — fisheries and legal systems.

Honourable senators, as I bring my remarks to a close, I remember that two weeks ago many of us experienced the thrill and honour of meeting one of my lifelong heroes, the renowned primatologist, anthropologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall here at the Senate. Dr. Goodall spoke to us with such wisdom and compelling simplicity. She is known for saying the following: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

Honourable colleagues, as we look to how each of us as senators and collectively as Canada’s upper chamber can make a difference, passing Bill S-16, the Haida Nation recognition act, is just such an opportunity to take one more step toward reconciliation and fulfilling our obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP. This is our chance to play our role in what the Haida call

[Editor’s Note: Senator Coyle spoke in Haida.]

 — or “good people working together to make things right.”

Honourable colleagues, let’s take this historic step in making things right between Canada and the Haida people. Wela’lioq, thank you.