So V ote

May/2/23 8:47:49 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that is a great question. We had the opportunity, through the status of women committee when we were recently doing a tour studying human trafficking, to go to Sault Ste. Marie, and we visited a centre that oversaw indigenous care. It was an incredible facility, and speaking exactly to what my colleague was just asking about, it has increased indigenous children in care, which was up an extreme amount. However, with the money that was being spent, there was no housing. So, the member is extremely on point in terms of having access to the tools that are needed, housing and supportive housing. One of the things we do not talk enough about in this House of Commons is that housing is fine, but when we are dealing with people who have never been given the tools or knowledge, especially young children who have never been loved in the way they were supposed to be loved by no fault of their own, the parents' own, they need supports, they need connections and they need a lot of wraparound support. I definitely think we need to be focusing on that. To tie back to what I said earlier, we need to listen to the people who are dealing with these children on what their needs are so that we can make sure that we are giving them the right resources that they need.

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May/2/23 8:45:24 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, one of the things that I think is really critical in this discussion is giving back the power that was taken away. When we look at victims, the biggest thing is that power is taken away. We were actually studying Bill C-35 in committee, which is is on child care, and we just wrapped it up today. My colleague for Winnipeg Centre put forward an amendment looking at free, prior and informed consent and giving indigenous peoples the choice to choose what is best for their children, and I could not agree more. I think that is what we need to do as leaders in Parliament: give back power and autonomy to the indigenous communities. They know what to do. They do not need the government to tell them what to do or how to do it. They know exactly what their people need, and they should be in charge of deciding what is best for their people.

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May/2/23 8:43:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that is a really great question and it is clearly a very important role when we look at truth and reconciliation, but also giving back autonomy. There is a great saying, and it would be great if it was implemented: Nothing about us without us. Friendship centres are imperative. A lot of the indigenous people I know were taken from their homes, their culture and their roots. It is a journey to get back to who they were and what they were. I find extreme value in the friendship centres.

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May/2/23 8:42:18 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the member across the way is a wonderful colleague to work with and teaches me lots. I enjoy working with her. We definitely see things differently when it comes to universal basic income. I know that is a big passion of hers. There is something that would be amazing, and I believe her colleague touched on it when he talked about healing circles. We recently had a witness in the status of women committee on human trafficking. She was brought here as a Hungarian immigrant and she was trafficked. She spoke about solutions they have to help women get back into real life and the supports they need. It is not just giving them housing or money without supports, but giving them the tools to relearn things that were taken from them. There is some value and we can learn from that model. I think there are workable models. My colleague and I could find common ground on this in terms of how we support and help give back autonomy to the life that has been taken from so many of these women who have been victims of violence.

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May/2/23 8:37:50 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, here we are, two years later, and tomorrow still has not come. This is an issue that hits home in my community. I have talked about this in the past, but it certainly warrants repeating. Cileana Taylor was 22 years old when she was assaulted in September 2020. Her brain injury left her in a coma for five months. She died in February 2021. The man who assaulted Cileana was not charged with murder and he is currently walking free on the street. What happened to Cileana and what continues to happen in this country to indigenous women is an injustice. It is shameful and it rests solely on the backs of the inaction of this Prime Minister and the Liberal government's failed catch-and-release bail system. Indigenous women's and girls' lives matter. Cileana's life matters. The calls for justice are not photo ops and they are not optional. They are necessary to create the substantial and systemic change necessary to end the ongoing violence. There is something we can do today. It is a simple, actionable item. We have an Amber Alert and it helps find children quickly by leveraging technology. A red dress alert can do the same. It is a simple, actionable item that every single member in this House can get behind. While we wait for these actionable items to be put into place, why not try something tangible that we can put in place today? A red dress alert would stop indigenous women from being murdered and going missing. It seems pretty simple. Enough is enough. We need action. I stand in solidarity with all the members in this House tonight to say that a red dress alert is something we can get behind. We need to stop indigenous women from going missing and being murdered.

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

May/2/23 8:31:09 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as always, it is an honour and a privilege to rise on behalf of my community of Peterborough—Kawartha as their voice in the House of Commons. This evening we are participating in a take-note debate on Red Dress Day. For those tuning in at home who may not know what a take-note debate is, it is type of debate that allows members of Parliament to debate a matter of public policy without any decisions being made. It does sound a little frustrating, but it is also very important to highlight key things that are happening in this House and things that need to be done. Red Dress Day, also known as the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People, is observed on May 5. The day honours and brings awareness to the thousands of indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people who have been subject to disproportionate violence in Canada. Red Dress Day was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black's “REDress Project” installation, in which she hung empty red dresses to represent the missing and murdered women. Red dresses have become symbolic of the crisis as a result of her installation. The stats on our current state of affairs on this issue speak for themselves. The 2019 general social survey, or GSS, on victimization, along with Statistics Canada data indicated that indigenous women were more likely to experience intimate partner violence than non-indigenous women. During a study on sex trafficking of indigenous peoples, experts said 52% of human trafficking victims are indigenous, 52%. The average age of exploitation of an indigenous girl was 12 years old. Although the indigenous population up to the age of 14 makes up 7.7%, almost 8%, of all Canadian children, they represent 52% of the children in care. Studies have highlighted that having been a child in the welfare system was the most common denominator among women and girls who entered prostitution. In December, I stood in this House during a take-note debate on the serial killer in Winnipeg and the failure of the Liberal government to protect vulnerable indigenous women and girls despite having the tools to protect them. What are these tools I speak of? They are the 231 calls to action outlined in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report which was released in 2019. These 231 calls are specific to help stop the murder of indigenous women. Here we are four months later with very little change. Former Commissioner Robinson said it best about the Liberals last April in an interview for Aboriginal Peoples Television Network: They must do more than show you the budgets that they’ve spent and the line items attached. They must be prepared to show you how it has affected people’s lives. You must learn to understand and they must demonstrate how their actions, decisions, have informed and enhanced the lives of people. We have learned success cannot be measured strictly by government dollars spent or programs created. Meaningful reconciliation involves more than just photo ops and take-note debates with no decisions. It requires partnership and collaboration with indigenous communities across Canada. Recently I had the opportunity to tour the new state-of-the-art facility across the river in Gatineau at the Native Women's Association of Canada. This pin is actually from there. It is a beautiful pin. Anybody watching should take the time to visit this unbelievable building, this social enterprise. This Friday, on Red Dress Day, May 5, they are going to be open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. People will not be disappointed by the incredible knowledge that is in that building. It is also visually incredible and has the rich history. It is definitely worth the time. It is just over the river in Gatineau. In June 2022, the Native Women's Association of Canada released their annual scorecard on Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women action plan. This is an annual report outlining the federal government's progress on implementing the commitments made in the plan. I would like to quote a few of their findings in the report: It becomes clear, when assessing the government’s National Action Plan goals and the actions deemed necessary to achieve them, that little headway has been made over the past 12 months toward ending the violence. Few of the promised actions have been completed, some have seen a little progress, but far too many remain untouched. This lack of urgency is especially concerning given the fact that the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry are legal imperatives dictated to end a genocide. For that reason, this report grades the government’s performance, one year after the release of its National Action Plan, to be a FAILURE. It is another F, another fail, by the Liberal government under the leadership, or should I say the lack of leadership, of this Prime Minister. I know there are lots of colleagues across the way who care. I do put a lot of this responsibility on their leader because leadership comes from the top down. There is an ability to change. There is the power the Prime Minister holds and we have not seen that power executed. There is so much more work to be done to protect the lives of indigenous women and girls across our country. This starts with the federal government's implementing its portion of the 231 calls for justice, including a standardization of protocols for policies and practices that ensure that all cases are thoroughly investigated; establishing a national task force to review and, if required, to reinvestigate cases across Canada; and ensuring that protection orders are available, accessible, promptly issued, and effectively serviced and resourced to protect victims. “Implementation starts tomorrow.” That was the quote from the former Crown-indigenous relations minister, Carolyn Bennett, in 2021 with the announcement of the missing and murdered indigenous women national action plan—

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

May/2/23 8:24:41 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague's speech was very passionate. It was great to listen to. One of the questions I would love to ask the member, and it is a topic we have studied in our status of women committee, is about educating young men, not only young indigenous men, but also men in general, about this and giving them the tools to recognize what is wrong. We do not know what we do not know. How does the member feel about programming for educating, in particular, young men about this?

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

May/2/23 7:39:34 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is nice to see solidarity in the House on such a serious issue. One of the questions I would ask is whether there are any personal stories from the hon. member's riding. I have some, as many do, but as to her riding, can she share how this issue affects her constituents?

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

May/2/23 7:26:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I love working with my colleague on the status of women committee. She is bright, insightful, wise and compassionate. I know when we first started our work on missing and murdered indigenous women that she was horrified to learn of a lot of the statistics. I would like her to share her journey of learning with respect to this, because I think it ties in really well with this conversation we are sharing with the people watching at home and brings this to light, because some people still do not know that this is a real statistic.

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Dec/7/22 9:09:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been a very big proponent of mental health. First nations have experienced this very differently from everyone else and they know this first-hand. The short answer to that question is there is a mental health transfer that is in the works. The sum of $4.5 billion was promised by the Liberal government for a mental health transfer, in particular for indigenous treatment and recovery. It is going to be different so we need to look at that. There is a lot that we can be doing in terms of treatment and recovery and helping the trauma that is a result of a lot of past governments and a lot uneducated people, basically, would be the short answer to that. I would love to see the $4.5 billion of mental health transfer help people who are suffering.

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Dec/7/22 9:07:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was a very important report and it was a very important study. We heard very powerful testimony from witnesses. I am not sure if it has yet been tabled in the House but I know that the full report will be released soon. It is a challenge because the oil and gas industry is the number one employer for first nations, so we do not want to take away the opportunity that, hopefully, it will provide. However, there are often things that are happening that are not okay. We heard testimony and I think that the study was very effective in putting forth recommendations on how to prevent further tragedy, abuse and violence. I think that there is a lot that we will learn from that report and I am very proud to have sat on the committee that studied this.

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Dec/7/22 9:05:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is a big question. I think the first step is to listen. We need to listen to the first peoples of this country, to visit reserves, to sit with them, to understand them, to understand their life. We need to understand the systemic trauma they have experienced and to further understand how that changes one's DNA and the neural science behind trauma, and why systemic trauma is so challenging to undo. I think it would be arrogant of me to sit, as a white woman, and tell us this. I think we have to visit and be involved and listen and partner with people of Canada who are first nations. They will teach us. They know. I think the first step is to listen.

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Dec/7/22 9:03:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is an incredible advocate and leader on the subject of missing and murdered indigenous women. I have the pleasure of watching her work and listening to her on the status of women committee. This is deeply emotional. This is devastating. I cannot imagine not only having a family member murdered, but then knowing they are in a landfill and their family is not able to have their body back. The answer to my colleague is that there has to be something done. Members cannot sit on the other side of this House as a government and say they are fully committed, but do nothing.

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

Dec/7/22 8:54:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as always, it is an honour to rise in the House to speak on behalf of the members of my community of Peterborough—Kawartha. The purpose of tonight's take-note debate is to bring forth a discussion on a very serious issue and to call on the Liberals to listen. We have a crisis that has been happening for decades, and tonight we are demanding action. I will provide a trigger warning for anyone watching or listening: This is a very heavy topic, and it can be triggering for some people. Tonight, we are speaking about murdered and missing indigenous women and girls in Canada. Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman are the names of the four indigenous women murdered in Winnipeg. It is important to say their names. It is important to bring these women home to their families. It is important that the families of these women see justice. The last updated number I could find was 307 murdered and missing indigenous women. As shocking as this statistic is, it is from 2018. How many more are there? Why is this not a priority? Indigenous women and girls in Canada are disproportionately affected by all forms of violence. Although indigenous women make up 4% of Canada's female population, 16% of all women murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012 were indigenous. The 2019 general social survey on victimization, along with Statistics Canada data, has indicated that indigenous women were more likely to experience intimate partner violence than non-indigenous women. During a study on sex trafficking of indigenous peoples, experts said that 52% of human trafficking victims are indigenous and that the average age of exploitation of an indigenous girl was 12 years old. Although the indigenous population up to the age of 14 makes up 7.7% of all Canadian children, they represent 52.2% of the children in the child welfare system. Studies have shown that these children in the system are more likely to enter into prostitution. This is not information that is new to the government. It is at the disposal of the government, but nothing has changed. We see no action on this human rights issue. I will quote from Amnesty International's report, “Stolen Sisters: A human rights response to discrimination and violence against Indigenous women in Canada”. It says: When a woman is targeted for violence because of her gender or because of her Indigenous identity, her fundamental rights have been abused. And when she is not offered an adequate level of protection by state authorities because of her gender or because of her Indigenous identity, those rights have been violated. The date of that report's release is 2004. It has been 18 years. This is shameful. Past governments, all of them, must share the blame in perpetuating the broken system that has left indigenous women and girls behind. Two years after the release of the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report, the government finally released an action plan on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. It is a plan that many have called flawed, toxic and unsafe. I will quote from an article: University of Western Ontario professor Michael Arntfield — an expert on serial murder and cold cases — told the Toronto Sun the government and its army of bureaucrats are “chiefly to blame” for the continuing crisis. “This is another solemn reminder of the fact that despite all the lip service in the world, the proper resources from the top down are still not being properly allocated.” Meaningful reconciliation involves more than just funding announcements and photo ops. It requires partnership and collaboration with indigenous communities across Canada. There is so much more work to be done to protect the lives of indigenous women and girls across our country. “Bad people commit these horrible crimes against Native women,” said Malinda Limberhand, mother of Hanna Harris, who was murdered in 2013 on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Malinda Limberhand continued, “but it is the system that allows it to happen generation after generation.” There has to be change. Enough is enough. We need to see tangible results that meaningfully improve the lives of indigenous women and girls. This starts with the federal government implementing its portion of the 231 calls to action from the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls report, including calls for a “standardization of protocols for policies and practices that ensure that all cases...are thoroughly investigated”, “the establishment of a national task force...to review and, if required, to reinvestigate [cases] from across Canada”, and ensuring “protection orders are available, accessible, promptly issued and effectively serviced and resourced to protect [victims].” Canada’s Conservatives are focused on bringing forward policies that make real and measurable improvements in the lives of Canada’s indigenous people. I would like to take this opportunity to speak about a devastating loss in my local community of Curve Lake First Nation. Cileana Taylor was 22 years old when she was brutally attacked by her partner on September 3, 2020. Cileana was on life support for six months before she passed away with her family at her side. The man who attacked her was out on bail for a previous assault charge dating back to 2019, when he was charged for aggravated assault on Ms. Taylor. He was released on bail on February 3, three weeks before Cileana died. “The charge of aggravated assault is not enough when one of our young Indigenous women has died from his violent assault,” is a quote from Chief Laurie Carr, who sent a letter of support on behalf of the Hiawatha First Nation Council. “Our community has supported Cileana’s family and Curve Lake First Nation through prayers and offerings as they sat with Cileana in the hospital, and after her death. Cileana, as all our Indigenous women are sacred and a part of the continuation of life for our people, our culture and our traditions. They are the link, and the connection to our future generations,” Chief Carr said in her letter. She went on, “Cileana had value. Cileana had a full life ahead of her. The loss of Cileana's life is unacceptable to our First Nation, to all our Peoples and to humankind.” The man who attacked Cileana was never charged with murder. We do not need more headlines of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. We need them to be safe. Cileana and all of our indigenous women and girls deserve justice. Tonight I ask the Liberals to listen and, most importantly, to take action.

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

Dec/7/22 8:42:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the minister's speech, he said progress is slow. For everyone watching at home and people sitting on this side of the House, I ask why.

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Ms. Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough—Kawartha, CPC)

Dec/7/22 8:30:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague's intention is great in this. I would like to speak on behalf of the status of women committee where we conducted that study. Education is critical, as is putting in changes to make sure everybody has the access to resources so these things are prevented. I would ask my hon. colleague what she believes Liberals and New Democrats are doing on that end as well. Does she support a lot of these changes in education? That was the push in that study, and I know she has not yet had the chance to read it, but I am just curious of her thoughts on that.

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Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22

Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22

Oct/20/22 8:51:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I love that question from my hon. colleague, because it is about action and accountability, which is what we are really missing here, and that part of leadership. When we talk about self-regulation, this is one of the many tools we could be building into a national framework to educate parents, caregivers, coaches, teachers and frontline workers, who are all burnt out. Every one of our frontline workers and service providers are completely burnt out. They are supposed to be the calm provider of counsel, and they cannot do that because they themselves cannot regulate. Under the work of Dr. Stuart Shanker, which we have learned about in the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, we know self-regulation is a very effective tool that would be used to teach and help long term. It is a sustainable model that will change how we all manage stress and it is an excellent tool. We need to start practising action.

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Oct/20/22 8:50:17 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my hon. colleague has done so much work, and we definitely share similarities in how we feel about this. There is a lack of political will. There is too much virtue signalling. He is absolutely right. There is an opportunity to do it and it is not being done. If we do not take care of our children, what are we saying to our country? I really agree fully with what my hon. colleague said.

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