Senator McCallum: I worked extensively with organizations, even before I became a senator. I have worked with the Native Women’s Association of Canada, or NWAC, with the National Association of Friendship Centres and other groups, and they have been great allies and advocates. I have asked groups of women in the past week — healing groups — if CAP has advocated for them, and each group said no. I have never worked with CAP in the 30 years that I have worked with Indigenous people.

Can you tell me why you say that because NWAC is there, CAP should be there, when NWAC has done such great work? Thank you.

Senator McCallum: I’m not a regular member of the Indigenous Peoples Committee. I didn’t receive any mail. I did go out and ask those representing missing and murdered women. They said they come to our meetings, but they haven’t done anything. I have gone to Sixties Scoop; they don’t represent them. I have asked people in Manitoba, “What do you know about CAP?” and I have not heard anything.

Maybe other members received information, but I didn’t. I did talk with two of the administrators, and they’ve never provided information to me. Thank you.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Senator Gold, I was invited to attend a brunch with the police association and the premiers on bail reform this summer, and I raised a concern at that time. One of the panellists gave an example of an offender who had stolen a bottle of liquor and, 10 years later, he is a hardened criminal is what she said. Because of the way the system is set up, at that time, we were told that 70% of the people in the provincial jails were Indigenous and the majority had not even been to court.

Indigenous relationship with police administration, police officers and the justice system is already precarious. How will racial profiling and racism be addressed? If they are not, there will be a continuous flow of new criminals, and no law will be able to handle the load, even if additional resources are given. An example I’ll use is 80% of the Indigenous prisoners who are in the pen were children who were apprehended. So we need to look at reducing the flow of child apprehension so we don’t have that flow going in, because we’re not going to change the penitentiary system. How will this be addressed?

One comment that came up was people were so upset in there that they said, “Throw them in jail and throw away the key,” which caused me great concern. Thank you.

Senator McCallum: Thank you for the question. No, I’m not aware of that. I did look into it, and, at one point, they were included. I saw this when I looked at the final report, and then they were removed at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. I don’t know what the reason for that was, but that is something that needs to be addressed in the committee.

When it goes to committee, I urge that this issue is not rushed through — we need at least two or three weeks of discussion because there are about 10 people that I will ask to present. Canadians need to know what the issues are behind this bill, and we need to do it justice. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Dalphond, for Senator Anderson, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator McPhedran, seconded by the Honourable Senator White, for the second reading of Bill S-201, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum (voting age).

(On motion of Senator Tannas, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Wallin, seconded by the Honourable Senator Tannas, for the second reading of Bill S-248, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I would like to thank the Canadian Senators Group for allowing me space to speak today. I rise today in collaboration with the Indigenous Women’s Collective to address a pervasive and critical issue facing our nation: that of Indigenous identity fraud, or pretendianism.

This issue is not a victimless crime. It harms all Indigenous people, but it particularly harms Indigenous women. It allows interlopers to steal our voice, our power and our hard-earned places in society. These pretendians are cunning. They find cracks left by centuries of colonialism and squeeze through them. They then rely on the ambivalence of these colonial institutions and the silence of many Indigenous male leaders to claim support and legitimacy.

This deceit has allowed pretendians to infiltrate academia, politics, the judiciary, corrections and various other branches of power. This stealing of identity and parading of trauma for such personal gain is blatantly opportunistic racism. If such activity is not being outwardly renounced and combatted, it is being enabled — for it is the silence that surrounds colonial violence against Indigenous women that is killing us. The continued marginalization of Indigenous women that this fraud yields makes us further vulnerable to all forms of violence. It keeps us silent and isolated, with devastating effects.

Yet these pretendians do more than just harm Indigenous peoples. They harm those with whom they have worked and walked with. They hurt the causes these fraudsters pretend to support, and the individuals who rely on that work. They hurt reconciliation in Canada.

However, we Indigenous women are tired of being silent while our abusers enjoy impunity. We have value. We matter. We will continue to speak up and speak out in the face of the various forms of violence that oppress us — whether that violence is systemic, lateral, patriarchal, gender or otherwise.

If the Senate is committed to reconciliation, we must end the deafening silence surrounding pretendianism. We must denounce and renounce such shameful conduct and acknowledge the harm it causes to Indigenous people, particularly Indigenous women and children. It takes all of us, colleagues, to shed our complacency and ensure this violence is no longer empowered to further marginalize Indigenous women, thereby stealing their voice and power. Let us have the courage to be good allies and walk shoulder to shoulder in solidarity against this insidious activity.

Kinanâskomitin. Thank you.

Senator McCallum: First Nations are also masters of their own domain. How will First Nations’ leaders and advocates be informed in order to be prepared to present, and how will the committee ensure that they hear from Indigenous peoples?

Senator McCallum: How do the officials look after the minorities — the people whose votes don’t matter because there are not enough of them? They’re not a majority. Is it not the Senate that has to look after the minorities, the vulnerable and Indigenous peoples? How will they be looked after with this bill?

Thank you.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Thank you. Could you expand on biomonitoring as it applies to Indigenous people and when you think it will come to fruition? In other words, what are the areas we have gone over that will be excluded because this cannot be done at this time?

Senator Kutcher: Thank you very much for that excellent question. Biomonitoring, which means looking at the accumulation of substances in the human body — you can look at that through blood work or your nails, hair, tissue and other things — is an essential component of being able to determine how substances impact human health, not just at one point in time but over longer periods of time.

We need the capacity to do that kind of biomonitoring work in the general population, but also very importantly in vulnerable populations. With respect to people who are living in environments in which toxicity is known to be potentially greater, biomonitoring tells us what we need to know in terms of the impact of environment on human health. Canada currently does some biomonitoring but not enough. We heard from witnesses that the biomonitoring has to be much more robust. Many more people need to be involved. It has to reflect the variety of Canadians, of the Canadian population. It cannot just be given to one group. All Canadian groups have to be involved in the biomonitoring so we can see what differential effects the environment can have on different groups.

We also heard testimony that Indigenous peoples are not included in the routine biomonitoring, and certainly not as included as they should be in terms of large enough numbers for us to get a good understanding of what’s happening to Indigenous peoples.

Because we can’t put money into this bill in the Senate, we strongly urge through our observations that these scientific necessities be improved dramatically within Canada and that the other place address those in this bill. Thank you very much, Senator McCallum, for that question.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: I would like to thank Senator Tannas and the Canadian Senators Group for giving me space so we can celebrate the graduates of the world’s first Indigenous law program.

On Saturday, April 9, 2022, I was invited to join the University of Victoria’s celebration to commemorate the graduation of the inaugural class of the world’s first Indigenous law program. These young and vibrant leaders are graduating with two professional degrees — a Juris Doctor and a Juris Indigenarum Doctor. This will position them to practise law at the local, national and international levels.

Through their education, students were taught various types of law through a trans-systemic lens, comparing common law with Indigenous legal traditions. The students also spent a semester in each of their third and fourth years immersed in community-led field schools. Here, the students observed the Indigenous legal processes and worked with the community on law-related projects. In their upper years, student learnings also included the legal traditions and language of the Coast Salish region.

This program, co-founded by Val Napoleon and John Borrows, two of the nation’s leading legal scholars, builds upon the University of Victoria’s commitment to Indigenous law and Indigenous legal education. The program is transformational and will have incredible impacts in training people who will lead us towards true and lasting reconciliation.

But do not take my word for it. Graduate Heather Middlemass has some advice for anyone considering the program:

. . . know that it’s going to be this profound experience that will transform you. And it will empower you with legal skills that go beyond what you would get in a regular law program, by weaving in a lot of lived experience into your legal education.

I was asked to be a witness to the graduation, and part of that responsibility is to carry the news far and wide. The graduation was woven with ceremony as the graduates were drummed into the hall by two young leaders, who then explained the ceremony. Throughout the event, we could feel our ancestors standing among us, dancing with pride. You could sense the recovery of ancient knowledge from ancestral blood memory from the land and our relatives.

The journey of these graduates represents one of strength, survival, recovery and rebuilding. These future leaders are now a bridge between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous world views and ways of knowing. This groundbreaking program truly represents reconciliation in action.

Kinanâskomitin. Thank you.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: When you talk about the challenge of getting it right in terms of legal issues surrounding Indigenous people, it has always been — and continues to be — problematic, especially with racial profiling. To me, 27% finding contraband is very low. How long will the guards have to search for these sites that are often super-encrypted? If we are going to be fair, don’t you think it should apply to all Canadians?

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Thank you for taking the question, Senator Brazeau. When you look at the very unique circumstances that Indigenous peoples face in Canada — that their circumstance of suicide and the prevention that needs to go with it is itself very unique — do you agree that the committee should understand that they need to bring in Indigenous peoples that have traditional Indigenous knowledge and degree and their historical — well, some of them have degrees, but it is more towards decolonized mental health therapies and I know quite a few. Do you think they have a major role to play in bringing understanding of the issues that we face as Indigenous people?

Senator McCallum: Senator Pate, my question is around the violence that occurs in the communities. Stemming that violence has many origins and they require different interventions, and some of those interventions go beyond legislation. They cannot be legislated. Those are societal responses. The communities need to play a part in what is happening in their communities. For that reason, I arranged a meeting with Senator Boisvenu and Indigenous groups in Winnipeg that are addressing this violence, and they are working hand in hand with Senator Boisvenu now.

I think that, like you said, it is not a stand-alone. I have seen this happen time and time again with legislation and there was no community involvement. The work that’s being done by the communities in Winnipeg is successful, and they are willing to work with Senator Boisvenu. Wouldn’t it be good for this to go to committee so that people can hear about what is happening at the community level?

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 3, which calls the attention of the Senate to the positive contributions and impacts that Métis, Inuit and First Nations have made to Canada and to the world. I would like to thank our colleague Senator Boyer for introducing this inquiry, as it is of great importance that senators, and all Canadians, become familiar with the critical work done by the Indigenous peoples of Canada.

I am pleased to use this inquiry to highlight the work done by three strong, intelligent, resilient First Nations women who hail from my home region of Manitoba. The tireless work and effort put forth by these women have improved the lives of First Nations in Manitoba and beyond for many years. While I would love to have the ability to highlight many, many more Indigenous women through this inquiry, I am sure you will find these three individuals very deserving of the following recognition and acknowledgment.

These three women, Dr. Catherine Cook, Dr. Marcia Anderson and Ms. Melanie Mackinnon, are leaders in the health field in Manitoba, specifically as it relates to First Nations’ health. While the positive impacts these women have had on their communities is immeasurable and the hours of dedication they have put into their work is incalculable, they are each incredibly selfless and humble individuals. Most recently, they have been involved in different capacities in addressing, analyzing and responding to the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on First Nations in Manitoba.

Colleagues, as you may know, similar to the H1N1 pandemic, First Nations remain incredibly vulnerable to the impacts of such a virus. Due to the crowded and inadequate housing and community infrastructure; the lack of essentials, including access to clean water in some instances; and the other myriad social determinants of health, First Nations begin from a position of severe deficit as they face the same pandemic-related challenges as every other Canadian. It is through First Nations’ strong leadership, spearheaded in part by women like Cathy, Melanie and Marcia, that has enabled First Nations to endure through the ongoing storm.

Of great importance, these women also work to identify and address gaps in programming and services that erode equity and lead to institutional racism. It is through the work of women like these that there exists cause for hope and optimism that these barriers can be detected and eradicated to make quality health care more equitable and culturally appropriate for all.

Honourable senators, the first woman I would like to acknowledge and recognize is Dr. Catherine L. Cook, MD, MSc, CCFP, FCFP. Dr. Cook is Métis and grew up in northern Manitoba. She received her undergraduate and postgraduate medical education at the University of Manitoba — her MD in 1987 and MSc in 2003 — and has been employed by the university since 1987. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She most recently served as head of Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, and as Vice-Dean of Indigenous Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She was also provincial lead of Indigenous health at Shared Health until taking on the role of Vice-President Indigenous full-time in April 2020 with the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Cook has focused on Indigenous health as a priority in her career. She practised as a family physician in remote Northern nursing stations for several years before focusing on public health practice and, more recently, health administration and management. She has taken a leadership and operational role in the development and implementation of Indigenous health programs and services that focus on addressing the gaps and barriers to equitable access to quality health care for Indigenous people in Manitoba.

At Shared Health, Dr. Cook co-chaired the development of an Indigenous partnership strategy framework and the development of a health care system that recognizes and addresses the need for comprehensive quality health care for Indigenous people as close to home as possible.

At the university, Dr. Cook took a leadership role in the creation of Ongomiizwin — the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, which was officially approved by the Senate in 2017.

Dr. Cook serves on several national boards and committees, and has received many national and local awards, including the Indspire Award for Health 2020, the Calvin L. Gutkin Family Medicine Ambassador Award from the Canadian College of Family Physicians in 2020, the Dr. Thomas Dignan Award for Indigenous Health from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the WXN Top 100 Women in Canada in 2017, the Health Administration Award from Doctors Manitoba and the May Cohen Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada.

Dr. Cook has been a strong contributor to the University of Manitoba, both within her home faculty and across the university. Her insights have been widely sought after by governments, boards and agencies, and she has excelled as a leader, an adviser and a collaborator. She brings this stellar record to her new and important role, as well as her deep commitment both to the community and to the University of Manitoba.

Honourable senators, the next woman I would like to recognize is Dr. Marcia Anderson. Dr. Anderson is Cree-Anishinaabe and grew up in the north end of Winnipeg. Her family roots go to Peguis First Nation and Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. She practises both internal medicine and public health as a Medical Officer of Health with Indigenous Services Canada, Manitoba Region. Within this role, Dr. Anderson focuses on health equity; health public policy; and Indigenous health, specifically focusing on Indigenous youth health, healthy sexuality, harm reduction and partnerships with First Nations communities as well as urban Indigenous and community-based organizations.

As announced just this week by the University of Manitoba, Dr. Anderson has been appointed as Vice-Dean of Indigenous Health, Social Justice and Anti-Racism at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. This new portfolio includes her existing duties as Vice-Dean, Indigenous Health and will now also include the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the Office of Community Engagement, and Social Accountability.

Dr. Anderson has served as Chair of the Indigenous Health Network of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and as the Chair of the National Consortium for Indigenous Medical Education. She has also served as Executive Director of Indigenous Academic Affairs in the Ongomiizwin — Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing.

Through her work with Ongomiizwin, Dr. Anderson has provided leadership to aspects of Indigenous student recruitment and retention; Indigenous health curriculum; Indigenous workforce development; safety of the work-learning environment, including anti-racism across the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. She also serves as the chair of the COVID-19 Health and Safety Committee and a member of the COVID-19 Steering Committee for the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Anderson was recognized for her contributions to Indigenous people’s health with a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in March 2011. In 2016, she was recognized with a CBC Manitoba Future 40 award in the teaching and health care category. In 2018, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network. Dr. Anderson recently received the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Dr. Thomas Dignan Indigenous Health Award.

Finally, honourable senators, I would also like to take time to recognize and acknowledge Ms. Melanie MacKinnon. Ms. MacKinnon is a Cree nurse and health care executive leader. She got her Bachelor of Nursing in 1996. She is a proud member of Misipawistik Cree Nation in Grand Rapids, Manitoba, with paternal roots in Pimicikamak Cree Nation and Wabowden, Manitoba.

Throughout the course of her 25-year career, she has served in many different roles within the health sector. As a senior health care administrator and advocate, her work has informed regional and national policy shifts and generated new program mandates that seek to improve and protect the health and well-being of the communities she serves.

Currently, Ms. MacKinnon has two principal positions. She is the executive director of Ongomiizwin Health Services and head of the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba. Also, she serves as a co-lead of the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team on behalf of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

She is a published author and international speaker on organizational design and changing conventional culture to be culturally safe. With her peers, community and health leaders, she continues to advocate for the rights and equitable access to quality health and social programs and services for Indigenous peoples in Manitoba, Canada and around the world.

Her recent recognitions for dedicated service to Indigenous communities include: WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women, 2021; the Circle of Excellence Award, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Manitoba Region, Indigenous Services Canada, 2021; the Co-Game Star 2021 National Hockey League Healthcare Heroes award, Winnipeg Jets; the co-recipient of the Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Campbell Outreach Award, the university’s premier award in recognition of outstanding outreach activities by a member of the university; and the recipient of the 2021 Frontier Achievement Award, an award that recognizes former Frontier students for demonstrating commitment and excellence in their career and community.

Her mission to create space for Indigenous knowledge and rights in mainstream structures continues to be guided by her family, colleagues, mentors and elders, of whom she remains grateful.

Honourable senators, I cannot say enough about the quality and calibre of these three women. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to recognize them here today to the benefit of senators and all Canadians.

Their grace, determination and resilience are qualities that I admire deeply. I uphold and carry these women and countless others like them in the work that I do in the Senate. They, in part, are who I reference when I speak of “the collective Mary Jane.” I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for not only what they mean to me but what they mean to all First Nations in Manitoba and beyond. They are proof positive, colleagues, of the power and capability that First Nations — and specifically First Nations women — can have in this great country when given the chance to thrive.

Kinanâskomitin. Thank you.

Senator McCallum: Canada should be proud of an Inuit woman appointed as our Governor General. This will deepen people-to-people ties and strengthen Canada’s relationships both domestically as well as internationally with partners who have their own Indigenous populations.

I would like to state that I understand the ongoing fight of the French for linguistic rights and recognition. Indigenous languages deserve those rights and considerations as well. If we want Indigenous youth to be encouraged and empowered to retain their own languages, it should be signalled by codification into the Constitution. Doing so would bring further social cohesion to this country. It is worth repeating that one of the Senate’s constitutional roles is to protect and uphold the voices of minorities, such as Indigenous populations.

Colleagues, I believe this bill should be voted on and subsequently sent to committee where it would be well served to hear from the Indigenous and all other perspectives. Thank you.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I wanted to say to everyone here that I’m not self-serving, and when I came I saw the Senate as a solution. I am accountable to the Indigenous people I represent, and I report back to them. I work with them to bring Indigenous issues to the fore.

When we decide to join a group, we are doing it blindly. If it is not a good fit, this is an unfair situation for the individual senator as well. Has this been discussed within the Selection Committee and how this will impact the unaffiliated senators? Do you understand my question? We are coming in blindly. I say, “Okay, I’ll join that group.” If it’s not a good fit, then I have to decide what I’m going to do. And because you have a choice to go to one group or to remain unaffiliated, the unaffiliated senators really don’t have any protection. So if that is a choice they have, how has the Selection Committee dealt with this to offer them help during this transition? It’s a transition until they move to a group or they decide to form another group.

Hon. Mary Jane McCallum: Honourable senators, I rise today to speak on Indigenous Disability Awareness Month, or IDAM, on behalf of Neil Belanger from B.C.

IDAM is celebrated each November, with 2021 marking its seventh anniversary.

Currently, over 22% of the Canadian population lives with a disability. For Indigenous peoples in Canada, the disability rate is significantly higher, at over 30%.

Indigenous peoples living with disabilities face multiple barriers to their inclusion and their ability to thrive in Canada. These barriers include accessibility issues, limited access to safe and affordable housing and health and disability supports, low employment and educational attainment, and, unfortunately, they face systemic racism and disability discrimination. Despite this reality, Indigenous disability has been, and largely continues to be, an under-prioritized segment of the population domestically and globally.

In 2015, the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, or BCANDS, took it upon itself to change that narrative by raising awareness of Indigenous disability and the barriers faced, as well as highlighting the overwhelming contributions that Indigenous peoples living with disabilities bring to each of our communities. Thus, Indigenous Disability Awareness Month was born.

Since it’s 2015 inaugural year, IDAM has grown exponentially. It is now an officially recognized month in the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and my home province of Manitoba. In addition, countless Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations and communities have declared the month. This includes the B.C. First Nations Summit; Métis Nation BC; Council of Yukon First Nations; the Assembly of First Nations; and the capital cities of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended to the Government of Canada that they proclaim Indigenous Disability Awareness Month nationally — an idea which I personally support.

I would like to recognize and thank BCANDS for their leadership in raising awareness of Indigenous disability in Canada and abroad through their creation of Indigenous Disability Awareness Month. I ask each of you senators, and all Canadians, to join me in celebrating Indigenous peoples. We all play a role in moving Canada toward a more inclusive and barrier-free place. Thank you.

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