Hon. Marilou McPhedran: Honourable senators, I rise this evening because Inquiry No. 3 is a means through which Senator Yvonne Boyer has given us a welcome opportunity to recognize the important contributions that Métis, Inuit and First Nations have made to Canada and the world.

[Translation]

As a senator from Manitoba, I recognize that I live on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.

[English]

I acknowledge that the Parliament of Canada is situated on the unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabeg and Algonquin First Nations.

I thank Senator Boyer for this initiative. We can all learn much from the resilience and brilliance demonstrated by every generation of the founding peoples of Turtle Island, often in the face of massive systemic discrimination and illegality of every kind.

I’m pleased to take this opportunity to present to you the work of three truly remarkable, awesome Indigenous women: Teara Fraser, Leslie Spillett and Diane Redsky. I speak from experience and can assure you that all three of these strong Indigenous women leaders are admirable examples of success on their own terms. All are role models for leadership grounded by deep‑rooted Indigenous values, reflected in who they are, what they do and how they do what they do.

Honourable colleagues, the first woman I would like to recognize is Teara Fraser, a proud Métis woman who brings her passion for aviation to her work and volunteerism every day. As Teara started out her career in this heavily White‑male‑dominated industry, she dreamed of a more diverse workplace with better working conditions, and she continues tirelessly to make it happen through her own airline.

In 2019, Teara launched Iskwew Air, her own Indigenous, female-run airline based at Vancouver International Airport, currently the only Indigenous business in the airport. Iskwew is a Cree word for “woman,” and it represents her desire to empower and celebrate female leadership. The airline aims to support Indigenous tourism and to improve accessibility to remote Indigenous communities in British Columbia and neighbouring provinces and territories.

Teara has instilled in her business some of her ancestral values. For example, Iskwew Air is committed to becoming a carbon‑neutral company. They do so by calculating their operating greenhouse gas emissions, working on reducing them and offsetting the difference. Such an initiative shows care for the air and the land. It also demonstrates innovation in addressing environmental concerns.

Another notable contribution is Teara’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her airline supplied essential goods to remote Indigenous communities affected by COVID, often at greatly reduced prices.

Teara is a wonderful model for bringing feminine energy, creativity and tenacity to innovative leadership. Logically, Teara was recently celebrated as the Businesswoman of the Year at the 2022 BC Tourism and Hospitality Awards in British Columbia.

Honourable senators, the next woman I would like to recognize is Dr. Leslie Spillett. Born in northern Manitoba, her maternal ancestry is Cree from Cumberland House and Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Red River Métis, and her paternal ancestry is Irish and Scottish.

Leslie is a formidable community activist and advocate, with far-reaching initiatives serving Indigenous and non-Indigenous Manitobans. Leslie founded Ka Ni Kanichihk, a leading Indigenous organization supporting women and their families through trauma-informed, culturally attuned educational programs and development services. Ka ni kanichihk is Cree for “those who lead,” and it’s often called a “second home,” a place to belong, a place to find purpose and a learning hub.

Leslie was also one of the principal founders of Mother of Red Nations Women’s Council of Manitoba and has worked in an executive capacity at the Native Women’s Association of Canada. Her initiatives also include support of Aboriginal youth achievements, traditional knowledge and the status of Indigenous women, spoken in very blunt terms.

Leslie was one of the first advocates for missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada, and she raised the issue through international forums long before the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, on which our colleague Senator Michèle Audette served with such distinction.

After some deliberation on her part, Leslie decided to accept an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Winnipeg in 2011. In 2012, she was inducted into the Order of Manitoba. Leslie’s courage, dedication, initiative and tenacity are an example for all of us.

I’m now honoured to recognize and acknowledge Dr. Diane Redsky, a strong advocate for Indigenous rights in health, education and social services, especially for the many Indigenous women and children who face barriers to actually living their rights and to actually accessing these services in a helpful way.

Diane has been serving as Executive Director of the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, known in the community as Mamawi, for many years and has recently announced her retirement as of this December. Mamawi houses more than 50 programs operating in far-ranging Indigenous communities aimed at creating meaningful opportunities for community and family involvement, building on innate strengths and drawing from Indigenous skills to amplify healing and reconciliation within Indigenous families, within their communities and having this kind of healing benefit the community of the whole.

Mamawi’s vision brought together community members in 1984 who wanted to rebuild families through Indigenous solutions. This vision is carried and sustained today under Diane’s leadership, making Ma Mawi one of the largest Indigenous-led and -staffed social service organizations in all of Canada, and she has secured a succession plan that will ensure this vision will continue to be made real.

Diane is devoted to combatting human trafficking and violence against women and girls and 2SLGBTQI people. For five years, Diane stepped away from Ma Mawi to be the project director for the National Task Force on Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada, which was not started by government. Rather, it was funded by individual women philanthropists through The Canadian Women’s Foundation and became the catalyst for increased government responsiveness, publishing a highly significant report containing 34 recommendations to end sex trafficking in Canada.

Diane’s contributions have not gone unnoticed, as she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Senate 150th Anniversary Medal, the YWCA Women of Distinction Award, and she has been made a member of the Order of Manitoba and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg.

In our society, we pay attention to titles in front of names and letters after names because they signify for us that the holder has achieved distinctions that we value and respect. These three remarkable women have all of those honours, but they also have the invisible medals that matter the most — the deep respect, love, appreciation and dedication of their communities in their provinces, joined by allies and supporters throughout Canada and other countries.

Colleagues, I invite you to join me in celebrating these amazing Indigenous women leaders, and as Senator Boyer has invited us through her inquiry for “recognizing the contributions that Métis, Inuit and First Nations have made to Canada and the world,” let’s find and recognize many more and place them on the Senate record. Chi-meegwetch. Thank you.

(On motion of Senator Duncan, debate adjourned.)