Bill S-16

Haida Nation Recognition Act

An Act respecting the recognition of the Haida Nation and the Council of the Haida Nation

This enactment implements certain sections of the agreement entitled “Nang K̲’uula • Nang K̲’úulaas Recognition Agreement” .

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Kwe kwe. Ulaakut. Tansi. Hello. Bonjour.

Mr. Chair, thank you for the invitation to join you here on the unceded traditional territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin people. I want to note that I'm very glad to be back at this committee and to be able to speak to all of you here.

I'm joined here by the Honourable Dan Vandal, as well as the officials from CIRNAC you introduced earlier, including Valerie Gideon, our deputy minister.

Let me start with a few words about the journey of reconciliation we're on together with indigenous partners; with all of you on this committee, who advance this work each and every day; with Minister Vandal and Minister Hajdu; and with all of our colleagues in Parliament. It's an important journey toward taking a system that was set up to implement the Indian Act, to enforce the residential school system and ultimately to assimilate indigenous peoples and instead making that very system deliver results for indigenous peoples.

This is no easy task. It requires undoing hundreds of years of colonial history.

The year 2015 was a turning point in Crown-indigenous relations. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission handed us a road map to reconciliation through the 94 calls to action, and Canadians elected a government that pledged that its most important relationship was the one it had with indigenous peoples.

In keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the former approach of making decisions on behalf of indigenous peoples has shifted dramatically and irrevocably to an approach centred on supporting the aspirations of indigenous people and communities or, in other words, indigenous self-determination.

Today we're in a new era of indigenous relations that is characterized by spending to resolve historical injustices and recognizing and supporting indigenous governments in advancing their goals, or, in other words, moving from the painful path we've come from and onto the road that lies ahead.

On the road ahead, I see hope. I see hope in the agreements that give indigenous peoples control over what they should always have had control over: their lands and waterways, their governments, their child welfare and education.

In places like the Nisga'a Nation territory, I've seen how modern treaties have the power to deliver real results. I see hope in the form of rights recognition.

Last month, with the Haida Nation, I was honoured to be in the Senate to witness the introduction of Bill S-16, recognizing the Council of the Haida Nation as the holder of their inherent rights of governance and self-determination.

There's a lot of work ahead, and it is clear to me that we cannot do the work without building a relationship based on trust. The road we come from is a bumpy one, and we have to make amends for that.

While I was in British Columbia recently, I visited the Matsqui First Nation. Their reserve lands were severed from them in 1908 by a railway, and they were never compensated.

Chief Alice McKay told me point blank that she does not like the word “reconciliation” because, as she said, there was no relationship to reconcile, but she also said that the settlement gave her hope for our relationship going forward.

The settlement of claims like these helps to build trust. Of the funding being requested through these estimates, 96% is for settlement agreements to right the wrongs of the past.

We know there's much work to do. Reconciliation is not a one-time event; it's a multi-generational journey. The calls to action are not something that can be checked off on a list; they require ongoing and sustained commitment and action.

There are real challenges ahead. We have to do more to put an end to the ongoing crisis of the missing and murdered, for example. More needs to be done in joint decision-making, like the Inuit-Crown partnership committee.

I have now said it many times: The road ahead is long. I'm thankful for the people here in this committee who are as committed to the journey as I am. Together, we will make sure that the long road ends in reconciliation.

Meegwetch, qujannamiik, merci and thank you.

I look forward to your questions and comments.

National Council for Reconciliation Act

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

moved the second reading of, and concurrence in, amendments made by the Senate to Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation.

Mr. Speaker, kwe kwe. Ulaakut. Tansi.

I would first like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

This has been a very important week for reconciliation in Canada. I want to begin by acknowledging and recognizing the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada that came out this morning. In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that Bill C-29, as a whole, is constitutionally valid.

The essential matter addressed by the act involves protecting the well-being of indigenous children, youth and families by promoting the delivery of culturally appropriate child and family services and, in so doing, advancing the process of reconciliation with indigenous peoples. The Supreme Court decision represents a significant step in that direction, because it clearly affirms that principle. I want to thank many colleagues, particularly the Minister of Indigenous Services, for advancing this.

Yesterday morning, we had the opportunity to meet with indigenous business leaders, as well as the major financial institutions in Canada and other major corporations, to discuss the notion of economic reconciliation. Once again, the meeting was convened by the Minister of Indigenous Services. It was a very moving engagement that really spoke to the need to move forward in advancing economic reconciliation, and we look forward to working with those who were at the table, as well as those who continue to work to advance this issue.

Yesterday and the day before, we hosted the second indigenous federal-provincial-territorial meeting on missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. This is a very important gathering of voices of families, survivors and people who are on the front lines of this crisis; they are at the centre of everything we do.

We must put the voices of families, survivors and people on the front lines of this crisis at the centre of everything we do.

We invited them to Ottawa, and we listened, we learned and we pledged to redouble our drive toward solutions.

What is important is that the provinces and territories were represented, and we are very pleased that they participated. The Province of British Columbia, the Province of Alberta and the Government of Yukon made presentations on what they have done to advance this work in their respective jurisdictions. We are making progress.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be in the gallery of the Senate, as the president of the Council of the Haida Nation, for the introduction of a new bill, Bill S-16. This bill would recognize the Haida's inherent right to self-governance and self-determination. Bill S-16 is grounded on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples or, as I sometimes call it, the road map to reconciliation.

The Haida people did not wait for the Government of Canada to wake up and realize that they have the right to govern themselves. They have been doing so for years, and it is time we enact legislation to recognize that inherent right.

These are a few small steps we made just this week alone, but they are indicative of a much larger charge towards redressing the past and repairing our relationship with indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples have a government on this side of the chamber that is listening to them and wants to advance their priorities.

Mr. Speaker, I am having a hard time giving my speech. I would really encourage my colleagues to—