Thank you very much.
First, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you on a topic that is near and dear to my heart: ending gender- and race-based violence against indigenous women, girls and gender diverse peoples.
I join you today from Gatineau, which is located on the beautiful unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin nation.
My name is Chantal Marin‑Comeau. As you know, I am the director general of the Secretariat.
The secretariat is the organization that coordinates the federal government's work regarding missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. It brings together over 23 departments involved in this initiative.
However, addressing this tragedy needs much more than the federal government. It needs a whole-of-Canada approach that puts indigenous families, survivors and communities at the heart of all of these efforts. It also needs efforts by every level of government—indigenous, federal, provincial, territorial and municipal—in order to achieve a substantial and transformative change.
So today, I am pleased to provide you with some perspectives of the work under way.
As you know, on September 1, 2016, the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls was launched. On June 3, 2019, the inquiry released its final report. This report includes 231 calls for justice. Some of these calls for justice are directly related to the issues this committee is studying, including current support and infrastructures for protection from intimate partner violence.
On June 3, 2021, the indigenous-led national action plan for MMIWG was released. It includes contributions by indigenous families and survivors, first nations, Inuit, Métis, urban, 2SLGBTQQIA+, data and research communities, indigenous organizations and the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
Some priorities identified by indigenous partners in the national action plan include those related to infrastructure, housing, shelters, violence-prevention programs, safe communities, public awareness and trauma-informed approaches to support families and survivors.
The Federal Pathway is the Government of Canada's contribution to the national action plan. It was launched on June 3, 2021. The pathway does acknowledge that colonialism, racism, sexism and ableism have really created systemic inequities for indigenous peoples, notably women, girls and gender-diverse people.
To deliver on its commitments, the government is taking concrete action through new investments, legislation, policies, initiatives and programs that address the root causes of this issue.
The federal government has made significant investments in recent years. These include investments made in response to the national inquiry's interim report: those in the fall 2020 economic statement, and the $2.2 billion investment in the 2021 budget.
Key legislation has been passed, such as the Indigenous Languages Act, the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Child, Youth and Family Act and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
The government has also adopted policies that contribute to ending gender- and race-based violence. These include Canada's strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence, the national strategy to combat human trafficking, the comprehensive violence-prevention strategy, and the distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategy.
Other strategies are also in development. As you know, there are the national indigenous justice strategy and the federal action plan on LGBTQ2.
In tandem, many initiatives and programs have been launched, such as the first nations child and family services program, mental wellness programs in communities, and shelters for indigenous women and their children fleeing violence.
For family members and survivors of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, a national crisis line was set up, and family information and liaison units were funded and established.
While the federal government is taking concrete steps, there is still much to be done. Families, survivors and communities want to see tangible results from these actions, results that demonstrate transformative change.
However, this systemic and transformative change will take time and will require ongoing collaboration with indigenous families, survivors, partners, organizations, provinces, territories and municipalities.
Meegwetch.