This bill was last introduced in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2021.
Steven Guilbeault Liberal
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.
This enactment amends certain Acts to add a new holiday, namely, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is observed on September 30.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton
I do not want to interrupt the hon. member in the course of his remarks, but I want to ask him if is sharing his time. The information at our end indicates that might be the case. I would ask if he could verify that, and we will carry on from there.
The hon. member.
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Oakville North—Burlington.
Getting back to what I was just saying, I am a father of a 10-year-old Mi'kmaq boy and I think about all the joy that he brings into my life. I ask members to think about what it would be like, as a community, to have successive generations of children taken away. Imagine the apathy that would create. Imagine the heartbreak of having your children removed from your homes.
Colleagues, this is why it is important that we reflect on the TRC calls to action and why we need a national day to remember that terrible chapter in Canadian history. That is why we are here, to bring call to action number 80 to life and make September 30 the national day of truth and reconciliation.
The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said:
Reconciliation must become a way of life. It will take many years to repair damaged trust and relationships.... Reconciliation not only requires apologies, reparations, the relearning of Canada’s national history, and public commemoration, but also needs real social, political, and economic change. Ongoing public education and dialogue are essential to reconciliation. Governments, churches, educational institutions, and Canadians from all walks of life are responsible for taking action on reconciliation in concrete ways, working collaboratively with Aboriginal peoples. Reconciliation begins with each and every one of us.
This national day would honour the survivors of the painful legacy of residential schools, along with their families and communities. It would be a reminder to everyone in Canada to never forget the pain and trauma that residential schools caused and continue to cause, passed on as intergenerational trauma. It would create an opportunity for indigenous survivors of residential schools and their loved ones to tell their stories, and it would be an opportunity for the rest of us to learn carefully.
I firmly believe that the proposed national day of truth and reconciliation will be a way for us to amplify and strengthen the voices of first nations, Inuit and Métis people. It will be a way to ensure that the stories and experiences, the pain, the trauma and the history of first nations, Inuit and Métis people are never forgotten. It will be a way to keep these histories alive in our hearts and in our minds, so that they may inform our actions going forward. With this, we may build a brighter future based on a renewed nation-to-nation, government-to-government and Inuit-to-Crown relationship based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.
It is important to emphasize that this day should be utilized like Remembrance Day, as an opportunity to educate all Canadian children across Canada on this vital and tragic part of our history, should this legislation become law.
I would like to quote Senator Murray Sinclair, who stated, “While Indigenous children were being mistreated in residential schools by being told they were heathens, savages and pagans and inferior people—that same message was being delivered in the public schools of this country.” We need to change that. We need to see real funding and material support allocated to heritage, so that we can provide educational materials and tangible supports to school boards across Canada in telling these stories and this part of our shared history.
This is of fundamental importance to schools across the country. I remember, in December of 2015, when they talked about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and it was launched. I remember our Prime Minister telling a story of when he went to school. When it was time to discuss indigenous history, it was skipped over by the teacher saying, it was not very interesting. That day, our Prime Minister made a vow that never again will indigenous history be skipped over and never again will indigenous Canadians be told that their history is not integral to Canadian history. With the passage of the bill, we help ensure that people will never ask why they were never taught this in our schools.
I always used to talk in my treaty education presentations about the rice experiment by Dr. Emoto. There were two jars of water and rice. One jar was fed nothing but positive energy, saying, “You're great. You're good. You're good rice,” whatever they tell water and rice in an experiment. The other jar of water and rice was fed nothing but negativity, saying “You're worthless. You'll never amount to anything.” After seven weeks of this experiment, they noticed that the water and rice that was fed negativity began to mould and go bad.
If this is what seven weeks can do to water and rice, imagine what seven generations can do to an entire people when they are told they are worthless and inferior. This is what indigenous people in the country have had to deal with.
The failures of one generation can be the opportunities of the next. With this bill, with education, with awareness, this is where we could be in the future.
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October 23rd, 2020 / 1:30 p.m.
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Milton Ontario
Liberal
Adam van Koeverden LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth and to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, I rise again to express solidarity with my colleague and to thank him for teaching me so much about Mi'kmaq culture and for speaking the Mi'kmaq language in the House of Commons for the first time. His interventions and interjections on the committee we mutually serve, indigenous and northern affairs, have brought so much to the conversation and debate.
I called him last week to chat about the situation in Nova Scotia with the Mi'kmaq lobster fishers. He shared with me a video. I want to stand in the House today and go on record to say that it is the first time I have learned anything, at the age of 38, about the Mi'kmaq treaty system. It is important for all of us in the House to take 10 minutes to watch the video and continue down the path of truth and reconciliation through education.
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for those comments. When I was treaty education lead for Nova Scotia, we put together a treaty education Nova Scotia video on YouTube.
The fundamental point of that video was to create awareness of our treaties, to create awareness that we were all treaty people in the country but, most important, that we are all in this together.
I am reminded of the late Noel Starblanket from Saskatchewan, who shared with me this wisdom about treaty education. He said that if we wanted treaty education to succeed, the message had to be about hope and moving forward together. It could not be about bitterness. It could not be about anger. It could not be about resentment. It had to be about moving forward together.
He was an Indian residential school survivor, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for that teaching.
Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.
I see this bill as a step in the right direction towards reconciliation, but more needs to be done.
Earlier I asked the Minister of Canadian Heritage whether he agreed that we need to accept and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and he said he agreed. When my colleague asked a question about whether the Indian Act should be amended and quickly, the minister would not commit to anything.
Does my colleague think that that legislation is racist and must be amended immediately?
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the Indian Act is racist legislation. There is no doubt that we need to change it.
I really hope we can do so with UNDRIP, being something that takes its place. My father is one of the initial drafters of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is an amazing document and we should move forward on it.
When they were trying to change the Indian Act back in 2005, I remember an elder telling me that the Indian Act was like a rusty sword. They had gotten used to it and it no longer cut them. We have to be very careful moving forward on what replaces the Indian Act, because to some it will be seen as a sharper sword.
What we have to do is move forward on UNDRIP, while not looking so much at archaic acts that government has passed. We must look to the future. UNDRIP will be that future.
Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I want to rise and echo the deep honour and privilege of working with the hon. member. We have had many conversations around dismantling white supremacy and decolonizing our spaces, including this one in the House of Commons.
We have heard arguments against the expedited passage of the bill, having economic arguments about people taking a day off. In his remarks, the member referenced the solemn nature of Remembrance Day.
Recognizing the solemn nature of Remembrance Day and the need for our country to recognize the atrocities of war, what would the member's opinion be on taking this day as a solemn reflection of the atrocities of the colonial genocide of indigenous people across these territories?
Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, I have had some great conversations with my colleague about systemic racism in Canada and how we need to move forward on this. Awareness is a big part of that. This day gives us, all schools, all school boards, all businesses within Canada, an opportunity to learn.
I was part of a group that did the KAIROS blanket exercise and I feel it is days like this, September 30, when not only should people have a chance to remember and reflect but also be able to educate themselves on what happened, just as we do on Remembrance Day on November 11 every year when we remember the soldiers who passed away during that time.
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October 23rd, 2020 / 1:35 p.m.
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Oakville North—Burlington Ontario
Liberal
Pam Damoff LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by acknowledging that I am on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
I think we can all agree on the importance of acknowledging the history and legacy of residential schools and their tragic impact on first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. It is my hope that Bill C-5 will receive the support of all members of the House.
The last residential school closed its doors in 1996, just 24 years ago. This is not ancient history. The number of survivors is great, the victims and their families greater. The healing process will take time, and this bill is a step toward righting the wrongs inflicted throughout our colonial past.
September is a painful time for many indigenous peoples. It was the month that their children were taken back to school year after year and forced to leave their loved ones and communities behind. It is appropriate to mark this pain experienced by generations of indigenous children, parents, families and communities, a pain that continues to be passed on today in the form of intergenerational trauma, with a solemn day of reflection, remembrance and action toward reconciliation. It is a day to honour residential school survivors and their families and to learn about their stories.
On September 29, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action number 80, which seeks to establish, as a federal statutory holiday, a national day for truth and reconciliation. This day will honour survivors, their families and their communities while ensuring that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.
This bill seeks to establish a national day for truth and reconciliation that will be observed on September 30. As members may know, this is a particularly significantly date for indigenous peoples. It is the date of a grassroots movement called Orange Shirt Day, started by Phyllis Webstad, named for the orange shirt that she and her grandmother chose for her first day of residential school, only to have it stolen away when she arrived. Her orange shirt has become a symbol for the cultures, languages and childhoods that were ripped away from the more than 150,000 students of residential schools.
Every year on Orange Shirt Day, we encourage Canadians to take time to listen to the stories of survivors, learn about residential schools and come together to give hope to every child of current and future generations. This day would further spread these stories of pain and hope.
This year, on September 30, I walked by a school in my riding during lunch hour and on the playground I saw a sea of orange. Students had all come to school wearing orange shirts and, more importantly, were learning the legacy of residential schools. This is something that did not happen when I was their age or even when my son was in school.
The work of preserving these stories and educating Canadians about the horrors perpetrated at residential schools is extremely difficult and painful. That is why I would like to praise the work done by the amazing people at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario. Opened in 1972, the centre aims to preserve, present, create and educate people on the history, art, language and culture of the Haudenosaunee people of the Eastern Woodlands. It was established at the site of the Mohawk Institute residential school, the oldest residential school in Canada, which was operated from 1829 through 1970. It was nicknamed the Mush Hole by its students, as the children were fed only oatmeal three times a day, every day.
With its museum, art galleries, library and language centre, I encourage anyone able to visit the Woodland Cultural Centre for a unique and sobering learning experience to do so. It will be offering a virtual public tour on November 18 at 7 p.m. More information can be found at woodlandculturalcentre.ca.
Earlier this year, I attended a performance of The Mush Hole at The Burlington Performing Arts Centre. Telling the terrible story of what happened at the Mohawk Institute through dance and theatre, The Mush Hole is based on interviews and writings by residential school survivors. It explores not only what happened at the Mush Hole, but the intergenerational trauma experienced by the survivors and their families.
To further preserve and spread the history of residential schools, the Portage la Prairie residential school in Manitoba and the Shubenacadie residential school in Nova Scotia are being declared national historic sites this year. It is my hope that the Woodland Cultural Centre will also be declared a national historic site.
The residential school system is a national tragedy, a stain of colonialism upheld by systemic racism. Acknowledging its past and educating Canadians about the experience of indigenous children in these schools will ensure that this history is never forgotten and never repeated. It is a step toward righting past wrongs.
The introduction of Bill C-5 is a step forward in the healing process of survivors and their families who were harmed under this federally operated system. Once this bill has passed, the residential school system would be designated as an event of national historic significance, helping Canadians understand our history and its consequences.
While the government has taken important steps toward reconciliation, much more needs to be done. Canadians' understanding of the painful legacy of residential schools is vital to truth-telling, reconciliation and the recognition of past injustices. It will inform our future actions with the full knowledge of what has been done to indigenous people across this land.
A few years ago, in my riding, I held a screening of the documentary We Were Children. It tells the story of two children who were taken from their homes and placed in residential schools where they suffered years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Afterward, an 80-year-old former MP said he learned more in that night than he had in his entire life. New Canadians in attendance asked why they had never learned about this when they came to Canada. This all speaks to the importance of educating Canadians about our colonial past and the impact on generations of indigenous peoples.
In 2012, I had the opportunity to visit Pelican Falls First Nations High School in Sioux Lookout, a former residential school that is now run by the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council. While there, I had the honour to meet executive director Norma Kejick, an incredible woman whose good work was highlighted in the book Seven Fallen Feathers. Norma gave us a tour which included the surrounding forest, where many students died while trying to find their way home when it was a residential school.
When I left the school, I broke down in tears. How could a country treat innocent children in such a horrific way? How could we strip them from their families, the love of their parents and their broader community? How could we try to erase their culture and language? It is unimaginable to me that we could treat other humans this way, and yet we did it in the not so distant past.
A national day for truth and reconciliation would give us the opportunity to listen to all indigenous voices, reflect on past wrongs, learn from our mistakes and take action to advance meaningful reconciliation. On Orange Shirt Day, every child matters, and ever indigenous child deserves to be cared for, feel the full sense of their worth and feel hopeful for their future. Every single person in Canada shares the burden and shame of our reality.
As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, I know how important reconciliation is to our government, but I also know there is much more work to be done. Designating September 30 as the national day for truth and reconciliation would represent a national acknowledgement of our country's history and a way to honour survivors of residential schools.
Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.
I am fortunate to serve with her on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, which is studying systemic racism within police services in Canada. I know she is doing a great job on that file, and I thank her for it.
I am going to ask her the same question I asked her colleague earlier. We were talking about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Indian Act. Does she think that that legislation is racist and that it must be amended as soon as possible?
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I too, quite enjoy working with the hon. member on the public safety committee. I want to recognize her commitment to improving the lives of all Canadians.
I do support the passage of UNDRIP. In terms of the Indian Act, we know that provisions in the Indian Act are racist. That is why our government is working with indigenous people across the country to ensure we can provide for self-governance and provide the tools they need to be able to govern themselves, as it should have been all along.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech on respecting human rights.
While I have the floor, I would like to state my concern about human rights issues in Colombia, where political dissidents are being subjected to harsh repression. Murders and abductions are being committed. I think this deserves more attention from us and the federal government.
I have a very direct question for my Liberal colleague. We have heard a lot of fine words on the subject of reconciliation. Obviously, we agree with what is being said, but we have to do much more than that.
Is my colleague prepared to pressure her government to drop the legal action against the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling on health care for indigenous children?
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I know our government is working diligently to ensure these court challenges are dealt with in a way that serves the people who brought them forward with respect and dignity.
I thank the hon. member for his question. We, as a government, recognize there is still a lot more work to do. We are not there yet. This bill is one step on the path to reconciliation, but we certainly have much more work to do.
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Speaker, in 2000, I had the wonderful privilege of conducting a three-year review of our indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories and their access to natural resources. One of the things that became obvious to everyone very quickly was the extent the lingering effects of residential schools on our indigenous population were hindering its ability to fully participate in economic opportunities. For example, there was a major debate, which still rages, between impact benefit agreements and equity participation in major resource projects.
I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could share some of her insight on the extent to which we have progress to make, the distance yet to go, in making sure our indigenous communities are full participants in these resource projects and their development.
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work in previous Parliaments on this issue and for his wise words now.
The member hit on a very important point, which is that we need to ensure that indigenous peoples can fully participate in the economy. Certainly, that has not been possible in the past for many reasons, some of which are directly because of the Government of Canada. However, there are a number of things that our government is doing, one of which is that the Minister of Public Services and Procurement is striving to reach a goal of 5% procurement from indigenous business.
I know from my conversations with Tabatha Bull from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, that many indigenous-owned businesses are in fact in the resource sector, so we must ensure that they are able to fully participate in the economy.