Bill C-5 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)

This enactment amends certain Acts to add a new holiday, namely, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is observed on September 30.

Bills of Exchange Act

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, I have often said one of the great honours of being a parliamentarian is to hear speeches like that in this House. While we have to do it virtually during COVID, I want to thank the member opposite for reminding us of the shameful and troubling history that we inherit in this country, but the important and critical work we have to do going forward.

I listened to what can only be described as a story that is as powerfully painful as it is joyful in terms of where it is leading us as a country and in the transformation in one family's life. I ask the member opposite, as we move toward recognizing this day, what she would see as important ways to mark the day, what children should do, what government members should do, what educators should do, what all the parts of Canadian society should do to make sure that this day of reconciliation is not a day of reconciliation, but in fact the celebration of the achievements of reconciliation that I hope we see in the days ahead.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, it is important to recognize it is a day of reflection, and part of what I was sharing today are some of my reflections and many of the reflections I have on that very important day, but we need to go beyond that day.

I was trying to share is that it is a day, but that does not change the living realities of indigenous people in this country, whether it be defending our lands or me as an indigenous woman walking down the street being hypersexualized. We need to make sure that day flows into what we do every day, and that this is an important day for us as indigenous people to reflect on our experiences, but for fellow Canadians and allies to learn about this history and think of ways to do better.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would first like to congratulate the member on a great honour to her mother. I wonder what advice the member would say her mother might have to newcomers, who are maybe coming from very difficult situations, so they can make it just like her mother did.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, first I would like to point out that for newcomers coming to Canada, one of the first steps in inviting new people on Turtle Island is teaching them the true history of this country. I know many people in my riding, which is a very diverse riding, who are shocked when they find out true Canadian history. That is a first step, but it goes beyond people to how we need to change systems to ensure people can thrive and not just survive.

This is the story of my grandmother at a time with no social safety net, and now during COVID we see an inadequate social safety net. It is more than inspirational stories, it is about putting forward programs and services and legislating human rights so everybody can have what they need to survive and thrive.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague and her family for their resilience and strength in the face of those hardships.

The first nations and the Inuit and Métis peoples have suffered greatly. The creation of a day of commemoration is a first step. I am thinking of various events, such as the kidnappings perpetrated by Jacques Cartier, General Amherst's idea to give indigenous people blankets infected with smallpox and Macdonald's genocidal actions with the highly racist 1876 act. I do not want to name it because its title is racist. That law is still in effect.

In addition to a day of commemoration, does my colleague not agree that real and sincere reconciliation will not be possible unless the 1876 act is completely reformed?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, this is, like I said, a little piece of justice. It is critical we fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The kinds of acts of genocide that have been perpetrated against indigenous peoples are very clearly linked to wilful and violent human rights violations.

However, we need to do more than just adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we need to act on it and we need to respect it in the kinds of decisions we make in the House of Commons or in all places of power and decision-making so that indigenous peoples throughout these lands can finally have their minimum human rights recognized.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I felt very compelled today to rise and share what a deep honour and privilege it is to serve beside the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre. Her existence in this space is an act of resistance.

In her sharing today, she talked about the importance of land and every child becoming an adult and working through their traumas. I am wondering if the hon. member could expound on the connection between the dispossession of land and the apprehension of children as it relates to her experience and those of indigenous peoples from Turtle Island all the way to Palestine.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, culture is rooted in land. When they dispossessed us of our land, they dispossessed us of our power. Our language and teachings come from the land. If we look at what is happening across the country right now, indigenous people are rising to defend their lands. That is our lifeblood.

All we have left are these small parcels of land. We have less than 1% of the total land mass in the country, yet governments continue to infringe on our human rights, violently taking us off our lands and trying to maintain this neo-colonial project to integrate us. We just want to be on our land. We want to stay on the little bit of land we have, which is less than 1% of the total Canadian land mass right now. We want to live our way of life, our culture and pass the teachings down to future generations.

When we dispossess people of their lands, we dispossess them of their identity and culture. That is what we are seeing around the country. They are doing what anybody would do if somebody came onto their lands, without cause, and took them out to push forward a political and economic agenda. We need to stop that.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, I was deeply moved by the member for Winnipeg Centre. I am always interested and moved by the personal stories she shares, which are important perspectives to hear in this place.

I hear from indigenous people in my riding that reconciliation is dead or it is just a word. What would the member see as the priorities to move on next from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendations? It is important to have this day, to recognize it and commemorate it, but what would she like to see us move on next as a Parliament?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, this is a little piece of justice, but it is important to remind everyone that these were calls to action, not calls to discussion. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission laid out 94 calls to action very clearly. We have to go beyond discussion and flowery words about forming relationships. We develop relationships, respectful relationships, through action.

If we are really serious in this country about reconciliation, then we have to fundamentally change the way we do things, and it must be rooted in human rights, the kind of human rights that are articulated through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The frustration comes from that. On one hand, we hear talks of reconciliation, but then when we look at the news, we continue to see—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

My apologies but we need to resume debate.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin today by acknowledging we are on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation, and it continues to be home to many first nations, Métis and Inuit people.

We hear about land acknowledgements a fair bit these days when we go to different events and the like. It is very important that we treat this not as a checkmark, as we continue to talk about issues and about a national day of truth and reconciliation, but as an opportunity to learn the history of the lands.

Last night, as I was preparing for today, I took some time to learn more about the history of this region. This is an important part of what the bill can be, going forward. We are talking about a day, but it is more than just a day. It is about ensuring that Canadians, in working with indigenous communities and peoples across the country, learn the true history, about which the member for Winnipeg Centre so eloquently spoke. I really do appreciate having heard from the member for Winnipeg Centre. She had much to contribute to this conversation. Then we can build our path forward as a country.

This bill would create a national day of truth and reconciliation on September 30 each year. It would be a federal statutory holiday. Creating this day responds to call to action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action. We have a commitment to respond to all the calls to action that fall within the federal space, and this is one step forward.

It has its roots, though, in the private member's bill that was brought forward by a former member of this place, Georgina Jolibois. I really want to thank her for all the work she did to bring this forward. The work that we did on her bill in committee in the last Parliament set the base for where we are now. I had the honour to be the chair of the committee that studied her bill. It was a great starting place for a lot of learning.

I would like to point out, because I forgot to mention it in advance, that I will be sharing my time with the member for Mount Royal, who will also have much to say on the bill.

I hope we can build on all the work we did in committee. We can take that as a starting place when this bill goes to committee and move quickly together on it. From everything I have heard in the debate, we are in a good place to get it there and will be able to move quickly to ensure we can celebrate and commemorate this day on September 30 of 2021.

I would also like to thank all the witnesses who came to committee and shared their knowledge. As we heard from the member for Bow River, who also served with me on that committee in the last Parliament, it was a place for tremendous learning for the members. It is worth thanking the people who took the time to inform us in that way.

As one step forward on the path to reconciliation, the bill is important as it creates a pause, a chance for us to educate, remember, commemorate and to think about where we want to go as we move forward.

When I was in high school, residential schools were still open. In fact, through most of my time at law school, residential schools were still open. However, I never learned about them. We never talked about them. We learned so little about indigenous history and indigenous leaders. This was a tremendous loss. We need to do better. We need to ensure that we take this opportunity so this essential learning is there and is recognized. We need to take that time.

I listened to the member for Cariboo—Prince George speak about growing up. He lived just down the street from the residential school, which is at the heart of Orange Shirt Day. He did not know about the school. He did not know what was happening. He talked about his process of learning more about it and about this day being a difficult one. It is going to require us to rethink parts of our history, a history about which we had not been taught. It is important we hear from people like the member for Winnipeg Centre and about the hard, honest truths.

I mentioned some of the previous speakers in this debate. I want to highlight the fact that this has been a special debate for this place. So often it is partisan in here. We do not truly speak with one another and share. Then there are those moments, those bills where we have a debate and we get to hear and share stories, learn from one another and come together. This debate has been one of those times. I want to thank everyone who has participated. I look forward to working with all of them as we go forward to ensure we move the bill through this place quickly and on to the other place.

I mentioned the members for Cariboo—Prince George and Bow River. The members for Fredericton and North Island—Powell River also told very personal stories about their children, their histories. They talked about the importance of recognition and respectful learning as a path forward for their children, that dignity. I would like to thank them for sharing that. It was important to have that part of our history.

When we talk about this day, it is important to think about the words in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report:

All Canadian children and youth deserve to know Canada’s honest history, including what happened in the residential schools, and to appreciate the rich history and knowledge of Indigenous nations who continue to make such a strong contribution to Canada, including our very name and collective identity as a country. For Canadians from all walks of life, reconciliation offers a new way of living together.

We have spent a lot of time in this place talking about residential school history and the need to tell the truth about our history. However, that statement also includes the path of hope, the fact that it is about reconciliation and offering a new way of living together. It highlights the need to appreciate the rich history and knowledge of indigenous nations.

During the study of the bill put forward by Georgina Jolibois in the last Parliament, there was much discussion about how this day should be commemorated. On that point, I find that the words of the president of ITK, Natan Obed, go to the heart of some of this conversation. He said:

It would be, in our position, much better for the day to be positive and be forward-looking than to be a remembrance day of sorts for certain grievances in the past—although history will be, of course, a part of the overarching conversation. I know there are direct links between the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action and this particular piece of legislation. I don't want to lose those entirely, but I do want Canadians and first nations, Inuit and Métis to have the ability to talk about the positive and the great strength that we bring to Canadian society, and the great leaders we have within our communities, and the visions we have for the future as Canadians but also as indigenous peoples exercising our right to self-determination.

It highlights the need that as we talk about our history, we also remember to learn more about strong indigenous leaders and their contributions to the country.

I would like briefly talk about why September 30 is important, an issue that has come up in the past.

September 30 is an important date because September was seen, as was told by Phyllis Webstad, as the crying month. That date is at a time when kids are back in school, so it is an opportunity for teachers to speak with their students about these issues. At the committee, some people suggested that perhaps we should look at appropriating another day, for example Remembrance Day. That is not the right way to go. The debate I have heard so far in this place has centred very much on the idea that we should move forward with the date that has been chosen.

I look forward to working with members from all across this place to ensure we can move quickly to make this day a reality.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for recognizing my speech last week. She talked a lot about sharing stories. I want acknowledge that when we look at this day, what we are asking is for indigenous people to share stories that are intimate, painful and, often, from their lived experience. I am wondering how do we create a safer environment where we are not asking indigenous people to bleed to educate non-indigenous people.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for that question because it is very important. We need to take direction from indigenous people at how best to approach this because the burden should absolutely not be placed on them to retell this honest and difficult history.

This has to be something that we work on together. We need to work together to find the appropriate way to commemorate and respectfully tell the story in a way that does not push down indigenous voices while we are trying to create a safe space. We need to find a way that actually empowers those voices and the sharing of those stories that, at the same time, acknowledges this should not be an extra burden for indigenous people. I absolutely think that we need to very much take our cues from indigenous people in our country as to how best to approach this. That should be an important part of our discussions as to how we will commemorate it.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Alexandra Mendes]

We will have three minutes and 30 seconds after Oral Questions for questions.