Canadian Heritage Committee on Nov. 1st, 2018

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you.

[Regional Chief Morley Googoo]

—about being male and having equal rights for people. That's what they're being taught. They're taught about bullying not being good. They have a whole new set of values, and these are the values I think we need to be strong and stand up for.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you all for the mediation you're doing.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you.

We will now go to Mr. Boissonnault for five minutes, please.

[Randy Boissonnault, Edmonton Centre, Lib.]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and MP Jolibois.

Thank you for being here.

Regional Chief, thank you.

My apologies for having to be out of the room, but I can tell you that you have my support for a day. I think the details can be worked out. Also, if my great-grandmother, a full-blooded Cree woman, Lucy Brown Eyes, were here, she'd be happy. She would say something like this.

[Member speaks in Cree]

It is Cree for “Guests, you are welcome; there is room here.” That's the spirit of reconciliation that I think we need to walk down.

I just want to say that we have to be careful in our language. Anytime we're looking at a new day that might have some expenditures tied to it, tensions can flare up. I just think we should remember that modern Canada does not exist without indigenous peoples, without taking lands, and without the shame and pain of residential schools.

This country has been built on the backs of indigenous peoples. We cannot say that a federal holiday is going to be on the backs of Canadians if we do it. Let us use our language and words very carefully.

We're talking about $11 million. I'm happy to see a federal holiday honouring indigenous culture and history for $11 million. I would do it even if it were higher.

I'm going to go to you first, Regional Chief, and then to MP Jolibois. How does this kind of a day, in its larger form, as we heard in testimony from MP Jolibois, help us all walk down the pathway of reconciliation?

[Regional Chief Morley Googoo]

We all know from any talk from any group of people here in Canada that reconciliation is not going to happen overnight. It's going to take time and commitment, but it also is going to need support to create those spaces for people who ask, “What can I do?” When I talked to the 16- and 17-year-olds, that was a question that dumbfounded me. They asked us, “What can we do as our part for reconciliation?” I wasn't ready for that question, to be honest. They were 16-year-olds who are asking me. I'm sure those eight- and nine-year-olds are going to ask me the same type of question.

There are a lot of Canadians out there who don't know what they have to do as their part in reconciliation. If there are spaces that we create, like a national statutory holiday, people are not going to be so ignorant as to tell their kids that this day is just the taxpayer's burden. Again, those are the words and language that we have to get rid of.

We would have in our school systems what that statutory holiday is all about, what its intentions are, where it's supposed to go and how it's supposed to unite us. If we don't create those spaces, I don't think we'll have those real dialogues that need to happen for us to achieve some success.

[Randy Boissonnault]

Let's look at our dates that we have right now.

Canada Day makes sense to me; we're going to have a national holiday and we have to work in the spirit of reconciliation. We have a Labour Day, so we are recognizing all the men, women and gender non-binary people who work hard to build our country. Then we have the May long weekend. Unless you really pause, does anybody remember what the May long weekend is for? It's for Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.

I would like to see in my time in Parliament some sort of holiday that could actually be a modern declaration of reconciliation, so that long past our time in Parliament, when we're 95 and in our rocking chairs, we can all be proud that we got this done.

That's my question for you, MP Jolibois. We get this done, together with whatever date and whatever changes have to happen in the drafting. Let's say that it's 20 years from now and you're looking back. What are you going to be most happy about that you would see happening on the ground because of an indigenous national holiday?

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Thank you for that question, and thank you for the support from all of you.

We are today moving forward. I see a positive legacy. We are creating a positive legacy together. That's what I envision.

As for what I see, I see my 10-year-old great-niece's kids in the generations to come. When we're old, we'll be elders. I'll be called upon as an elder when the time comes. Unfortunately, we are all going there. We will all have that role.

For us as indigenous people, that we took this time as Canadians to honour, respect and accept indigenous people as part of Canadian society is a crucial step, and that's exactly what your comment is saying. That's where I'm envisioning this. Canada is built on the backs of indigenous people, yet we're in a marginalized system right now, and we want to be “a part of”, together. That's how I envision it.

[Randy Boissonnault]

I started with my grandmother. I'm going to end with my grandmother.

I can see her at 85, with gnarled hands, making an apple pie because she married a Dutchman. She never lived on reserve. She once said to me: “Randy, we come from the land. We will someday go back to the land, and one day we will all be one people again.”

That's why you have my support. Thank you, both of you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Thank you.

Thank you to both witnesses. That was very helpful as a starting place for our study on this bill.

We are going to suspend for three minutes. I'm going to ask people to try to keep this short, because we need to get to our study of the next bill. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Let us resume the session.

With us, we have Guylain Thorne and Kathryn Zedde, from the Department of Canadian Heritage. I notice that the third person we invited is not here.

Thank you for being here today.

We are now continuing with our clause-by-clause review of Bill C-391, an act respecting a national strategy for the repatriation of aboriginal cultural property. When we left off, we were at clause 2 and amendment LIB-1.

If I may, I'll let everyone know that if LIB-1 is adopted, CPC-1 and NDP-1 cannot be moved, as they amend the same lines.

Does anybody want to speak to LIB-1?

Go ahead, Mr. Long.

[Wayne Long, Saint John—Rothesay, Lib.]

I would like to move that amendment, and I'll read this out:

That Bill C-391, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 6 to 11 on page 1 with the following:

2 In this Act, Minister means the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

All right. Are we ready to go to a vote on LIB-1?

(Amendment agreed to)

That means that CPC-1 and NDP-1 are no longer considered.

(Clause 2 as amended agreed to)

(On clause 3)

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

We are now going to clause 3. We have LIB-2.

If LIB-2 is adopted, NDP-2 cannot be moved, as they amend the same lines.

Is there any discussion about LIB-2?

[Randy Boissonnault]

Sure. I'll speak, and then perhaps Monsieur Nantel can also comment.

This amendment makes a correction in language. It says “the provinces” and we want it to say “the provinces and territories”, when it comes to the minister developing and implementing a plan, and so on. It's just to include the territories as well as the provinces.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

Mr. Nantel, you have the floor.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I would like to propose a subamendment.

Of course, I completely agree. In the amendment we submitted, we should have written “territories”, but we did not. However, I believe that it's really imperative that we also add that it be done “in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including article 31 of that text”. The wording would therefore be: “…the provinces and territories, and in accordance…”

Personally, if you agree, I would like to turn the text around in order to give more weight to that accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

I will use the text in English; that will be easier. We would be adding this:

“and territories must develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including Article 31 of that text”, and then back to the text.

Is that clear with you?

[Randy Boissonnault]

I see that as a friendly subamendment.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Isn't it nice?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

I think our legislative clerk would like to see exactly how that's worded so that he can make sure that he understands it.

Do we have it written out as a text somewhere?

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

I will submit it to you.

[Randy Boissonnault]

Madam Chair, while we are waiting, I would just like to highlight once more the impressive speech that Mr. Saganash gave at the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta gala in Edmonton, and all the work that he has done on behalf of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Thank you, Mr. Saganash. I wanted to highlight that before you leave Parliament.

It is in that spirit that we are submitting this amendment today.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

I'm just waiting to see whether our legislative clerk has good notes on the proposal.

I will read out the subamendment so that we can vote on it.

Do you have it?

There is some striking out of words happening. We want to make sure it's correct.

Are we okay?

[Philippe Méla, Legislative Clerk]

May I read it back for everyone?