Canadian Heritage Committee on Nov. 1st, 2018

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

One of the biggest learning.... You've mentioned it, and I totally agree with the education piece, in part. I know you mentioned the festival with the Acadians in Nova Scotia. My familiarity with it is as a mayor, in the sense of having that day in our community and inviting indigenous people.... The school jurisdictions work with it. The education in the schools on that day is something that is worked with.

How do you envision it? If it's a holiday for employees of the federal government, how would that work in the sense of what we've been building and what you're talking about? How would that change that education piece? That's critical to me. You mentioned the next generation, and I think that's really the critical piece. How would that change that process to either increase it or...how do you see that happening?

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

We, in Canada, having this discussion, have an excellent opportunity and the time. We are at a crossroads in history.

As Canadians, we live in Canada, but there are provinces and territories, and territories are leading the way in Canada. When we lead the way as Canada, at some point the provinces will support it.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

That would—

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

That's what I envision. It's that once the federal piece is taken care of, we start educating the provinces and encouraging the government to follow suit.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

What you're looking for, then, is a countrywide statutory holiday, and not just for federal employees. It's countrywide.

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

It's terrific to dream. Young people are saying that.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

I know, and that's great, but that's what I wanted to clarify. How did that change from what we're doing now? I appreciate that. There's a longer-term goal that you have in mind. It's not just the federal employees in the sense of a national holiday.

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

Again, we as indigenous people believe in building for the future, and that's where we're headed.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Yes, and I agree with you about June 21. My Celtic heritage would tell me that's a significant date in my Celtic heritage as well. The solstice has been a significant date in very many cultures for a long time, and in my Celtic heritage as well, so I can understand why June 21 is something that you're looking at.

I'll turn to Mr. Yurdiga for the remainder of my time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

You have just under two minutes.

[David Yurdiga, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC]

Thank you.

I appreciate you coming forward, MP Jolibois, and Chief Googoo.

I had many conversations in my riding with first nations and indigenous people, and the idea of a national holiday is a good thing, but there is another set of thoughts, which is “Why should people get a paid day off on our back?”

It's up to first nations and indigenous people to determine the day and how you want to proceed. Did you do any consultations or round tables throughout Canada, or is this just the beginning?

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

I have started the process. In terms of round tables, in my previous work that's what I did in Saskatchewan at the provincial level. I still need to continue with the work that I'm doing, because this is a terrific opportunity for us to have a new legacy built on hope.

[David Yurdiga]

Probably one of the most contentious issues is what date is appropriate. I understand you prefer another day, and June 21 is an option.

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

No, let me clarify. My bias is June 21—

[David Yurdiga]

Okay.

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

—and I'd like to continue with that, yet also have understanding with the other levels of discussion that are occurring.

[David Yurdiga]

What date has been proposed so far? Obviously June 21 is your preference.

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

Just recently there was a discussion about someone proposing a different date in June other than June 21, and then different dates proposed for September.

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

On that note, we'll have to pass it on to Monsieur Nantel.

Perhaps we can have the answer to that later on.

Mr. Nantel, you have five minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you to both of you, really. I think it's an exciting moment for me, as a parliamentarian, to come here, especially with Romeo Saganash sitting beside me. I think that it's probably the biggest discovery for me as the MP for Longueuil and the south shore of Montreal. I know Kahnawake, which is just next to my riding, but the reality and the reconciliation process that's been going on have moved me a lot.

Chief Googoo, I appreciated a lot that when you came here for the artifacts, you came up with this notion that shocked me, which was that you were not talking about museum artifacts or things in a window box but about sacred stuff and very spiritual and emotional stuff. I think that's something that impacted me, and I think it impacted everyone here. Your point of view is interesting.

I have to say that we at this committee had the chance to discuss Remembrance Day, November 11, and we could see good intentions on all sides. People were against or for it, but they all wanted to pay respect to our veterans. I am not afraid of this discussion. I think your point of view is very valid, and I think that obviously the choice of the day should be the first nations' selection.

I think Ms. Jolibois, my dear colleague, has been through a lot of consultations. If the idea is to make a reconciliation, I wanted to ask you what the biggest advantage of June 21 is from a reconciliation point of view.

I have to share that when Romeo invited us to be there at the solstice celebration on June 21 with Peter Decontie, the fire keeper, to me it was a spiritual shock. I must say that to me this was a big reconciliation moment for my little white life, for me.

How is this a possibility to better share and to better have reconciliation across the country?

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

Thank you for your question.

As an indigenous person, I grew up on the trapline and was taught to pay attention to the seasons and the land and to live off the land. The elders have taught me and continue to teach in my region. Elders teach the children. They go into the school regularly and teach. June 21, in terms of transition, is the end of the spring season and the beginning of summer, so from one end to the next. Also, it is the longest day.

Elders teach about the opportunity. Again, we are very familiar with trauma and pain. It is really important to move forward from the trauma and pain, and we need a significance. Because we pay attention to the land, the waters and the season, that's where many of these discussions I've had come from.

There is an excellent opportunity for reconciliation, healing, coming together and building. That's where I'm coming from.

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

Do I still have time?

[The Chair, Liberal, Julie Dabrusin]

You have a minute and a half.

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

I think the sensation and the information I received at that ceremony could have been easily shared with anyone who was not from a first nation to understand the connection with nature, which is so important now. Everybody recognizes that.

Don't you think, Mr. Googoo, that this date also has a very good mediation potential?

[Regional Chief Morley Googoo]

Absolutely. My elders have told me that they're just ecstatic that the federal government would even look at and consider this. It would be great to have it in June, but if September is going to be picked, we're very happy too. It's important that we don't lose focus.

The other thing I want to mention is that in a lot of meetings I have gone to, we take examples from New Zealand. I just came from a housing conference in Vancouver, and they talked about indigenous people and how they work together. Well, we have 58 different indigenous nations here, so it's a little tougher to not “blanket-think”. That's what got us in the mess in the first place: calling us all “Indians”, then “first nations”, and then “aboriginals”—the new relabelling.

It's time that we rise up as nations ourselves in investment of that day. Obviously, you're not going to know what that statutory day is going to look like, because we have never made deep enough commitments to reconciliation to see what it would look like. We can't have fear.

I'm telling you that when I go to the classrooms and talk to the eight- and nine-year-olds, they know more than the teenagers in some cases, and this is even in the provincial schools. I say that even if our adult population doesn't make that paradigm shift, these kids will. They have figured out how—