Evidence of meeting #138 for Canadian Heritage in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was métis.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Legal Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada
This is the first time, to my knowledge, that NWAC has been contacted in relation to this bill.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
Mr. Obed, you earlier stated that you would prefer that the day be positive and forward-looking. National Aboriginal Day was established in 1996. The purpose of the day was “to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.” The day was part of a Government of Canada “Celebrate Canada” program that includes Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day and Canada Day. Would the current National Indigenous Peoples Day not already satisfy the requirements that you think are most important?
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
The evolution of National Indigenous Peoples Day has been wonderful to see. From the early 2000s until now, I think it has grown, and we now have celebrations that happen all across this country, and more Canadians understand it. Many first nations and Inuit and Métis look forward to and celebrate that day. So, yes, I think the spirit of what I'm imagining as a statutory holiday does live within that particular holiday already, although it does seem that the creation of a statutory holiday provides a greater weight and allows for more education and a bigger platform for us. If you think about holidays, statutory holidays, and how they've been allocated over time, they have been colonial in nature and they have thought about the founding of this country, not necessarily about indigenous peoples within Canada. This would be a marked departure from that legacy. I think that is a great opportunity.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
If I remember correctly, at the same time you're also supportive of a commemorative day that remembers the residential schools. Is that what you stated?
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Yes. The idea that we would spend a day to recognize and consider and think about not only residential schools, but more broadly the very negative effects of colonialism for first nations, Inuit and Métis in this country, especially, as I said, in relation to things like relocations and other human rights violations. I think this is necessary. Just last week I was in Arviat, Nunavut, where the Government of Canada apologized to the Arviarmiut, who were relocated three different times in the 1950s. Many of the Arviarmiut, this group of Inuit, died of starvation. This was at the same time as the Nuremberg trials were happening. This was the same time that this country was in a post-World War II period of reflection about the creation of the United Nations and the respect for human rights for all peoples. To think that we could learn from all of these things that have happened in this country, in a separate time and place, with no less power, and I guess just consciousness within this country, is also something that could be very powerful as well.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
Virginia, I think your position is quite clear. You think there should be two days?
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
How important is it that both those days be holidays?
January 29th, 2019 / 4:10 p.m.
Legal Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada
I think it's important that both of those days be holidays, simply for the weight given to both of those days if they are created as federal statutory holidays. In my view, that is the federal government setting an example for reconciliation.
Liberal
Dan Vandal Liberal Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB
The bill, as it's written, only wants an indigenous persons day—I don't know if that's the right wording for it—which would be a statutory holiday.
Our challenge is to find a commemorative day that has some positive aspects to it that we can all be proud of. I'm not sure if you're aware, but our government is committed to implementing all of the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and this may be an opportunity to attempt to implement one of them, or not. That's up to the committee.
Thank you.
Liberal
David Yurdiga Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll be splitting my time with the hon. MP Blaney.
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for coming today. Your input is very important.
I've been talking to many indigenous groups, whether it's first nations or Métis—we don't have any Inuit in my riding—but the problem is they can't pick one date. One group wants it on September 30, the other wants it on June 21. There's no real clear, decisive date to pick, and from my perspective, this bill was designed and brought forward addressing it as one national holiday. We're sort of stuck on what's in front of us.
What have you been hearing in your communities? Obviously you're talking to a lot of members of the community. Is there a division in your area about which day? If you had to pick only one day, what's the discussion like?
I want to hear from all members, if possible, their point of view or what their experiences are.
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
In the Inuit community, we haven't had a lot of conversation. This hasn't been a primary concern of our population in relation to a lot of our other socio-economic issues and the hopes that we have for a renewed relationship.
This is something that is undoubtedly a good thing—we don't want to conflate it with anything that isn't a very positive step. Of all the different hierarchies of needs that Inuit have, this is one that is very good to have, but we would, I think, much prefer having our infrastructure deficit or housing defect be completely covered by federal government funds, if we were going to pick what was more important. Of course we're not doing that, but this is just all to say there has not been a lot of conversation. I'm sure that the Government of Canada will do its best to find a day that works best for the majority of Canadians.
Legal Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada
From our perspective, we understand June 21 to be the day that is set aside as a celebratory day. Speaking from what I know from my client, the specific dates, to my knowledge, are not as important as the separation and the meaning behind the separate dates.
Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, CPC
Is there anything else?
You know, the challenge for all of us is trying to get the word out there. A lot of people don't know about discussions happening at a committee. Do you think there needs to be more time to actually meet with different communities as a group and get a better understanding?
Right now, I know there has to be the educational component to it, also. We want to ensure that kids going to school understand the difference between the two days. One is celebration and the other one is remembrance. That discussion has to happen provincially, I would assume, and in the territories to ensure that it's part of the curriculum. I talk to my grandson and I ask him, “What are you learning in school? Do you know about this and that?” A lot of times, it's not part of the curriculum. I think we have to do a better job of educating. If we're going to move forward, we need to put more resources forward to our education system.
Natan, do you see an educational component as a necessary part of this recognition?
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Absolutely. The educational components of the TRC calls to action are being undertaken in some places, and in some cases not. I think there still needs to be a big breakthrough in the respect for the representatives of indigenous peoples to lead curriculum development and finalization of curriculum within provincial and territorial school systems that purport to speak on their behalf. For a school board to create curriculum and then implement it itself without the explicit agreement and approval and perhaps even the ability for the first nations, Inuit or Métis peoples to input or create that curriculum themselves is still a remnant of a colonial way of thinking.
As far as the time needed to discuss and consult on this bill goes, I think that's secondary to the need to have a statutory holiday, and I do think that over time we can create something positive out of this particular statutory holiday. I know there will never be a consensus across first nations, Inuit and Métis communities about what day that might be, but just as with any other debate, or any other piece of legislation before you, there are always going to be a number of Canadians who are not supportive of the acts that go through Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
Thank you.
Thank you very much for being here. You've brought a number of new perspectives that we haven't heard from a number of the other witnesses who have come before us, so we're most grateful for that.
You've made reference to paternalism and colonialism and the issues coming out of those, and you talked a little bit about the celebrations that might occur.
At one point, Ms. Lomax, you made reference to the fact that perhaps the federal government has to come up with some ideas about that, or show some leadership around that. Clearly we want to do that, but clearly we also don't want to be paternalistic about that, and that process. When you made that reference, I think your comment was that perhaps the federal government should come up with ways of looking at that. I think each of you have talked about some unifying values and principles that underlie that. Could you personally outline what you see those values as being? Then, if you were the federal government, how would you engage in this process to ensure that not just the outcome but also the process is respectful, as the TRC would keep reminding us that we have to do? It's a value we want to reflect.
Can each of you comment on what you see as some of those values, and then on a respectful process as you would see it?
Legal Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada
When you're talking about principles we see, are you speaking specifically about the truth and reconciliation thing?
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
I'm talking about the principles and values that you would want those days to reflect. I'd like to then think about how 10 years from now, if everything worked the way you want it to, and everything came together the way we're talking about, what would that day look like, and what would people coming away feel like? What are the values being reflected, which we must ingrain in what we're trying to do now so that those values will be able to be permanent parts of the celebrations and the remembrance?
Legal Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada
For the indigenous peoples day, we see this as a day of celebration, of respecting and promoting and assisting, ultimately, in the longevity and the thriving of diverse, vibrant indigenous cultures. That would be what we see in this National Indigenous Peoples Day.
But the second day—a truth and reconciliation commemoration day—we see as a day of honouring and of commemoration for those who have and have not survived residential schools, the sixties scoop, and the onslaught of other assimilative practices that have been present in Canada, the legacy of colonialism. We see this as a day of remembering, educating and reflecting.
These days have two very different spirits. For the federal government to go ahead and act on these days in the way that I described earlier in my testimony...that must come from the grassroots up. It would require engaging with communities and organizations to see what they need from these days. It's not just about what we see. It's about what folks on the ground, folks in communities, need from these days.
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
If I interpret what I think I hear you saying, those values you reflect are the values we would ingrain within the principles of this piece of legislation or at least realize them. Once the legislation is passed, you're saying that activities that would come out of that would have to go back to the communities to be spoken about, to be engaged, or else be given totally to the communities to take responsibility for. Is that a fair interpretation?
Legal Counsel, Native Women's Association of Canada
Yes. And if we see this as possibly something that the federal government can assist through funding for capacity building within communities and within organizations to bring forward what these days mean to individual communities that are distinct and that have very distinct cultures, I think that would be a very important place to start, from the grassroots up.
Liberal
Gordie Hogg Liberal South Surrey—White Rock, BC
Thank you.
Mr. Obed, can you comment on the same thing with respect to the values that you see and then the process by which you would see those values being realized or implemented or celebrated or remembered?
