Evidence of meeting #23 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was inuit.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
Arnold is self-policing. Thank you for that.
The last question in this panel is from Michael McLeod, for five minutes.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
I'll try not to have a long preamble this time.
We talked about funding. There have been some new resources identified through your government. I think there was $4.5 million identified for the Quality of Life Secretariat. The Government of Canada has recently announced $9 million in funding. There are more resources to draw from.
We've heard in the last while from different people about the difficulty of trying to access money. The proposal requirements are fairly difficult to manoeuvre through, such as the drafting. The funding that is available is inadequate. For a lot of the organizations and groups that want to use this money, it seems the criteria doesn't fit the need.
Could you talk about that a little? We've also heard there's a 32-week waiting period before you get your money, and then you have to scramble to spend it. There seems to be a lot of issues around funding. Have you experienced any of that?
Minister of Health, Minister responsible for Suicide Prevention, Government of Nunavut
We have, to a degree. I wasn't familiar with the waiting period. I hope that's not the case.
I was with Minister Philpott when that announcement was made in Kuujjuaq on the $9 million. We've been working on putting proposals together. I know there have been some back and forth challenges, and there's a lack of clarity in the requirements of the proposal.
That being said, we need to look at more of a needs-based approach, where if there are programs in place that we can enhance, then it should streamline the proposal process.
If there's one recommendation out of the many that I'm sure you will put forward, I hope it is a way to streamline the funding process so we can utilize the funds that are provided. There are additional monies coming from Health Canada over the next few years, as well, for core funding.
When we're talking about specific proposal-based funding, I hope there's a way to streamline that process to take more of a needs-based approach to it.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
My next question is around the trust factor that seems to be of great concern with the youth, and more so with elders and the adult population, when it comes to dealing with police, social workers, nurses at the health facilities, and schools. We've heard of people not wanting to enter the schools, and not wanting to even attend graduations because they've had very negative experiences through the schools, through the residential school program. A lot of the time, the people who are employed in these occupations cannot speak the Inuit language, so it really puts up a barrier. Often, people in these positions haven't been trained in cultural awareness, nor are they familiar with the history of the Inuit, nor all that should be known about living in a small town, or isolated situation.
Are there any programs that your government provides to help alleviate this situation, to tackle this challenge?
Minister of Health, Minister responsible for Suicide Prevention, Government of Nunavut
Without going too much into specifics, it's a very diverse approach. First, we need more of our residents getting into those careers as teachers, mental health practitioners, counselling, so our people at risk are seeing people they know, or at least come from a similar background and do speak the language. In the meantime, we do have to rely upon outside expertise and bringing professionals from the south.
But going back to the cultural competencies and knowledge of people, when people come up here they ought to understand what they're going into, and that needs to be taught in the schools and universities. There are a number of challenges, as I mentioned earlier, traumas that our people are working to overcome today. That's where we need the tools to heal, so we don't dwell upon those traumas over and over and keep that cycle of repetition ongoing. We need to work on programs to help people heal, so they can walk into that school and feel okay about walking in there, that they've dealt with their trauma and have got past it.
We need to focus on employment levels of local professionals as one of the key things.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
Thanks for that. We're over time now, Michael. Thank you.
That brings us to an end of this panel. On behalf of the committee, I would like to say thank you, Mr. Hickes and Assistant Deputy Minister Kabloona, for your testimony today and for the thoughtful answers. As I said at the start, everything you've said will have a direct impact on our final report and, ultimately, on policy and budgets, so thank you very much for that.
We will now suspend for 20 minutes.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
We're going to resume the hearing of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs and the study of indigenous suicide.
My thanks to everyone in the audience for joining us, and I want to extend special thanks to our witnesses.
I'd like to welcome three organizations that will be speaking from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. We have James T. Arreak, the CEO; Jeannie Arreak-Kullualik, the director in the Department of Social and Cultural Development; and from the Nunatsiavut Government, Johannes Lampe, president. Finally, from the Government of Nunavut, we'll hear from Shuvinai Mike, director of Inuit Qaujim.
I think we have Mr. Arreak starting.
Thank you.
James Arreak Chief Executive Officer, Executive Services, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Qujannamiik. Ullukut, members of the committee.
Standing committee, my name is James Arreak. I'm the chief executive officer of Nunavut Tunngavik, the land claims organization responsible for ensuring the rights of the Inuit of Nunavut set out in the Nunavut agreement, the Constitution Act of 1982, and elsewhere are upheld.
On behalf of the president and the vice-president and the board of directors of NTI, I want to thank this committee for coming to Nunavut.
I join you today to discuss a very sensitive and important issue that affects every Nunavummiut.
Over the last few decades historical trauma and social problems at the community and individual level have contributed to a steep and unfortunate rise in the rates of suicide in Nunavut. To give you some perspective, in 2009 the suicide rate among Inuit in Nunavut was 83.9 per 100,000, while in the rest of Canada it was 11.7 per 100,000. Other data from 1999 to 2011 shows 259 deaths by suicide in Nunavut.
In 2015 the conclusion of the coroner's inquest into the high rates of suicide in Nunavut led to the declaration of a public health crisis in Nunavut by the Government of Nunavut. The Nunavut suicide prevention strategy partners, NSPS, which include NTI, GN, RCMP, and the Embrace Life Council, have since released a one-year action plan for suicide prevention, and we are working to develop a suicide prevention plan for 2017 to 2020.
The coroner's recommendations directly and indirectly implicated key systemic causal issues in the suicide crisis. These include intergenerational trauma as a result of their residential school and other colonial experiences, inadequate housing, lack of early childhood education, and the failure of the current Nunavut education system to deliver on the rights for Inuit and our children to be educated in our own language and in accordance with Inuit culture. The NSPS partners are working closely more than ever to see that these recommendations are put into action. We need investments in all these areas to improve the overall quality of life.
In recent years we've struggled and worked hard to understand this issue in ways that we can address in our communities. We've developed and contributed many resources: The community consultation report was submitted; the Nunavut suicide prevention strategy; the Nunavut suicide prevention strategy action plan; evaluation of the NSPS; research documents on child sexual abuse, substance abuse, and early childhood education; the Nunavut Youth Centre Environmental Scan; as well as a historical look at deaths by suicide in Nunavut from 1920 to 2014.
It's been extremely difficult to engage communities at times because it's an extremely painful and difficult issue. Some elders have suggested that talking about suicide too loosely is irresponsible and draws more of it into our lives, while others acknowledge that we need to talk about it to address it and prevent it from continuing. Examples are: a Inuktitut term used to describe suicide in itself is a concern, imminiiriq “to do by oneself”; suicide prevention is imminiiqtailimaniq, “to prevent one from doing something on their own”.
We also got instructions from Nunavut Inuit not to sensationalize suicide because so many are deeply affected, at first second-hand, either by direct family relations or through other relationships in the community, the workplace, or through their support systems.
Page 7 of the NSPS describes the impact of rapid societal change, historical and intergenerational trauma:
The trauma experienced firsthand by Inuit in the settlement transitional period has had an immense impact on all generations....This unresolved trauma compromised their ability to cope with stress in a healthy manner.
As a representative of roughly 30,000 Inuit in Nunavut, NTI knows that suicide is preventable and that we must do all we can to reduce the rates and advocate for programs and services, which is why NTI continues to invest in this area and treat it as a priority.
In May, Atausiuqatigiingniq Inuusirmi United for Life Stakeholder Summit on Suicide Prevention took place in Iqaluit. The summit was a successful initiative taken by the partners to get a better understanding of resources, programs, and initiatives in our community, as well as the challenges communities are facing and their perspectives on the issue of suicide.
The themes included the need for healing at the community level, the need to address intergenerational trauma and build confidence in Inuit identity, the need for education that is reflective of Inuit culture and language, the need for addiction treatment throughout Nunavut, and the need for parental programming. Among other historical government policies that have impacted Inuit, it is the crown's responsibility, alongside Inuit organizations, to help Inuit reclaim our identity, language, and customs. You, as the federal government, hold fiduciary responsibility to provide continuous, multi-year funding and assist Inuit organizations in funding services in suicide prevention and addictions treatment. I emphasize that Inuit need to heal from intergenerational trauma that exists within our families, communities, and our society.
Identity is a key issue for us. Our youth are currently straddling two worlds, being told that in order to be Inuk and be confident in oneself, you need to do A, B, and C, yet also being told that their language and culture are insignificant and of less value than that of western Canadian society. These beliefs are reinforced through the education system, through the media, popular culture, and everywhere.
In June of this year, Prime Minister Trudeau observed that restoring indigenous languages is a key to addressing youth suicide. Loss of language is one of the most serious threats facing Inuit today. The biggest factor in the erosion of Inuit language and culture is the predominantly non-Inuit school system. In Nunavut, there are 9,247 students enrolled, and 300 are non-Inuit students, yet there are 453 non-Inuit teachers and only 126 Inuit teachers. There are more non-Inuit teachers than there are non-Inuit students. Ninety-five percent of Nunavut students are Inuit, yet 80% of the teachers are non-Inuit.
These numbers reflect a continuation in present-day terms of the cultural assimilation experienced by Inuit in the residential school era. The Inuit of Nunavut and our children have the inherent aboriginal right to be educated in our own language and culture. The right is not being honoured today.
It is instructive to note that federal investment in Inuit language education and services is a slight fraction of the figure for the comparable French language services in Nunavut. NTI welcomes the recognition and support of French language, but the expenditures for Inuktitut should be comparative with the Inuit population. As a means of addressing suicide, low graduation rates, and other problems, both levels of government must ensure that adequate funding is available to implement the Inuit right to be educated in their language.
Our education system needs your investment. NTI has requested Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit become a core curriculum subject or core element.
Why does it take eight years for curriculum on staking the claim in Nunavut, based on the negotiations that happened and why the territory was created, to get approval and implementation into the classroom? That's eight years.
Regarding mental health services, there are urgent needs for mental health workers in our communities to speak Inuktitut and understand our culture. We must train Inuit to fill these roles. We have to start the process of engaging bodies like Ilisaqsivik, which is in Clyde River. We know measures have been taken by the GN, Government of Nunavut, in recent years to enhance the capacity, but we need much more in this priority area. Proper intervention measures must be put in place. In partnership with the NSPS and our health partners at the table, we are trying to figure out what the healing, grief counselling, and bereavement support groups are going to look like, and implement the action plan, Resiliency Within.
NTI continues to advocate for access to culturally appropriate mental health services in Nunavut. This includes being able to receive care in Inuktitut.
Mr. Chair, the “Annual Report on the State of Inuit Culture and Society” was tabled in Parliament. The report focused on the state and the status of Inuit children and youth in Nunavut, and emphasizes the importance of the need to access early childhood development programming in the language of their homeland.
We also need to shift our work in monitoring programming for men and inunnguiniq parenting, which directly create reinforced protective factors in suicide prevention. I cannot overstate the appreciation and the gratitude we have had for many years with this initiative, the front-line workers who continue to lead these initiatives, and the community leaders who spend countless hours standing at the front line; so we accept them, and we appreciate them.
Lastly, I echo what our elders have said, that there is hope and there are many ways to celebrate life. Many of our elders survived hardship and starvation, and have a proven way to survive millennia, to pave a way forward, and to always embrace a new day.
Qujannamiik , Mr. Chair. Thank you.
Johannes Lampe President, Nunatsiavut Government
[Witness speaks in Inuktitut]
I know first-hand just what it is like to lose a loved one to suicide. I have lost a brother, a nephew, and a son. There's a lot of hurt and pain, and a lot of suffering. The impacts are far-reaching. I've spent many sleepless nights, struggling to understand why people choose to take their own lives.
August 9, 2008 will forever be ingrained in my mind. It is the date my son took his own life. For a long time, I felt lost, hopeless, and confused. But I eventually realized that I had to find the strength to pick up the pieces of my shattered life and to move on, not only for own mental health and well-being but also for other family members who leaned on me for support.
My story is not unique. It's a common story throughout Nunatsiavut. A paper published inThe American Journal of Public Health, May 19 of this year, on suicide mortality in Newfoundland and Labrador, revealed substantial disparities in suicide between indigenous and non-indigenous populations in the province.
The results showed that over a 17-year period, the suicide rate in Newfoundland was 8 deaths per 100,000 person-years. By contrast, the age-standardized suicide rate in Nunatsiavut was 165 deaths per 100,000 person-years, 20 times higher than the rate in Newfoundland. According to the study, this trend holds across all age groups. However, the disparity was greatest among those aged 10-19 years. It also accounted for a majority of deaths. Suicide rates were elevated among females in Nunatsiavut communities.
Research has consistently shown high rates of suicide in northern and indigenous populations in Canada and elsewhere in the circumpolar world. This study underscores the need to close the gap of the persistent health inequities in northern Canada. The study, conducted in partnership with aboriginal governments and groups in Labrador, combined community-based methods, including consultations with elders, youth, mental health and community workers, primary-care clinicians, and government decision-makers.
During the launch of the national Inuit suicide prevention strategy on July 27, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed listed the following factors as contributing to the high suicide rate: trauma due to relocation, inadequacy of schooling, our self-determination being taken away, and our inability to live the life we lived before we knew alcohol, drugs, or any other types of addictions.
I was born in Nutak in 1965. When I was nine months old, my family and all of the people in the community were forced to relocate south. The same thing happened to the people of Hebron in 1959. These were disturbing times for our people, and a sad time in our history. Many Inuit could not speak English.
When we moved to the new location, we didn't have any choices. We lost our traditional hunting grounds. There was no work. There was no support to help us adapt.
Our lives were turned upside down. Relocations have had a profound impact not only on those who were displaced, but on their families, and they will for generations to come. We continue to struggle with high rates of suicide, particularly among our youth. Unemployment rates in our communities are several times higher than the national average. Our literacy rates are several times lower.
We continue to struggle with the pain and suffering caused by alcohol and substance abuse. Many of our people continue to live below the poverty line. We are in danger of losing our language and our culture.
Those are huge challenges that we have to overcome as a people, but the challenge is even greater for those who were forced to move away from their homes and for their children, grandchildren, and many generations yet to come.
The northern territorial government has worked very hard over the years to raise awareness of mental health issues and suicide prevention. We continue to provide many prevention, intervention, and post-intervention programs, and we work closely with other governments, organizations, and groups in dealing with these issues. As we move forward, we must not forget who we are as a people. We must take pride in our cultural identity and we must strive to find ways to revitalize our language.
I believe these are key as we travel down the road to healing. A national Inuit suicide prevention strategy, I believe, is a good step forward, not only in increasing awareness, but also in giving people more hope. I look forward to seeing this strategy implemented for the benefit of Nunatsiavut and Inuit Nunangat.
Nakurmiik.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
Thank you very much, Mr. Lampe, for speaking on behalf of the Nunatsiavut government. I very much appreciate it.
Now we'll hear a voice from the Government of Nunavut, please.
Shuvinai Mike, you have the floor for 10 minutes. Thank you.
Shuvinai Mike Director of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, Department of Culture and Heritage, Government of Nunavut
I'm honoured to be here.
When I read the requirements, I said I was going to come here as an individual, but I would also like to speak about some of what I do in our department.
To start with, there is an inquiry to get a better understanding of how to help those who have been impacted. I am asking this because—
[Witness speaks in Inuktitut]
The way we comprehend or interpret is different. For example, to my understanding, the term “suicide survivor” can mean “I have survived my own attempt to commit suicide”.
Inuit elders, parents, and families advise those of us who have lost a loved one not to dwell on grieving. They say we need to let go of them so that their spirit is not lost.
In Inuit tradition, one of the ways to cope with losing a loved one is through kinship naming after a loved one who has passed away. I will tell you, though, that it is difficult to do right away. At least for me it was. I had to listen to my elders' advice and respect and honour our ways and accept that. As the saying goes, it was easier said than done. I lost a daughter to suicide, and it was hard to accept that babies were named after her, shortly after, but I had to accept that and honour that as well.
I have been struggling to find support from teachers who have training and understanding about what kinds of trauma and impacts suicides can have on students.
I heard a professional say that there is a difference between having compassion and discipline. It pierced my heart to hear that since there is a lot of difference. When one has compassion, then trust can be built up with a student who has been impacted. If discipline comes before trying to understand what the student may be going through, that is a concern.
We need aftercare services. We do have family support and friends. The missing part is understanding and knowing why. We parents tend to just protect and provide for a child to cope with a traumatic experience, and try to figure out how they can learn to live without their loved one. It can be mentally hard and draining.
The school system has a huge role, because our kids are with them more than they are with their parents. It's a lot to expect, but they are the most important professionals we rely on.
I am trying to be involved, but to meet someone else's expectations. I can recall hearing some saying, “Get over it. It's now the child's excuse.” These comments, to me, are heartless or show a lack of understanding. I keep repeating myself, asking them to understand a child who has lost their parent, to have more understanding and not to treat them like a child who has not been impacted.
I am sharing these real life experiences only because all the suicides have no answers, only assumptions. We have to learn how to feel those angry moments. And as a mother, when will I stop crying and asking myself what else could have been different? Why do I feel so much shame? What did I do wrong, and why do I have to keep saying, “Have compassion, and not pity”?
I wanted to start off like that only because I want to share, as an individual who has been impacted, and who is also providing aftercare to my two grandchildren, one of whom is parentless. I know the government and other organizations have all the good intentions and are starting up groups or even walks.
But sometimes the terms, especially “suicide prevention”...as I mentioned during the first inquiry, to us when it comes across in Inuktitut, it means you were preventing the suicide.
Inuit say those words in our native language, it means they're preventing it, as if they were present at the time when an individual was attempting it. We have to find ways to work with people who have been impacted in order to find proper resources for after-care, and that's the part that's really missing in the experience that I have as a director of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in culture and heritage. A lot of the funding that is provided through that department is for the people to retain their initiative and their own way of promoting life. They might not like the goal or the objective to be suicide prevention. The goal is for people to relearn the traditional ways and values that are relevant in their communities and in our communities as well, because today, as James said, the young people have two worlds.
When I was a teacher, I used to say the elders had the two worlds because they had to live the nomadic life and the life that is modern. Now it's as if we have to provide workshops that are promoting identity and building self-esteem in parka making and similar things—all these initiatives that are relevant to the people—and those are the ways to promote life. In the experience that I have with the elders, I coordinate the terminology and when they are not from an Inuit concept, it's hard for them.
That's the part, the Inuit perspective, that I promote in the government so that departments at least have an understanding of the needs of the people through their perspective, not the other way around .
Thank you for this time.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
Thank you very much for that.
With that we'll move into rounds of seven-minute questions without wasting any time. We'll start with Michael McLeod, please.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you to the witnesses for appearing in front of us today.
We've been talking about the issue of suicide for several months now as a committee. We've heard a lot of testimony, some of it very heartbreaking, as we're hearing today. A lot of the youth have also testified in front of us. They're going through some very difficult times, and this issue doesn't have a magical solution. There are many factors that we can point to. Some of those factors were raised earlier today: housing, lack of jobs, difficulty in getting a good education, physical and sexual abuse. All these things are ingredients of it.
We also heard from the youth who came in front of us about the loss of identity and the inability to be proud of who they are, and that really is of concern. I'm from the Northwest Territories, and this is discussed with the aboriginal people there. People always connect language, land, and culture as part of their identity. Many of our youth can't do that anymore because they've lost the ability to go out on the land or to speak the language, or they don't know their own culture or their history.
I think there are many things we can try to do, many recommendations we can make, but one of the main goals is to try to get people to be proud of who they are, especially our youth. Everybody should be proud, Inuk proud or proud if they're a Dene or a Métis.
I'm very curious to hear from all of you, if you were here holding the pen, what kind of recommendations we should be making as a committee and what you would say about recovering identity. I know we talked a bit about it, James, and I'm really curious to hear what you would say to help us formulate what we should say.
Thank you.
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Services, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Thank you for the question, Michael. I appreciate that youth is a big concern for you. I think it is the same here, because the majority of the Nunavut population is under the age of 25, so it's really a big concern for us.
We have efforts. For example, in Clyde River they've built mitigation measures into the community when issues like this come up, when youth are vulnerable. They have engaged elders to help stabilize them by taking them to the land for a time so that they can have a sense of being cared for, being around familiar environments, and just being in a place where they can really look at themselves and receive the care they need. Youth, in terms of identity, is a big concern for NTI.
While we have this initiative going on, the government is also closing much-needed group homes for youth in Iqaluit. To me, that doesn't make sense. At the same time, it's a challenge to try to bring some balance to this in terms of helping the youth forge ahead. They need attention, because they're being faced with issues that I never faced. In some ways I did, but it's different now. When I was growing up it was different. I had discipline and I had caring parents. Today, there are youth who don't have the same kind of care and opportunity to be cared for by parents who are ready at the same time.
It's a very difficult and sensitive issue, but at the same time I want to share with you that restoring pride in our young people and who they are is a major goal for us.
Liberal
Michael McLeod Liberal Northwest Territories, NT
The issue of residential schools has come up many times in our discussions. Senator Sinclair appeared before us. He said that since the residential school policy was put in place, the government spent seven generations kicking the crap out of our culture and identity, and it will probably take seven generations to recover. I honesty believe it's going to take a long time, and we have to start reclaiming our identity.
You mentioned in your presentation, James, that identity had to be reclaimed. You also said it was a federal responsibility. I'm assuming you meant through investment and resources. Perhaps you could explain or elaborate a little more on that.
Chief Executive Officer, Executive Services, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Thank you for the question.
NTI is prepared to work with the federal government to develop curriculum that is relevant and would reflect Inuit culture. Also, in terms of funding, it would really be beneficial if we could set multi-year funding arrangements, as opposed to piece by piece, because this challenge is really in need at this time.
I hope that helps answer your question. I think we have other comments.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
Does anyone else want to answer?
Please go ahead, Jeannie, and then Johannes.
Jeannie Arreak-Kullualik Director, Department of Social and Cultural Development, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
For every committee, for every consultation and working group that we go to, the number one recommendation is always that we need healing from intergenerational trauma and loss of our loved ones first before we can even tackle....
With 60% of our population being 25 and younger, we also have to weigh the balance between what's good for the older generation and what is also good for the younger generation. It's a very fine balance, and I agree it's going to take years. It's also been identified by each of the conferences and summits that it's not a one-time fix; it's going to take years, especially when you have to become confident to communicate all the stories of wrongs and injustices or trauma that you have experienced yourself. A lot of times we are in denial and say we didn't experience that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Andy Fillmore
Thank you.
Mr. Lampe, we're well over time on this question. I hope you'll find a way to add your comments under a subsequent question.
The next question is from David Yurdiga, please.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
I thank you very much, Chair, and I'd like to welcome the witnesses here.
This is very important to all of us right across Canada. One of the common themes I've been hearing and feeling is family. If you have a healthy family, you have a healthy community.
I think we have to go back and create the happy family atmosphere that has been lost. The youth have a passion, and I'm really impressed that these are our future leaders. They want to move forward aggressively. A lot of times they're limited by resources, which is a challenge. I think that moving forward, resources have to be made available. It's always about the grassroots. A lot of the time, program money is very difficult to get because there are many barriers in place.
What I'd like to see eventually is direct funding to the youth, because they are our future. I heard one comment that really touched my heart; it was that the family circle has been broken, and a lot of it is the result of the residential schools.
In your opinion, how can we fill that gap? How do we heal the family? I think its a big challenge for everyone to try to mitigate that aspect, because the residential schools took a large portion of that circle away. In your opinion, how can we heal that? How can we move forward?
President, Nunatsiavut Government
I believe that we have to go back to the truth, back to the first contact. When the Europeans first came, the aboriginal people of this new world at the time were impacted. They are still being impacted over 500 years later. Most certainly, the Europeans were looking for riches for their crown back in the Old World, and most certainly, the indigenous people were being used to destroy each other by the French and the English.
I believe that for something like that to be acknowledged by Canada and the provinces would make some difference. I believe that the hierarchy of any government, whether it's federal, provincial, territorial or local government, means that we are working in a triangular system, and even here today it is a square. We need to make a circle. A circle will have a continuum to proceed with the tools that are needed for us to work together. This is how we can look at reconciliation.
I, for one, as an individual, have had to face the truth, and I have had to reconcile myself with the issues I have experienced. As a child growing up, I thought that was the normal way of life, because of the education system in my years at school. Bullying in schools has a very negative impact on school children today, and that is just one example. Bullying is not just happening in the schools; it's happening at home. When children grow up, they again do lateral violence. Lateral violence could happen at this table or at any other table in Canada.
That is the truth for me. Reconciliation is very important, and I believe, as Shuvinai says, that we have to come back to the teachings. We have to come back to the Inuit traditional knowledge and the way that the culture and the language were passed down from generation to generation.
I believe this committee is taking a step forward, and I appreciate that.
I want to give Shuvinai a chance to speak.