Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee on Oct. 19th, 2016

[Jennifer Ward]

Absolutely, and all helping professions.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Finally, we talk about all the different issues around housing, health, cultural funding, mental health funding, policing, education, and the list goes on and on. Priorities, some at different levels, are required in different indigenous communities. Would you agree that the best people to determine where the priorities are and where the funds need to go are indigenous peoples themselves so, therefore, self-governance? Not only do we need long-term stable funding, we need self-governance to enable them to provide those priorities.

Would you all agree with that statement?

Please say yes. Head nodding isn't recorded. I need it all recorded.

[Louise Bradley]

Absolutely.

[Jennifer Ward]

Yes.

[Dr. Ed Connors]

Yes.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Really, once again, it's overwhelming in some communities like Attawapiskat. Where do we start? It's always the outside looking in and saying where we need to start. Right? It's time for them to be on the inside looking out and saying where they need to go and the level of funding they need to get there.

[Dr. Ed Connors]

I think that's a point I made when I gave you a summary of my paper, and you'll see more of that reflected in the paper.

[Mike Bossio, Liberal, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Thank you so much for your help.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

I'm afraid to say we're out of time for this panel.

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and thorough testimony.

I also want to let you know that the committee has created an online portal. If you feel there is more you'd like to add, there's a way to provide up to 3,000 words on this web portal.

Further to that, there is also an online survey for health care and mental health care providers that we're trying to push out very broadly. Michelle, our committee clerk will help you get connected with that. I would also ask if you wouldn't mind sharing that broadly within your support networks. We're trying to build a lot of really good data from that questionnaire.

With that, I say thank you very much.

Did you want to say—

[Dr. Ed Connors]

I was just going to say that we do intend to submit a brief to the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Good. Thank you very much. I'm very grateful for that.

We'll take a short break to disband.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

We're resuming now. I invite the Assembly of First Nations witnesses to take their seats. Thank you very much.

This session will go until 5:15 p.m., so we have about 45 minutes.

Representing AFN is Will Landon, National Youth Council representative.

Could you introduce the elder who is with you?

[Will Landon, National Youth Council Representative, Ontario, Assembly of First Nations]

Yes. This is Annie St. Georges. She is an Anishinaabe, gichi-anishinaabekwe, an Algonquin elder from this area. She just joined us outside to smudge and make sure that we started off in a good way before we came in here, especially with the content matter that we're discussing.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Wonderful. I'm very happy to turn the floor over to you for 10 minutes to use as you would like.

[Will Landon]

I wanted to start off with my own thing.

[Witness speaks in Ojibwa]

I asked the spirit to forgive me, as I use English. I can only speak a little bit of my language, but I'm still learning. I acknowledge all of you and thank you for giving the time to hear me today.

My true identity is Standing White Bear. I come from Rat Portage First Nation just inside Treaty No. 3 territory, and I belong to the Lynx clan. Today, I am here representing the AFN to discuss our calls to action and discuss the grim circumstances that are facing our communities. Before I even really get into it, I'm sure you are aware that a 10-year-old girl took her own life earlier this week.

As we're sitting here talking today, these issues are very real and they're happening every single day, whether they be an attempt or a successful suicide. Our calls to action that I'll be presenting today reaffirm our treaty rights and their sacred relationship between the crown and our people. Our calls to action also communicate our ideas supporting life and reducing risks for suicide attempts among first nations children and youth.

I've been an Anishinaabe youth leader. It pains me. It absolutely crushes me to my core that there are children as young as 10 years old committing suicide. It pains me to know there are young mothers and fathers taking their own lives and leaving children behind with questions as to why their mom and dad are no longer with them, why they chose to leave that way, much like my sister-in-law who left behind my niece and nephew.

I attempted suicide in January 2016. These are things that are not happening to at-risk youth; they're not strictly related to them. These things are happening to people like me, with a strong cultural background, who grew up in a home with my family. There are deeper issues at work than the simple surface issues that we continue to look at, and that's what we need to try to address.

The responses from the previous government have really left me frustrated, and even now, as the youth councils across this nation try to work as hard as they can to address this issue. Because these suicides are nothing new. They've been affecting our nation for quite some time now, and these crises happen in cycles. With the lack of address from previous governments, and more understanding as to how or why these things are happening, it's easy to see why our relationship with the crown is as tense as it is now.

But, I will say there is hope, hope that we can come together and begin to realize that treaty relationship that our elders had envisioned many years ago; to not renew our partnership, but to get to that level of partnership where our people all across this nation, including the Canadian people, are strong. It's going to be the passion for our young people, the care for those young lives. They are going to help us get there.

The way forward requires a first nations' social determinant of health to be addressed. Health outcomes cannot be assessed by the health institutions alone. First nations people need to take a lead, and we are taking a lead in addressing these issues, but what we really need to start seeing is being able ourselves to control the resources and to have the freedom to develop the programs, using our framework of wellness and our frameworks of healing.

The way forward also requires a full implementation of the first nations mental wellness continuum framework. The framework outlines opportunities to build on community strengths and control of resources in order to improve existing mental wellness programming for first nations communities.

There is clear evidence that pride in one's identity can reduce suicide rates. I've picked up a lot of my language, more than I ever did. I'm starting to learn my ceremonies. I carry this with pride, to the person that I am: strong, healthy, and positive. My healing began in January 2016, and it's only October 2016. With my experiences I never thought I'd ever be in this position, or have these positive emotions back again. Yet, here I am, and I credit it to this most importantly. Because, as we all know, colonialism, residential schools, the sixties scoop, have left us disconnected from our lands, our identity, and our culture. When you look through our calls to action, you will see that we ask for those specific resources and programming to be allocated to supporting youth to reconnect with their culture, to find a way to reconnect with their language, their spirituality, and who they are, so that when they have that pride and that identity, that pride in themselves, they won't believe suicide is an option. They'll know where to go. They'll know that our lodges and our elders are our true mental wellness people, our healers, just like your psychologists and doctors. That is where we go, and that's where I went, and that's clear evidence that I'm doing much better.

I want to go through our calls to action with you point by point because I would do a disservice to the experiences of the youth who contributed to this if I just simplified it or bullet-pointed it or anything like that, so please bear with me.

One, a priority should be placed on taking immediate action to address growing inequities in education, employment, income, and healthy living environments. In keeping with a social determinants perspective, first peoples must control, design, and define their systems of health, education, and child welfare with funding that is at least equal to what all other Canadians receive.

Two, adequate and sustainable funding should be provided to ensure that a comprehensive range of culturally safe prevention, health promotion, and mental health treatment services are made available to all first nations communities.

Three, regular and accessible training opportunities should be made available to youth who want to learn how to be supportive peer mentors to other young people in their communities, such as safeTALK or ASIST training.

Four, adequate funding should be provided to enable young people to attend regional gatherings related to life promotion and suicide prevention. Young people need spaces to come together, be heard, and develop their helping skills.

Five, support should be provided to first nations communities so that elders and cultural advisers can provide cultural teachings that will enable young people to know where they come from, who they are, what their purpose is, and where they are going. This will help to re-establish the strengths of first peoples' cultural identity that are vital for reconciliation.

Six, culturally appropriate, land-based teachings and educational programs should be made available for all first nations children, youth, and young adults, including traditional language revitalization opportunities, since valuable ways of knowing come from speaking one's own language.

Seven, all government departments should work closely with indigenous leaders and local, provincial, and territorial governments to implement recommendations 6 to17, outlined in the TRC report.

Eight, specific efforts be made to re-establish relationships of equity and respect between first peoples and the crown. These forms of relationships are crucial to sustain and advance healthy communities. This is the foundation of reconciliation and health upon the land, Manitu-wakhi, Mother Earth.

Nine, education for first nations students should be inclusive of the values and beliefs of first nations communities as determined by first nations communities themselves. In this regard we envision a Canadian public education system that is inclusive and respectful of all Canadians' beliefs and values, as cultural safety dictates.

Ten, all Canadian children should learn about Canada's colonial roots and indigenous pre-contact history to advance the restoration of peaceful and equitable relationships between first peoples and the people of Canada.

Eleven, give programs that are proving to be successful in communities, of which there are plenty, and on our nations, increased and enhanced flexible funding.

In closing, as we sit around this table we must not only talk about our partnership on a nation-to-nation level, we must also begin acting on it. That sacred relationship must be re-established for the sake and well-being and health of our nations' young people.

As you look at our calls to action, keep this in mind. It was 143 years ago that Treaty 3 was signed. I'm a descendant of those signatories, here today talking about a crisis for our youth in our communities. For as long as I can remember, it's always been the young people who have faced the brunt of colonialism, when you look at residential schools, sixties scoop, suicides. It's been our young people in our communities who have faced the most hurt and have had to deal with that.

In keeping with that, my parents are survivors of a residential school. I am a father of a six-year-old girl. They apologized to me for not being the best parents that they could be. How could I have accepted that apology when I knew it was not their fault? It was that system.

I say that, keeping this in your minds. When we make decisions, when we come together as nations and leaders, we effectively make change for generations ahead. I say that in 143 years from now, when it's our future sitting in these chairs, let's not make them come here to talk about another cycle of suicide. When they come to this table again, let them say that we came together—the crown, our leaders, our youth, our elders—that we established a solid foundation of healing and well-being for the future generations, and that we did that together.

I leave that with you. Now that's up to you to come to us and determine, along with us, how that's going to look in the immediate future and in the long term. I thank you. Gichi meegwetch, again, for giving your energy and hearing these opening statements.

[The Chair, Liberal, Andy Fillmore]

Mr. Landon, thank you very much.

We're going to go into questions now from members of the committee. Each questioner has about seven minutes. When we get to the sixth minute, I'll hold up the yellow card, and that just means we're about to move on. That's all that means.

The first question is coming from Gary Anandasangaree, please.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Thank you very much for joining us this afternoon.

Thank you for presenting the calls to action by AFN. Certainly many of the suggestions and recommendations are not new. I think they've been around for a very long time. I think the real issue is how they're implemented, and if they're implemented.

I want to just probe a couple of issues. You mentioned the prospect of healing. Many of the people we've met over the past several months have indicated that it's intergenerational. It's not something that can happen in a generation or is likely to happen in a generation; it will take several generations.

In your opinion and your experience, what needs to be done to the individual, in the sense of the support system? I know you outlined a number of the government factors. However, what needs to be done to the individual who can get us on the right path—I'm not saying the end goal per se, but the right path—toward that process?

[Will Landon]

I believe it's going to start with the education system.

Every Canadian, indigenous or not, has to deal with the education system, from three or four years old, all the way until they're 18. We have to start putting efforts into identifying at-risk youth, to get them the help they need, so that as they go through the school system they have the right supports to become a healthy person.

Whether it's in the public school system...that's going to include elders. It's opening the doors and relaxing legislation to have elders there. Or it's going to be within our own communities and our own school communities, to get them more funding to have those professionals come in and make sure that these youth, who might not have the best supports at home, have support and a safe place to go.

That's what I believe.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

The second part you mentioned is about identity. It's about connection to the language, to the culture, to the people.

My understanding, at least with respect to Anishinaabe, is that it's not a language that is spoken in the school system, or it's not available in the school system. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this.

What needs to be done in order for us to have, starting at the primary school level, introduction of more languages, so that the young people can learn and then progress toward high school as well as post-secondary education?

[Will Landon]

Again, that's having to look at the colonial framework that the public school systems are already set upon.

As I said before, legislation needs to be relaxed to allow elders to be able to enter schools more easily to start teaching that language. They are our true keepers. They have a hard time going through university to get an education degree. But I've been taught by people with education degrees in Ojibway classes, and I hate to say it, but they were white people. That makes no sense. They're not experts in it, and we're not getting anything out of it. Our real language keepers are experts in that language. They need to be able to enter those areas and teach us.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

With respect to the school system itself, right now many of the schools are run by local communities, right? For example, in Ontario, is it a matter of changing the requirement for teaching, to be accredited as a teacher but to look at alternative ways in terms of elders, for example, having the ability to teach within the school system?

[Will Landon]

Again, it could even be as simple as elders working with teachers to develop a proper curriculum and being in the classroom along with the teacher to make sure the standards are still maintained but that we still have that framework in place. Again, with first nations communities and their schools, it's no secret that they're just extremely underfunded and understaffed. They don't have the resources. Those basic funding things need to be addressed in terms of our communities.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

With respect to young people increasingly taking on leadership roles within the communities, we have seen it in a number of different communities. A number of young people have come forward and have taken on leadership roles. What do we need to do to empower that and to encourage more young people to come forward, like you, who can take this on? You indicated rightly that the people who are most affected are the young people. What do we need to do to empower them to take on more leadership roles and to support them as they progress?

[Will Landon]

In all honesty, I think it's just going to be about re-establishing a respectful relationship with our leaders, first and foremost. A lot of our young people have a cynical outlook on government and their relationship with our leaders.

Once they start to see that there's a respectful relationship between their leaders, and once they know there are these opportunities such as the AFN youth council or even their PTO youth council, and that they will have respect and will be heard, and that it's going to be demonstrated by our leaders and the leaders who sit around us today, then they'll be more encouraged and more inclined to take up these roles and speak up on their own behalf.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

As a young leader, what's the biggest challenge you face right now in terms of getting your message across and getting access to government and advocacy and so on? What are some of the challenges you face?