Wela'lin, Chair.
Good afternoon. Taluisi Lorraine Whitman, Grandmother White Sea Turtle. I am the president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, and I am speaking to you today from unceded traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq Lnu people. Kwe kwe.
I would like to thank the Government of Canada, and the members of the House Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in particular, for inviting me here today to talk about Bill C-8 and the proposal to change the oath of Canadian citizenship to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples.
It has been more than five years since Justice Murray Sinclair released the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after its multi-year study of the horrors that occurred behind the walls of Canada’s Indian residential schools. I commend the Government of Canada for committing to act upon all of the 94 calls to action contained in that report.
I also understand that in just two days you will be doing your line-by-line review of the proposed Bill C-8 and that I am speaking to you at what can only be described as the last minute. I hope that the members of Parliament sitting around the table will excuse the fact that NWAC seems to be offering an opinion so late in the day. The truth is that it was only last week that we were advised about the contents of Bill C-8 and the committee's work.
If you have further legislation that will affect the lives of indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in Canada, we would be pleased to be part of the discussion right from the start, at the same time as you hear from the male-led indigenous organizations. I urge you to keep in mind that NWAC, which has been in existence since 1974, is the largest organization representing indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people in Canada. When you consult with us, you are consulting with grassroots first nations, Métis and Inuit women in every part of Canada.
Moving on to the matters at hand, we are extremely glad to see that the government is going forward on this recommendation of the TRC. I believe that all of us around the table would agree that far too many Canadians who were actually born in this country lack a basic understanding of the history of colonialization that shaped the relationship between Canada and the indigenous people. Too few Canadians have been taught about the importance of first nations, Métis and Inuit, not just to the history of this country’s formation but to the present-day realities.
Most do not realize that when ore is extracted from the ground, it is being taken from our traditional territory, and that in many cases, it has been extracted based on the agreements we call treaties. They do not know that when trees are cut, it is because we have agreed to share the bounty of our ancestors with settlers. To have that reflected in the oath of citizenship is indeed an important step to righting some of the wrongs and injustices that were revealed by the inquiries of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
We agree with the changes in wording you have made in the original TRC call to action to recognize the three distinctive groups of indigenous peoples who call Canada home. I think it is fair to say that indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people, despite their resilience, have suffered exponentially under colonialism. The national inquiry that examined the root causes of why so many of us are murdered or go missing found that there has been nothing short of a genocide. For that reason, we believe the realities of gender must also be reflected in the oath of citizenship and accompanying guidebook and that all new Canadians must affirm that they understand the importance of indigenous women to the land we now call Canada.
I close today by commending your efforts. I hope that this legislation finally becomes law, five years after the release of the report of the TRC. I look forward to the day when I can congratulate you for fulfilling all the calls to action of the TRC and the calls for justice of the national inquiry.
Wela'lioq.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for listening to my words.