The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and then the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls all had different mandates. They all had different reasons for being. At the heart of it was human rights, and the violation of human rights of a specific group of people in Canada. It happened to be first nations, Inuit and Métis in all three cases.
The findings are then consistent in that human rights are being violated today. It is a necessity for the Government of Canada and for Canadians to understand this reality and address it. The UN declaration is a very powerful tool in an international human rights context. It is one of many tools that not only the commissioners of the MMIWG and all of the witnesses who brought forward testimony during that process talked about, but also something that through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission became such a massive part of the reckoning of the residential school experience. It was the unbelievable human rights violations that took place over the course of 100 years in this country, in communities across southern Canada. These are communities that you probably lived in—“you” being committee members.
We have the ability now to set a new course, and the ability to affirm human rights, instead of violating them. We have the ability to do better as a country, and to respect first nations, Inuit, and Métis women and girls, instead of putting them at risk for genocide.
These are the things we can do today. This bill allows for this movement to push forward rather than the status quo of the past, which has done so much harm, but which has been encapsulated by so much thoughtful work over the past 20 years with so many tears through the witnesses and the people who lived through this and continue to live through this today.
Their voices need to be heard. This is one of the ways the Government of Canada can say, “Yes, we have heard you, this country does need change, and this international human rights instrument needs to be fully implemented in this country.”