Evidence of meeting #33 for Indigenous and Northern Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was president.
A video is available from Parliament.
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Marc Garneau
Thank you, President Caron.
We'll now go to our next speaker. Mrs. Atwin, you have six minutes.
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our witnesses for being with us today. I'm incredibly grateful for your voices. It's always amazing to hear from the leadership across this land.
I want to mention that I'm speaking from the unceded and unsurrendered Wolastoqiyik territory here in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
I'll begin with Chief Archibald. It's really critical that we have these discussions about the representation and the appointments on the council. That's why this feedback is so important at this early stage.
What are you looking for when appointing a member to the board? What might Canadians expect to see as far as the individuals who might be represented on this council?
11:40 a.m.
Assembly of First Nations
National Chief RoseAnne Archibald
From the AFN, we would obviously want survivors to be a part of the board. The whole truth and reconciliation process is driven by survivors. It's really important that they are survivors, but then again all of us are in some way intergenerational trauma survivors as a result of that. Having a real, deep understanding of the trauma-informed approach that these kinds of organizations have to take is important.
Obviously, from a first nation perspective, we want diversity, which would include a female representative, a male representative, or perhaps a 2SL representative. Diversity within first nations also exists. We would like to see the board comprise not only AFN people, whom we appoint, but all people, and that there would be a diversity there. Those would be my top two criteria in terms of the selection process right now.
Meegwetch.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Meegwetch.
President Obed, and perhaps President Caron as well, is there anything you'd like to add in terms of what you would see as the ideal membership in the council?
11:40 a.m.
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Judging from the legislation and the purpose, we will need to have not only residential school survivors but also a cross-section of people who work in different fields, whether it be within law or within program and service delivery within community and sometimes at the national level. It also makes it clear that all Canadians must be, to the extent possible, part of the board of directors. We certainly need allies in this space as well. I would imagine that the board of directors will need strong non-indigenous allies from other parts of the Canadian community who can help round out the voice of this particular body and the work it does.
11:40 a.m.
President, Métis National Council
Thank you. I'll just build on that.
I agree with everything the national chief and President Obed have shared. One more piece that I think is absolutely critical is that the individuals on the council be accountable to our people and that there is a way to ensure that the individuals who are appointed to do this work have direct ties—for us specifically, the Métis nation—to our communities so that they can do this work with a holistic lens, ensuring that all of our people are represented on this council, and not just an individual with a personal agenda.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Thank you very much.
We know that the board will be establishing its own bylaws and practices, but I think it's important to look ahead and get feedback as early as possible in the process.
I'll begin with you, President Caron. How do you wish to see reporting conducted by the board? How would you like to see information shared among the governing bodies?
11:40 a.m.
President, Métis National Council
I'm sorry. Can you ask that one more time?
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
Yes. It's just around the idea of how reporting will be conducted. What would your ideal process be? What would you be looking for in that relationship when it comes to information sharing?
11:40 a.m.
President, Métis National Council
I think with our dedicated seat on the council, we could have that direct linkage to the council so that when these reports are being drafted, we'd be able to see them and we'd be able to engage throughout the development so that when the reports are tabled, it wouldn't be a surprise to the Métis National Council or any of our elected officials. It would be done in an open and transparent way.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
National Chief Archibald, how easy or difficult is it to disseminate this information to the various nations? Chiefs are represented in your organization, but how do you see that communication piece going to membership across the country?
11:40 a.m.
Assembly of First Nations
National Chief RoseAnne Archibald
That's a really great question.
As I mentioned, because of the diversity of first nations across Canada, we would have to figure out a proper communications plan around what this council is doing, with quarterly reports and reports at our AGAs and SCAs. In order to make a dent on that national landscape that is the AFN, we would need to come up with something that the board would agree to in order to make sure our first nations are aware of what's happening within this new council and the work being done by it.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Jenica Atwin Liberal Fredericton, NB
I have a tiny bit of time left, Mr. Chair. I would just ask President Obed if he has anything to add about the challenges in terms of information sharing.
11:45 a.m.
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Thank you for the question.
In the draft legislation, the obligation is to share an annual report with the minister. It's a very small reporting and feedback loop there. We would need something much more robust that also includes feedback, as both the national chief and President Caron have said, to community and representative bodies.
Ultimately, the scope is so large within this piece of legislation—and nebulous, in some ways—that hopefully we can find ways to have distinctions-based reporting that gets to the heart of certain issues that matter most to indigenous peoples and to Canadians when it comes to reconciliation.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Marc Garneau
Thank you very much.
We'll now go to our next person.
Mrs. Gill, you have the floor for six minutes.
11:45 a.m.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
President Obed, President Caron, and Chief Archibald, thank you for your testimony, to which I listened with interest and attention.
Many of the topics that I would have liked to discuss with you have already been addressed. So you can see that this is of interest to the committee, namely the issue of the representativeness of the board of directors and the independence of its members. In my view, the issue of the representativeness of the national council for reconciliation is a key determinant of its credibility and legitimacy, in the eyes of first nations and indigenous peoples.
I was wondering about something that has been less discussed: two-thirds of the board members would be indigenous and one-third would be non-indigenous. What does that mean to you? Mr. Obed, I heard you say that there should be allies on the board as well. I would like to know what your respective positions are on the fact that one-third of the members of the board of directors would be non-indigenous. Also, I am curious as to who you think should appoint these people.
Feel free to adjust your answers according to your respective interests, but I would like to hear the opinion of each of you on this. Ms. Archibald, I know you're going to have to leave us at some point, so I would invite you to answer first. You can answer afterwards, Mr. Obed and Ms. Caron.
11:45 a.m.
Assembly of First Nations
National Chief RoseAnne Archibald
Thank you very much for the question.
The composition of non-indigenous people is very key to reconciliation. I talked a lot about these institutions of assimilation and genocide, and people continually say, “Well, genocide happened to you.” The thing is, somebody was doing the genocide, so it's a two-way street. It's a relationship. The negative part of that relationship is non-indigenous governments and non-indigenous people. To heal that relationship and move forward, we need non-indigenous people to be walking that road to reconciliation with us. It's important, as the first nation part of the national council, that we are also vetting and being a part of the selection of the non-indigenous people.
We've seen many cases of people not having done proper background checks on certain appointees, and you end up with people who are extraordinarily racist, for example. I think the work of the council is to address that kind of systemic racism, and the overt and covert racism that exist within Canada. Certainly, having somebody who is an outright white supremacist, for example, is not something you would want on this council, so we have to have a say as well in the selection of that person. I think, together with the government and as a group with ITK and the Métis, we want to have the best Canadians on this particular council.
Meegwetch.
11:45 a.m.
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Thank you for the question.
I think it's important to understand what type of body this bill intends to create under the Societies Act, versus a government-structured body that would demand order in council appointments, versus a not-for-profit society, which, most often, chooses among itself once an entity is created.
That's why the interim board is so important. It's why the composition of that board is so important to what will ultimately become of this particular body in this legislation. It's because, aside from reporting to a minister annually with an annual report, there will not be oversight of this or any other parliamentary group on this body the way there might be in other pieces of legislation or other paths to reconciliation that we have.
It's very important to get it right the first time. We aren't necessarily opposed to a particular body being composed under the Societies Act, but as ITK, we want to be partners in the process in a much more robust way than perhaps appears in the interim body, which is largely composed of ministerial selections.
11:50 a.m.
President, Métis National Council
I don't have too much to add, other than to say that the perspectives of all Canadians will be absolutely critical to making sure that this moves forward in a good way.
Thank you.
11:50 a.m.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Chair, I know I have a few seconds left. Would it be possible to ask—
11:50 a.m.
Bloc
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Ah, okay. I have more time left than I thought.
I'll use it to ask a question.
Mr. Obed, it struck a chord with me when you said that you're still evaluating Bill C‑29, whereas today we're asking you, to some extent, what your recommendations are. I know it's important for this committee to do that work, obviously, because there is a pressing need to have a body like this for reconciliation. That being said, would you prefer that we move quickly to the next steps or that we take a little more time to make sure we do things the way you want?
My question is also for Chief Archibald and Ms. Caron.