Meegwetch.
Good morning. I want to acknowledge everyone in the room. I'm really honoured to be sitting here with my friend Senator Michèle Audette.
Five minutes isn't really a long time to speak to something that is so important to our people. I tried my very best to prepare for this—one minute here, two minutes there and one minute over there. I met with MP Idlout a couple of weeks ago and told her that I was really struggling with this, because what we are trying to do is address something or fix something within our most colonial and racist piece of legislation, which is the Indian Act. We're trying to figure out how we can make it less racist, less harmful or less discriminatory, especially to women—our mothers and sisters—and our children. We just had Red Dress Day.
I trust you, as members of this committee, to figure it out. You're surrounded by probably the top legal brains in the country. You have good technical staff. Why should I come 1,000 miles to Ottawa to tell you how to fix it? You should be able to figure it out yourselves.
Numerous presentations have been made in the past, including by the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. I echo the recommendations that have been put forward. Our responsibility is to put an end to the harms that have been created by this piece of legislation, the Indian Act. If we're really serious about addressing the historical wrongs and the injustices against our people, especially women, girls and children, then we need to start looking at actually dismantling the colonial structures that are being held up by things like the Indian Act.
Give the authority back to our people. Ultimately, the solution to this issue about Bill S-2 is to give the authority and jurisdiction back to our communities, for them to be able to determine who their people are. They're smart enough to figure that out. I think our responsibility, as leaders of this country, is to help in that process. That's why I came here today.
I have a written submission that I can leave with you. It talks more about the technical aspects of what we're talking about here. I just wanted to share with you my own feelings and thoughts. To me, that's the solution: Give that authority, that jurisdiction, back to our nations.
Meegwetch.