It can.
Evidence of meeting #102 for Status of Women in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was indigenous.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #102 for Status of Women in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was indigenous.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:35 a.m.
President and Chief, Native Council of Nova Scotia
Yes, I do believe it can cause harm to some degree, yes, absolutely.
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Thank you.
Ms. Omeniho, you used a term that is really alarming. You said that this could be "weaponized" against women. I wonder if you could weigh in on the same subject.
11:35 a.m.
President, Women of the Métis Nation
This can be weaponized. First off, I want to note that I recognize the comparison between the Amber alert system and what we're asking for with the red dress alert system. I'm going to be one of those people who doesn't believe that the Amber alert system is always the best system, because the police control who gets put forward in an Amber alert and who doesn't. The issue for us, when we're dealing with the red dress alert, is that when people's phones suddenly go off with these alert systems—and it doesn't have to just be Amber alerts—their eyeballs start rolling. They don't like the fact that they've had intrusiveness into their lives. We need to make sure that doesn't happen with the red dress alert.
The other thing is that women become vulnerable when we target them and when we're looking for them, especially if these women are hiding because they've had perpetrators abuse them. They may have gone into hiding, so we need to make sure that, if that is the case, those women—I keep saying "women", but I mean people who are vulnerable, who might be youth or 2SLGBTQ—if they are hiding, we haven't set them up to be aggressively pursued by people who have been causing them harm. There are many things within this thing that we'll have to be very careful about as it's being implemented to ensure that it really is about the safety and well-being of people.
11:35 a.m.
Liberal
Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON
Thank you.
I think that is a very alarming possibility that the committee needs to take into consideration.
Do the other two witnesses want to weigh in on this before I go to my next question?
This next question is for Mr. Bourbonniere. I was really struck by this image of you and others walking the river looking for women. It's just a horrifying thought that that's something that's even needed. Obviously, the idea behind this alert is that it will prevent that, that we don't need to have to do that anymore, that the women are not going to go missing.
Because prevention has been a theme through a lot of this testimony, I wonder if you can talk specifically, beyond the prevention of somebody in that moment of having been abducted or missing, how we go beyond that and work on prevention in general.
11:35 a.m.
Community Helper, As an Individual
We use a boat. We do land searches along the river, but we drag the river for two reasons, two messages. It's a message to those who are perpetrating this violence that we are out here, we are watching and we will not let you do this. The second message is to the families that we have not forgotten, that we will search for your loved ones, and we will never quit.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Thank you so much for that.
I'm now going to pass it over to Andréanne Larouche.
Andréanne, you have six minutes.
April 9th, 2024 / 11:35 a.m.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
To begin, I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today for our study on the implementation of the red dress alert system. You all have valuable input to provide. It is extremely interesting.
Ms. Étienne, as an MP from Quebec, let me begin with you. First, congratulations on the 50th anniversary of Quebec Native Women. That is quite a feat. Those are 50 years of hard work in defending the rights of indigenous women and girls in Quebec.
In your comments on the red dress alert, you talked about Quebec's specific characteristics. I would like to hear more about that because the plan is to create a national red dress alert. We know there are already many local initiatives in communities in Quebec and in the provinces. In view of what has already been done on the ground more locally and in addressing the communities' needs, how do you see the rollout of the alert?
11:40 a.m.
President, Quebec Native Women Inc.
Thank you very much for the question.
What I can say right now is that the groundwork still has to be laid. Things are different at the national level. If we want to provide the best protection and inspire the greatest trust in the new red dress alert system, I think discussion tables with the key stakeholders need to be set up very soon. I am referring to public agencies and services, such as the police services in our communities. The approach must be structured and organized. Someone talked about awareness and education earlier. That is a cornerstone for getting out our messages and having them heard.
At local discussion tables, we have to think about the process for establishing the red dress alert system. We will not be reinventing the wheel. Other systems already exist; we simply have to adapt them culturally to the First Nations.
We also have to consider the speed and effectiveness of the service. The quality of service has to be better than what we have now in order to address the real needs in the situations that arise. The local table could develop a communication strategy focusing on awareness and prevention in all social strata, in our communities and in Quebec society as a whole.
In my opinion, the groundwork has to be laid in order to establish the service effectively and bring the key stakeholders into this important initiative. That will require greater awareness at the individual and collective levels on issues related to missing and murdered indigenous women.
11:40 a.m.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
You said you are in the best position to know what is being done in your communities, what the needs are, and what would be most culturally appropriate. I see a need to create a dialogue from nation to nation from the perspective of reconciliation.
All of that has to be considered or else people will still not have much trust in the system. That is what I am hearing.
11:40 a.m.
President, Quebec Native Women Inc.
Precisely. We would be scratching the surface or providing a band-aid solution.
You used the right words, the key words: reconciliation, trust. We have to bring the key stakeholders to the table and work on this unifying idea that will foster individual and collective awareness. In that spirit of reconciliation, we must work quickly to address this problem plaguing indigenous women.
Yes, we are in the best position to provide input in order to address a real need involving missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
11:45 a.m.
Bloc
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Shefford, QC
Ms. Étienne, in addition to the police, who should be at the discussion table? How do you see that table?
11:45 a.m.
President, Quebec Native Women Inc.
I see a role for an organization such as ours, Quebec Native Women, which has 50 years of knowledge and expertise in women's issues. I also see a role for the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, which represents all chiefs, and for the police chief, who represents all First Nations police chiefs in Quebec. Equally, I think Johanne Beausoleil, the director general of the Sûreté du Québec, could play a role.
Steps must be taken to bring the key stakeholders together around the table.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Karen Vecchio
Thank you so much.
We're now going to pass it over for the next six minutes to Leah.
Leah, you have the floor for six minutes.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Thank you so much, Chair.
Thank you to all of the witnesses today.
I wanted to start off with my brother Mitch. I'm going to embarrass him, because he's an adopted brother.
He's a very humble person who spends his life volunteering for our community, and literally saving lives. He has won a Governor General's Award for jumping in the Red River to save a life. I just want to honour Mitch.
11:45 a.m.
Voices
Hear, hear!
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
He's my spirit brother.
I wanted you to start by just talking about Drag the Red. I think it's important for the committee to really understand how dire it is. The process of dragging the Red came about, because women were not being looked for. Family members came out and started looking for their own relatives.
When you're dragging, what equipment are you using, and who is joining you in that boat? Be very brief, because I have so many other questions I want to ask you.
11:45 a.m.
Community Helper, As an Individual
Thank you, Leah, for those kind words.
It's all led by volunteers. We go out every night between May and October. It's mostly administered and organized by women. They do the hard physical work on the boat. Some of the men and boys come to help and provide support and take direction from the women on the boat.
We literally drag the bottom of the river with hooks. We did actually find a young man a few years ago. That young man was known to me. We were able to bring him back home to his family. Many women have turned up in that river, and many more are lost to that river. That river could tell stories. It's very emotional work.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Thank you so much.
I thought that was important to share, because it speaks to the urgent need to put in place a red dress alert. We shouldn't have to search the bottom of rivers for our relatives. We are valuable and precious.
You spoke about normalized violence within our community. I want you to speak a little bit more about normalized violence outside our community.
I say that, because the last accused serial killer, who is currently on trial, was a white male. Shawn Lamb, who was accused of murdering Tina Fontaine, was another white male.
I think it's important, because often indigenous men are targeted. They say, “Well, you should look after your man.” I get those comments all of the time.
Can we talk about normalized violence in the broader society against indigenous women in particular?
11:50 a.m.
Community Helper, As an Individual
In 1990, we created the Bear Clan Patrol. The number one reason we created that patrol as an alternative to the police was that it was obvious and visible that non-indigenous men—white men from the suburbs, affluent, in high-end vehicles with baby seats in their backseat—would come into the inner city and indigenous neighbourhoods to bother, grab up, use and abuse indigenous women and girls, who were just going about their business. That was the sole reason that Bear Clan even began 34 years ago. We said, “No, that was not going to happen in our community.”
The ultimate form of racism is to view another person as inferior and not human. If you do that, then you're allowed to do anything you want to them, and specifically to the women. If you want to harm a nation, then you harm the women of that nation. That is what has happened. There is still a 20% to 25% statistic that it's non-indigenous white men who are perpetrating this violence against indigenous women and girls.
Thank you for the opportunity for me to share that.
