My hon. colleague from Regina-Lumsden suggests this is a good idea. We will see as the hour progresses.
The preamble of Bill C-244, an act respecting a national solidarity day for the aboriginal peoples of Canada, is as follows:
Whereas it is desirable that Canadians designate a day in recognition of Canada's original inhabitants;
And whereas Canadians seek earnestly to set an example of their commitment to honouring native cultures;
And whereas June 21, being the longest day of the year and marking the changing of the seasons, should be designated as a day in tribute of Aboriginal solidarity;
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Therefore this act may be cited as the National Solidarity Day for the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Act. If it passes it will be just that.
A point of clarification is needed. A number of my colleagues, particularly in the Reform Party, have asked whether this is a legal holiday. The point is not to make it a legal holiday but to designate it as a day when Canadians from coast to coast join with aboriginal peoples from coast to coast in acknowledging the tremendous cultural contribution First Nations and aboriginal people have made to this country. There is some question about who the first Europeans were who arrived on these shores. I take some pride in saying that my forefathers, the Vikings, were probably the first Europeans, although some people suggest it was the Irish. Some suggest the Chinese. Whoever they were it is important to say they arrived on the shores of North America and Canada to meet incredibly advanced cultures; cultures that had existed in some cases in rather hostile natural environments for hundreds and hundreds of years, thousands of years in many cases.
They had developed not only an incredible harmony in terms of working with each other and complimenting each of the organizations, tribes, clans and cultures in existence but they worked and lived in harmony with the natural environment.
When the first explorers from Europe arrived on Canadian shores they found by and large people who complimented their efforts and assisted them. They gave of all their own resources and so on to facilitate in the exploration of what we call today Canada.
Then the colonizers arrived. The settlers arrived. They met a relatively welcoming culture, a welcoming people who introduced them to the realities of living in this part of the globe. One can imagine the incredible suffering that would have occurred with some of these original settlers if the original inhabitants of those areas were not there offering co-operation, support, guidance and help at virtually every turn.
Things took a turn for the worse. It was then that we as a non-aboriginal culture began to practice what can only be called cultural genocide in many cases with intent, in other cases indirectly. The reality was disease, sickness, illness, violence and all sorts of aspects resulted in the genocide of aboriginal cultures, almost to their extinction.
Right now as we speak there are only a handful of original aboriginal languages left in the country. Thank goodness that at the 11th hour we have to give full credit to the aboriginal leaders across the country who stood up and said: "This is the end. We will now reverse this process". Through incredible leadership they have reversed the process of cultural extinction. Today aboriginal cultures from coast to coast are probably richer, more vibrant and more dynamic than they have been for a long time.
I want to refer to a number of aboriginal leaders in my constituency. Every member could stand in their place this afternoon and do the same. There are outstanding individuals who in a number of ways through their leadership ability and commitment to not only advancing the cause of their own peoples but the country as a whole have made these tremendous gains possible.
I refer to people like Chief Nathan Matthew, Chief Manny Jules, Chief Ron Ignace, Chief Richard LeBourdais and many others from the Shuswap nation of central British Columbia. I acknowledge those same statements could be made for aboriginal leaders from coast to coast.