Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in this House to speak in favour of Bill C-30 concerning Mi'kmaq education in Nova Scotia.
As we move through this final legislative obstacle on the way to Mi'kmaq self-determination in the area of education, all I can say is finally.
Finally we are moving away from the repression of our ancestors who saw Mi'kmaq culture as a problem to be cured and not a heritage to be celebrated.
Finally we are turning self-government into a reality that will make lives better instead of words that make politicians feel better.
Finally this House can be proud of its contribution to the ongoing debate about the role of our First Nations in Canada's past and future.
Finally this is a bill limited in scope. It will influence less than 10,000 people in nine communities in one small province. In terms of the impact that the passage of this bill will make, I cannot overstate its importance.
This bill lays to rest once and for all the attitude expressed far too long by Ottawa, that we know what is best for aboriginal people, that we know how to provide the tools that they need to succeed. It is appropriate that that attitude be laid to rest for one simple reason. It was wrong. It was immoral and it failed.
Canada's policies toward the First Nations are a list of failures and crimes centuries long. More failures followed as we tried to correct previous mistakes: residential schools, and reserves that became ghettos. Even when we tried to do good it turned bad.
Is it any wonder that all of those great plans and schemes to civilize the aboriginal peoples, to integrate them with the mainstream of white western society collapsed. No, they collapsed because they suffered from one central and insurmountable flaw. They failed to involve the very people they were designed to help.
In many ways the Canadian government is still guilty of behaving in this fashion, of ignoring the concerns and ideas of aboriginal people as it creates policies which affect them.
Look at the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples that submitted its huge and comprehensive report, only to see it shelved and ignored by the government. That was a report that had within it the voices of our First Nations and those voices have again been muzzled.
The choices that our governments have made bring shame on them and on the House. But Bill C-30 is a small light in the otherwise dark history of aboriginal Canadian relations. Here we see honest consultation among bands and among governments carried over several years, but with a definite goal in mind, the establishing of a uniquely Mi'kmaq education system for the bands of Nova Scotia.
My party's critic on aboriginal affairs has done an admirable job of presenting the New Democratic Party's position on the bill. He has walked the House through the legislation in a clear and concise manner, noting the flaws and the imperfections as well as the positive elements I have mentioned again here today.
What I would like to address are the broader issues that surround the package of Bill C-30, especially the often ill-tempered attacks made upon it by the official opposition.
The official opposition has made much of the word equality and painted a picture that has this bill as its focal point, a picture of special interest and hidden agendas that lurk darkly behind the facade of multiculturalism and fairness. Through coded words and oblique suggestion, the impression has been created by the opposition benches that Bill C-30 is a Trojan horse for some unspeakable invasion force that will soon be unleashed on the “Leave it to Beaver” world they would have us believe is Canada. This is shameful and reminds me of the bad old days I spoke of earlier. But worse than that, the impression it creates is wrong.
Chief Lindsay Marshall from the Chapel Island Pudletek Reserve located in my riding has been one of the principal aboriginal advocates for this bill and has worked tirelessly to promote it over the past years. In his testimony given to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development he stated the truth about Bill C-30 and the truth about the Reform Party's position.
The cornerstone policy of the Reform Party is equal treatment for all Canadians. There is concern that Bill C-30 will segregate the Mi'kmaq community from society. My response is that Bill C-30 will provide equal treatment to all Canadians, including Canada's aboriginal people.
For the first time since colonization, aboriginal people will have the right to make laws regarding the education of their children along with the rest of Canadian society. Furthermore, with the passage of the proposed Bill C-30 our education leaders will continue to work in close collaboration with the province of Nova Scotia to bridge the gaps that exist between First Nations schools and provincial school curriculum.
Significant milestones which contributed to the bridging of the gaps were achieved during the implementation period of this agreement. Among those milestones are: provincial legislation for the establishment of a Mi'kmaq education council; Mi'kmaq representation on provincial school boards; and the promotion of the Mi'kmaq language and culture in the public school program for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal students.
This is the truth of the origin and intention of Bill C-30. It is a bill that will create and enhance equality, not diminish or destroy it.
Perhaps the problem the Reform Party has with this legislation comes from the fact that this bill is grown from the very grassroots that party loves to talk about, from consultations with communities and individuals both inside and outside the reserves.
Instead of that grassroots generating negative and destructive impulses that divide instead of unite, this bill has proven the official opposition wrong. It proves that when we talk to people and respect their opinions they will often come up with solutions that are inclusive, not exclusive, that look to the welfare of communities and not simply the desire of individuals.
The strength of this bill can be seen in the diversity of the bands in Nova Scotia. There are 13 Mi'kmaq communities and only nine have signed on to the provisions that will be enacted by this bill. The other four are reserving their options, consulting closely with Chief Marshall and others who support the process. They will wait to see. If they like the results they will come aboard as equal partners with the other bands.
Again this speaks to the strength of the bill and the processes that created it. If only the hon. members of the Reform party could advocate such a system of tolerance and respect, if only they could acknowledge that decisions do not consist of stark blacks and whites, then the political culture of our country would be better off.
It is often said that we have much to learn from our aboriginal people. I hope some of the points I have raised will illustrate that truth.
Bill C-30 is a flexible document that allows an experiment in independence and justice that is long overdue. It is also an example of what can be achieved when communities and governments put aside their differences and work in the collective interest because it is only when the collective is healthy that individuals can thrive. Perhaps that is the ultimate lesson which this debate will teach this House.
It is a truism to say that it is easier to destroy than to create, but it is a truism worth restating. I hope that all members of this House will take inspiration from this small act of creation and take pride in having voted to create a better future for at least a few thousand citizens of this great country.