Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, June 21, is National Aboriginal Day. The theme is the “encounter” between aboriginals and the Europeans. The Bloc Québécois favours a nation to nation approach based on mutual respect.
The federal government recently apologized to the victims of residential schools. In Kahnawake, in my riding, young Mohawks suffered irreparable damage.
Ellen Gabriel, president of the Québec Native Women organization, is calling for more action to correct the oppressive measures that are preventing aboriginal peoples from prospering socially, culturally, politically and economically.
If the Conservatives are serious about this apology, then I urge the Prime Minister not to wait any longer to endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and thus make it clear that his apology meant something.