House of Commons Hansard #18 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was school.

Topics

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

For all hon. members, during this period of questions and comments, comments on their own are perfectly fine. It is absolutely not necessary to pose a question. Comments are quite acceptable.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Vancouver East.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the member for North Island—Powell River for her incredibly moving and thoughtful speech. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for her, time and again, to share her personal experiences and those of her family to provide lessons for all of us, to make the point to Canadians that action has to be taken and for us to stop dithering, especially on the government side.

She raised the issue of indigenous children. This is, in essence, really a commemoration of indigenous children who were ripped away from their families. Even today, in my riding of Vancouver East, indigenous children continue to be taken away from their families. It continues. This is modern-day colonization. Part of the reason is because they cannot access safe, secure, affordable housing.

I wonder if the member has any comments with respect to the programs, or lack thereof, from the government with respect to addressing urban, rural and northern indigenous housing.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

Rachel Blaney NDP North Island—Powell River, BC

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her tremendous work on addressing the housing issue and how important it is.

I am still waiting for the indigenous national housing strategy that the government said it would provide years ago. When I look at the numerous urban indigenous communities that exist across the country, I can see that they need housing desperately. This is a huge gap in supports and services. It is heartbreaking when children are taken from their families, sometimes incredibly strong families, simply because they do not have adequate housing. Putting in a bill that we will not do that is not enough. Children should be kept safe: all children should be recognized and indigenous communities, both off and on reserve, need the housing. We have to stop dithering. We have to take action.

How long are indigenous communities going to have to wait? That should be a question that all government members ask themselves daily.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Liberal

Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak to Bill C-5, an act that would amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code to add a new statutory holiday, a national day for truth and reconciliation.

I want to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking from the largest Mi'kmaq community in the world in my home community, which is also the unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq.

Today, we are discussing an important step forward on the path of reconciliation and healing for first nations, Inuit and Métis people. It is a step forward in publicly honouring survivors, their families and communities by implementing calls to action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to establish a statutory holiday, a national day for truth and reconciliation.

Before my time as an MP, I was a professor at Cape Breton University. I taught Mi'kmaq history and about the Indian residential schools. I was also the treaty education lead for Nova Scotia, which meant that I would do presentations for schools, businesses, industry and all those who asked about the truth and reconciliation and the Indian residential schools. People would ask me why they were never taught this before, why they were just learning this for this first time.

The Indian residential schools operated in my home province of Nova Scotia between 1929 and 1967 in Shubenacadie. In my home province, for more than 40 years, children were forcefully removed from their homes. They were forcefully removed from all they ever knew, taken from loving Mi'kmaq families.

I will share two startling facts that I always shared in those presentations.

The first comes from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The odds of dying for a soldier in World War II was one in 26. The odds of dying for children in the Indian residential schools was one in 25. Let that sink in. These were not soldiers with guns and helmets. These were children wearing their Sunday-best clothes, Sunday dresses, and they never came home. That is why we call them survivors, like my Aunt Eleanor Mitchell, my Uncle Fudd Lewis and the brave author from Sipekne'katik, Isabelle Knockwood. When I was a young student at that same university, I read her book and realized the horrible legacy of the residential schools and the horrible treatment of these children.

When we talk of truth and reconciliation, we speak of the children. However, I want members to think about their children at home. For all who are listening and for all in the House right now, imagine all the joy children bring into our lives, the birthdays, Christmas. Imagine all the things we do with our children that brings utter joy into our lives. Now imagine a community without those children, without that joy—

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

I do not want to interrupt the hon. member in the course of his remarks, but I want to ask him if is sharing his time. The information at our end indicates that might be the case. I would ask if he could verify that, and we will carry on from there.

The hon. member.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Liberal

Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Oakville North—Burlington.

Getting back to what I was just saying, I am a father of a 10-year-old Mi'kmaq boy and I think about all the joy that he brings into my life. I ask members to think about what it would be like, as a community, to have successive generations of children taken away. Imagine the apathy that would create. Imagine the heartbreak of having your children removed from your homes.

Colleagues, this is why it is important that we reflect on the TRC calls to action and why we need a national day to remember that terrible chapter in Canadian history. That is why we are here, to bring call to action number 80 to life and make September 30 the national day of truth and reconciliation.

The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said:

Reconciliation must become a way of life. It will take many years to repair damaged trust and relationships.... Reconciliation not only requires apologies, reparations, the relearning of Canada’s national history, and public commemoration, but also needs real social, political, and economic change. Ongoing public education and dialogue are essential to reconciliation. Governments, churches, educational institutions, and Canadians from all walks of life are responsible for taking action on reconciliation in concrete ways, working collaboratively with Aboriginal peoples. Reconciliation begins with each and every one of us.

This national day would honour the survivors of the painful legacy of residential schools, along with their families and communities. It would be a reminder to everyone in Canada to never forget the pain and trauma that residential schools caused and continue to cause, passed on as intergenerational trauma. It would create an opportunity for indigenous survivors of residential schools and their loved ones to tell their stories, and it would be an opportunity for the rest of us to learn carefully.

I firmly believe that the proposed national day of truth and reconciliation will be a way for us to amplify and strengthen the voices of first nations, Inuit and Métis people. It will be a way to ensure that the stories and experiences, the pain, the trauma and the history of first nations, Inuit and Métis people are never forgotten. It will be a way to keep these histories alive in our hearts and in our minds, so that they may inform our actions going forward. With this, we may build a brighter future based on a renewed nation-to-nation, government-to-government and Inuit-to-Crown relationship based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership.

It is important to emphasize that this day should be utilized like Remembrance Day, as an opportunity to educate all Canadian children across Canada on this vital and tragic part of our history, should this legislation become law.

I would like to quote Senator Murray Sinclair, who stated, “While Indigenous children were being mistreated in residential schools by being told they were heathens, savages and pagans and inferior people—that same message was being delivered in the public schools of this country.” We need to change that. We need to see real funding and material support allocated to heritage, so that we can provide educational materials and tangible supports to school boards across Canada in telling these stories and this part of our shared history.

This is of fundamental importance to schools across the country. I remember, in December of 2015, when they talked about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and it was launched. I remember our Prime Minister telling a story of when he went to school. When it was time to discuss indigenous history, it was skipped over by the teacher saying, it was not very interesting. That day, our Prime Minister made a vow that never again will indigenous history be skipped over and never again will indigenous Canadians be told that their history is not integral to Canadian history. With the passage of the bill, we help ensure that people will never ask why they were never taught this in our schools.

I always used to talk in my treaty education presentations about the rice experiment by Dr. Emoto. There were two jars of water and rice. One jar was fed nothing but positive energy, saying, “You're great. You're good. You're good rice,” whatever they tell water and rice in an experiment. The other jar of water and rice was fed nothing but negativity, saying “You're worthless. You'll never amount to anything.” After seven weeks of this experiment, they noticed that the water and rice that was fed negativity began to mould and go bad.

If this is what seven weeks can do to water and rice, imagine what seven generations can do to an entire people when they are told they are worthless and inferior. This is what indigenous people in the country have had to deal with.

The failures of one generation can be the opportunities of the next. With this bill, with education, with awareness, this is where we could be in the future.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Milton Ontario

Liberal

Adam van Koeverden LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth and to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Sport)

Mr. Speaker, I rise again to express solidarity with my colleague and to thank him for teaching me so much about Mi'kmaq culture and for speaking the Mi'kmaq language in the House of Commons for the first time. His interventions and interjections on the committee we mutually serve, indigenous and northern affairs, have brought so much to the conversation and debate.

I called him last week to chat about the situation in Nova Scotia with the Mi'kmaq lobster fishers. He shared with me a video. I want to stand in the House today and go on record to say that it is the first time I have learned anything, at the age of 38, about the Mi'kmaq treaty system. It is important for all of us in the House to take 10 minutes to watch the video and continue down the path of truth and reconciliation through education.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Liberal

Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for those comments. When I was treaty education lead for Nova Scotia, we put together a treaty education Nova Scotia video on YouTube.

The fundamental point of that video was to create awareness of our treaties, to create awareness that we were all treaty people in the country but, most important, that we are all in this together.

I am reminded of the late Noel Starblanket from Saskatchewan, who shared with me this wisdom about treaty education. He said that if we wanted treaty education to succeed, the message had to be about hope and moving forward together. It could not be about bitterness. It could not be about anger. It could not be about resentment. It had to be about moving forward together.

He was an Indian residential school survivor, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart for that teaching.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Bloc

Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

I see this bill as a step in the right direction towards reconciliation, but more needs to be done.

Earlier I asked the Minister of Canadian Heritage whether he agreed that we need to accept and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and he said he agreed. When my colleague asked a question about whether the Indian Act should be amended and quickly, the minister would not commit to anything.

Does my colleague think that that legislation is racist and must be amended immediately?

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Liberal

Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the Indian Act is racist legislation. There is no doubt that we need to change it.

I really hope we can do so with UNDRIP, being something that takes its place. My father is one of the initial drafters of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is an amazing document and we should move forward on it.

When they were trying to change the Indian Act back in 2005, I remember an elder telling me that the Indian Act was like a rusty sword. They had gotten used to it and it no longer cut them. We have to be very careful moving forward on what replaces the Indian Act, because to some it will be seen as a sharper sword.

What we have to do is move forward on UNDRIP, while not looking so much at archaic acts that government has passed. We must look to the future. UNDRIP will be that future.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I want to rise and echo the deep honour and privilege of working with the hon. member. We have had many conversations around dismantling white supremacy and decolonizing our spaces, including this one in the House of Commons.

We have heard arguments against the expedited passage of the bill, having economic arguments about people taking a day off. In his remarks, the member referenced the solemn nature of Remembrance Day.

Recognizing the solemn nature of Remembrance Day and the need for our country to recognize the atrocities of war, what would the member's opinion be on taking this day as a solemn reflection of the atrocities of the colonial genocide of indigenous people across these territories?

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Liberal

Jaime Battiste Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, I have had some great conversations with my colleague about systemic racism in Canada and how we need to move forward on this. Awareness is a big part of that. This day gives us, all schools, all school boards, all businesses within Canada, an opportunity to learn.

I was part of a group that did the KAIROS blanket exercise and I feel it is days like this, September 30, when not only should people have a chance to remember and reflect but also be able to educate themselves on what happened, just as we do on Remembrance Day on November 11 every year when we remember the soldiers who passed away during that time.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:35 p.m.

Oakville North—Burlington Ontario

Liberal

Pam Damoff LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by acknowledging that I am on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

I think we can all agree on the importance of acknowledging the history and legacy of residential schools and their tragic impact on first nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. It is my hope that Bill C-5 will receive the support of all members of the House.

The last residential school closed its doors in 1996, just 24 years ago. This is not ancient history. The number of survivors is great, the victims and their families greater. The healing process will take time, and this bill is a step toward righting the wrongs inflicted throughout our colonial past.

September is a painful time for many indigenous peoples. It was the month that their children were taken back to school year after year and forced to leave their loved ones and communities behind. It is appropriate to mark this pain experienced by generations of indigenous children, parents, families and communities, a pain that continues to be passed on today in the form of intergenerational trauma, with a solemn day of reflection, remembrance and action toward reconciliation. It is a day to honour residential school survivors and their families and to learn about their stories.

On September 29, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action number 80, which seeks to establish, as a federal statutory holiday, a national day for truth and reconciliation. This day will honour survivors, their families and their communities while ensuring that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.

This bill seeks to establish a national day for truth and reconciliation that will be observed on September 30. As members may know, this is a particularly significantly date for indigenous peoples. It is the date of a grassroots movement called Orange Shirt Day, started by Phyllis Webstad, named for the orange shirt that she and her grandmother chose for her first day of residential school, only to have it stolen away when she arrived. Her orange shirt has become a symbol for the cultures, languages and childhoods that were ripped away from the more than 150,000 students of residential schools.

Every year on Orange Shirt Day, we encourage Canadians to take time to listen to the stories of survivors, learn about residential schools and come together to give hope to every child of current and future generations. This day would further spread these stories of pain and hope.

This year, on September 30, I walked by a school in my riding during lunch hour and on the playground I saw a sea of orange. Students had all come to school wearing orange shirts and, more importantly, were learning the legacy of residential schools. This is something that did not happen when I was their age or even when my son was in school.

The work of preserving these stories and educating Canadians about the horrors perpetrated at residential schools is extremely difficult and painful. That is why I would like to praise the work done by the amazing people at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario. Opened in 1972, the centre aims to preserve, present, create and educate people on the history, art, language and culture of the Haudenosaunee people of the Eastern Woodlands. It was established at the site of the Mohawk Institute residential school, the oldest residential school in Canada, which was operated from 1829 through 1970. It was nicknamed the Mush Hole by its students, as the children were fed only oatmeal three times a day, every day.

With its museum, art galleries, library and language centre, I encourage anyone able to visit the Woodland Cultural Centre for a unique and sobering learning experience to do so. It will be offering a virtual public tour on November 18 at 7 p.m. More information can be found at woodlandculturalcentre.ca.

Earlier this year, I attended a performance of The Mush Hole at The Burlington Performing Arts Centre. Telling the terrible story of what happened at the Mohawk Institute through dance and theatre, The Mush Hole is based on interviews and writings by residential school survivors. It explores not only what happened at the Mush Hole, but the intergenerational trauma experienced by the survivors and their families.

To further preserve and spread the history of residential schools, the Portage la Prairie residential school in Manitoba and the Shubenacadie residential school in Nova Scotia are being declared national historic sites this year. It is my hope that the Woodland Cultural Centre will also be declared a national historic site.

The residential school system is a national tragedy, a stain of colonialism upheld by systemic racism. Acknowledging its past and educating Canadians about the experience of indigenous children in these schools will ensure that this history is never forgotten and never repeated. It is a step toward righting past wrongs.

The introduction of Bill C-5 is a step forward in the healing process of survivors and their families who were harmed under this federally operated system. Once this bill has passed, the residential school system would be designated as an event of national historic significance, helping Canadians understand our history and its consequences.

While the government has taken important steps toward reconciliation, much more needs to be done. Canadians' understanding of the painful legacy of residential schools is vital to truth-telling, reconciliation and the recognition of past injustices. It will inform our future actions with the full knowledge of what has been done to indigenous people across this land.

A few years ago, in my riding, I held a screening of the documentary We Were Children. It tells the story of two children who were taken from their homes and placed in residential schools where they suffered years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Afterward, an 80-year-old former MP said he learned more in that night than he had in his entire life. New Canadians in attendance asked why they had never learned about this when they came to Canada. This all speaks to the importance of educating Canadians about our colonial past and the impact on generations of indigenous peoples.

In 2012, I had the opportunity to visit Pelican Falls First Nations High School in Sioux Lookout, a former residential school that is now run by the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council. While there, I had the honour to meet executive director Norma Kejick, an incredible woman whose good work was highlighted in the book Seven Fallen Feathers. Norma gave us a tour which included the surrounding forest, where many students died while trying to find their way home when it was a residential school.

When I left the school, I broke down in tears. How could a country treat innocent children in such a horrific way? How could we strip them from their families, the love of their parents and their broader community? How could we try to erase their culture and language? It is unimaginable to me that we could treat other humans this way, and yet we did it in the not so distant past.

A national day for truth and reconciliation would give us the opportunity to listen to all indigenous voices, reflect on past wrongs, learn from our mistakes and take action to advance meaningful reconciliation. On Orange Shirt Day, every child matters, and ever indigenous child deserves to be cared for, feel the full sense of their worth and feel hopeful for their future. Every single person in Canada shares the burden and shame of our reality.

As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, I know how important reconciliation is to our government, but I also know there is much more work to be done. Designating September 30 as the national day for truth and reconciliation would represent a national acknowledgement of our country's history and a way to honour survivors of residential schools.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Bloc

Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

I am fortunate to serve with her on the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, which is studying systemic racism within police services in Canada. I know she is doing a great job on that file, and I thank her for it.

I am going to ask her the same question I asked her colleague earlier. We were talking about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Indian Act. Does she think that that legislation is racist and that it must be amended as soon as possible?

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I too, quite enjoy working with the hon. member on the public safety committee. I want to recognize her commitment to improving the lives of all Canadians.

I do support the passage of UNDRIP. In terms of the Indian Act, we know that provisions in the Indian Act are racist. That is why our government is working with indigenous people across the country to ensure we can provide for self-governance and provide the tools they need to be able to govern themselves, as it should have been all along.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:45 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech on respecting human rights.

While I have the floor, I would like to state my concern about human rights issues in Colombia, where political dissidents are being subjected to harsh repression. Murders and abductions are being committed. I think this deserves more attention from us and the federal government.

I have a very direct question for my Liberal colleague. We have heard a lot of fine words on the subject of reconciliation. Obviously, we agree with what is being said, but we have to do much more than that.

Is my colleague prepared to pressure her government to drop the legal action against the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling on health care for indigenous children?

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I know our government is working diligently to ensure these court challenges are dealt with in a way that serves the people who brought them forward with respect and dignity.

I thank the hon. member for his question. We, as a government, recognize there is still a lot more work to do. We are not there yet. This bill is one step on the path to reconciliation, but we certainly have much more work to do.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Liberal

David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON

Mr. Speaker, in 2000, I had the wonderful privilege of conducting a three-year review of our indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories and their access to natural resources. One of the things that became obvious to everyone very quickly was the extent the lingering effects of residential schools on our indigenous population were hindering its ability to fully participate in economic opportunities. For example, there was a major debate, which still rages, between impact benefit agreements and equity participation in major resource projects.

I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could share some of her insight on the extent to which we have progress to make, the distance yet to go, in making sure our indigenous communities are full participants in these resource projects and their development.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Liberal

Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work in previous Parliaments on this issue and for his wise words now.

The member hit on a very important point, which is that we need to ensure that indigenous peoples can fully participate in the economy. Certainly, that has not been possible in the past for many reasons, some of which are directly because of the Government of Canada. However, there are a number of things that our government is doing, one of which is that the Minister of Public Services and Procurement is striving to reach a goal of 5% procurement from indigenous business.

I know from my conversations with Tabatha Bull from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, that many indigenous-owned businesses are in fact in the resource sector, so we must ensure that they are able to fully participate in the economy.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB

Mr. Speaker, it has been an interesting day listening to speeches. I worked last night on this intervention. It is challenging, in the sense of my background and culture.

It takes me back to the heritage committee when we dealt with this topic, and my understanding and knowledge were lacking. We depended on the witnesses to inform, explain and educate us. Were they all on the same page? No, there were differences of opinion about which day, indigenous day, orange shirt day. We heard opinions about more important things that should be done. It was interesting to listen as they brought it to us at that committee.

By the way, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Fredericton.

The bill has now been returned to the House. The goal of this legislation is extremely important, with the reconciliation with indigenous people as the national objective. The residential school is a dark chapter in Canadian history. I did not live it. My family did not live it, but I have visited Siksika Nation, which is in my riding. It is the second largest nation in the country. On that nation there were two residential schools run by two different Christian faiths. One school is gone. The other school is still there. I visited those places with elders. Where the school is gone, there is what they believe to be an unmarked graveyard with no recognition but memories of who went there and never came home.

The other one that is still standing is now called Old Sun Community College. The building has been refitted, changed and provides programs that suit the times that are needed now. As I walked through that building with an elder, there were parts of that building she would go through and parts she would not. She remembered some horrific things in that building, like the day her sister fell three storeys and landed at her feet and it killed her. That should not have happened, but it did. I cannot remember that because it is not part of my background, but I could listen to an elder tell me that story. The story of when she was six years old and would go to school and escape and go home. Her parents would be horrified that she was there, because they knew the Indian agent would soon arrive at the door threatening to take away anything that they had unless she was returned to school. That is not part of my memory, but it is part of my learning.

The bill is important and we are putting the onus on 5% of the population to teach us. Is that the way to do it? We have adults in this country who do not have this education or the opportunity. The town of Strathmore has done phenomenal work with the Siksika Nation. Many students from both communities, Siksika and Strathmore, go to that school. The drama teacher in that school wrote a phenomenal play called New Blood. It is put on by high school students from Strathmore and Siksika. It needs to be seen far and wide because it would educate adults.

I have visited our National Arts Centre, which now has two indigenous employees, but it has no money. I want the play to come to Ottawa. We need adults educated. As mentioned many times in the House, education is a critical piece. However, it is not just for students, it is for adults as well. I have watched that play and seen what the adults learned from it. It is put on by indigenous and non-indigenous students working together to produce a fantastic story of reconciliation with history in it.

Today, as I look at the notes I had and listen to the members, I look at the structure of, for example, Siksika.

Members can look at what the federal governments, provincial governments and municipal governments are responsible for, but do they understand what a municipal government, supposedly, at the band level does? Siksika Nation's council takes care of the roads and the sewer and the water, when it works, if it works, if it is there, but they are also responsible for education in their nation and they are responsible for health. There is a whole broad range of things they are responsible for, and we, as an adult country, do not understand the challenges that level of government has and the responsibilities it has. We do not know that unless we take the time to learn.

How are we going to learn it? Are we putting the onus of this bill on 5% of the population, without resources, to teach the rest of us? That is not going to work.

We have a piece of legislation that should be approved. I totally agree that it should be approved. However, where is the backup, in the sense of what the responsibility is to get the education for this to the population? I am not talking about schoolchildren; I am talking about the adult population. Where is it? We are now putting a heavy debt back on the indigenous people to educate the rest of us by saying, “You've got a day”.

I totally agree with the day. On Siksika reserve, one of the councillors led a walk from those unmarked graves at the school, which is gone, across the nation to the other school. That is an education those people understand. They are walking those footpaths. They are walking the footpaths that their elders walked when they went back and forth. We were not there. We do not know that path. We have to learn it, or this just becomes another holiday, which is wrong. We cannot let this slip into another holiday, yet we are putting the onus on the indigenous people to do it. We are naming it. I am a person who is not of that culture. It is not my history.

I remember when we passed the indigenous languages bill, Bill C-91, at the heritage committee. We had many witnesses come, and the ones I liked the best were the ones who said, “How is the money going to get to our school kids so we can keep our heritage and our culture with our language?”

I made amendments at that committee, and they did not pass. I wanted the money to go directly to the school level, just like the federal government does with the gas tax, which goes directly to the municipality. We bypass the other people and it gets done. I wanted the money to go to the indigenous communities and their schools. That is not where it went. It went to the three major organizations in this country. The leadership of Siksika Nation asked me about this legislation and the money. I said to ask the government and to ask their indigenous organizations where it is. Where is it? They are not preserving their language; they are not getting the money.

We have to work at the grassroots level, just like the indigenous people understand they need to do with their language. They need to get into their schools and teach their own children their languages to keep their cultures. It is an oral culture. They have passed many things on orally. It is a story culture, from elders to generation to generation, but they are not getting the money.

My fear is that we will pass this and we will have a day of recognition. They will be proud to have it, but will the 95% of the rest of Canadians have a clue? That is my fear.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

Mr. Speaker, it was a pleasure to hear my colleague speaking on this important topic today. I know that he shares my love of history, of education and of understanding our heritage, especially when, as he so aptly put it, we were not there.

On the question of how we, the 95%, can learn, I wonder if my colleague is aware of the different funding programs that are available at Canadian Heritage. That is what my city of Châteauguay did in conjunction with Kahnawake, which is our neighbour, in producing a joint festival called “la Fête du maïs”. It has been going on for three years now. It is, of course, cancelled this year, but it has been a tremendous source of mutual education.

Bills of Exchange ActGovernment Orders

2 p.m.

Conservative

Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the compliment from my colleague. Again, we both share the interest in history and would like to make sure people are aware of it. Is there any information she could share with me? We get a lot, so anything she could remind me of would be great.

However, I will tell members a problem that we have, The heritage committee has a study and now we have brought it back. Siksika nation has a world-class place for artifacts called Blackfoot Crossing. The people were trying to get the original clothing of Chief Crowfoot, who signed the original agreement in 1877. It was in a museum in London. They can not get it back because we have legislation that says it has to be a museum that requests it. We have an archaic word in there that does not allow some indigenous people to bring back artifacts to places on their nations.

We need to fix it. Again, I will have it on the heritage committee for a study. We need to change that so these people can have their artifacts, and we do not have to use that archaic word. They have beautiful facilities, but we have to fix that.

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2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Christine Normandin Bloc Saint-Jean, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

I hear him talking about the importance of education, the many benefits of learning more about indigenous culture, and the duty to remember.

I also hear him talking about the process in committee, where amendments can be proposed. I understand that some of his colleagues refused to fast-track the study of the bill to have it deemed studied in committee and passed at third reading. I would like to know what improvements they wanted to present in committee that would justify not fast-tracking the bill.

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2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Martin Shields Conservative Bow River, AB

Mr. Speaker, on the technicality of that, I was sitting here and I did not realize who said what. I just assumed it was coming to committee. The heritage committee is meeting right now and the parliamentary secretary is at that meeting, scheduling Bill C-5 to come before it. I was looking forward to it coming to committee, not from the point of view of voting against it but to learn more about those things and having witnesses come to speak to us about that.

I understand what the member is saying, but it had been moving along that line. We thought it was coming to committee as did the parliamentary secretary. That is being organized in another room on the Hill at this moment.

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2:05 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I hope, with that comment, that it will be moving through committee rather quickly since it did move entirely the same way through the chamber already. It already received support, not only within this room but also across the country, to move it as expeditiously as possible.

Perhaps the member can enlighten us on how he will ensure it actually will move through quickly and also ensure his party in the Senate will not block it like it did last time.