Debates of Oct. 30th, 2020

The House resumed from October 23 consideration of the motion that Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Bills of Exchange Act

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, virtually since the leader of the Liberal Party became the leader of the Liberal Party, one of the strongest senses of commitment that I have seen in the leader, who is now Prime Minister, is his sense of commitment toward indigenous peoples and wanting to establish that nation-to-nation relationship.

If we take a look at what we have been able to accomplish as a government over the last number of years, we can all share in recognizing the valuable contributions as legislators that members on all sides of the House have made on this very important issue. Members would be very familiar with the calls to action in regard to reconciliation. There are 94 calls to action asking for governments and other agencies to do what they can to move towards reconciliation.

The bill we are debating today, and have debated for a couple of days, is just that. It is one of the calls for reconciliation. I would encourage all members to seriously consider supporting this legislation.

I have had the opportunity and am very proud to represent Winnipeg North. Winnipeg North has an interesting, diverse makeup of people. One of the largest and growing communities is the indigenous community in Winnipeg North. I estimate it is probably somewhere in the area of 18% to 22%, with some areas of the riding having a higher percentage than others. I like to think that, going forward as a community, Winnipeg North wants and should push for and encourage, wherever we can, reconciliation, by taking the actions necessary to ensure that there is more harmony within our society.

We have such a wonderful, diverse community. For me personally, I think the bill we are debating today will go a long way in being helpful. It does not matter which member of Parliament or which area of the country we represent, the community of Canada will in fact benefit from the recognition of this statutory holiday.

I have taken the initiative, and it is not too often I do this, to quote something from constituents in regard to this specific bill. I have two quotes I would like to share with members. These are from constituents with indigenous backgrounds. I indicated that I would be debating Bill C-5, the need for a statutory holiday, and I asked for their thoughts. I would like to share a couple of the comments I received.

This comes from one of my constituents, who says, “As a parent, we teach our children about the tooth fairy and Santa, and as children, they eventually outgrow these make-believe images and beliefs. Contrasted to racism and some Canadians' lack of understanding of residential schools, Indian-based schools and treaties negotiated with my peoples, which are the cornerstone of our nation's legal foundation, many Canadian children are growing up with a false or make-believe history, which contributes to the latter intolerance we see in hospital beds in Quebec and at the fishermen's wharf in Nova Scotia. Education is the only solution and is needed to create understanding. Understanding is the sunlight where racism and falsehoods die. September 30 should be a day when all Canadian people reflect on our true history and the hardships that first peoples continue to face, in a day focused on culture, language, history, understanding, truth and the united path of reconciliation.”

Another constituent, in this case a mother of indigenous background, sent me this. She says, “As stated in the TRC report, reconciliation must inspire indigenous and non-indigenous peoples to transform Canadian society so that our children and grandchildren can live together in dignity, peace and prosperity on these lands we now share. Imagine the opportunities for families, individuals and businesses to grow their understanding and make progress towards reconciliation, to pass this down from one generation to the next. Imagine the events that would be hosted in communities from coast to coast to coast. Reconciliation is every Canadian's responsibility. It is not enough to leave this to certain sectors like education in school. As a government, as individuals, as Canadians, we need to honour the spirit and intent of the call to action number 80 and establish a statutory holiday and enact a day of truth and reconciliation in partnership with indigenous people.

I have a very short quote from her 12-year old daughter who, by the way, had a grandmother who actually went to a residential school. She said, “It would be so much better if everyone could participate instead of just having Orange Shirt Day at school.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada conducted an extensive public review in terms of what we needed to do during this era of Canada's history where it is really important for us to try to make amends. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission came up with 94 recommendations. If we look at all 94 recommendations, 76 of those fall, at least in part, under federal responsibility. What we have seen over the last number of years is a government, with support from other parties, dealing with issues such as language and child welfare. We have seen budgetary measures to support the principles of reconciliation in different forms.

The call to action we are talking about today is number 80. Allow me to quote from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action:

We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Whether it is my constituents or the calls to action, these are good reasons for members to recognize the value. We have seen that in different forms. It was not that long ago that I was talking about recognizing Filipino Heritage Month in June, or standing in the chamber calling for members of Parliament to recognize a Sikh Heritage Month in April. On many occasions I have stood in my place and talked about the importance of heritage and the designation of days, weeks or months.

We are saying here that we need to have a statutory holiday to recognize the true value of what has taken place in order for us to move forward and be part of reconciliation in a positive way, to reflect on the many speeches in which we talk about Canada's great diversity, and to understand and appreciate the value of what Bill C-5 is offering all of us. Today is an opportunity to send a strong, powerful message to our indigenous peoples.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would say that there is pretty much unanimous support on this one.

I am just wondering about some of the other issues that were in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report, and also about the relationship that we have with indigenous peoples across the country.

I come from a riding with 14 first nations communities across northern Alberta. One of the frustrations that is often brought up to me is around those band members who live off-reserve: how they incorporate with the folks who live on-reserve, and why services that are available on-reserve are not necessarily available off-reserve. Many of these questions are brought up to me.

I recently had a meeting with Denise from my riding, and she brought it up. The other thing that she was frustrated with was the lack of enforcement of the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. Her community recently got a “cows and plows” settlement, and she said they do not know where that money is going. She would really like to know if the Liberals will be enforcing the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, there are numerous issues. It has taken us many years to get to the point we are at today, and not all issues will be resolved overnight. I believe that we need to move more on an urban indigenous strategy and how that would fit into society, moving forward.

It is important that we have faith and trust in indigenous leadership and encourage it wherever we can. I appreciate the question, and the suggestion from the member that he would be—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

Bill C-5 is really exciting and interesting. As we know, it resonates with many Quebeckers because they have always been close to indigenous peoples and they want to maintain that closeness.

When we talk about the right to redress in the bill, we are talking about the right of victims to get redress for the harm that was done to them. This finds its expression in the duty that the state has to satisfy the victims by restoring their past status, fairly compensating them for the harm done or offering them the opportunity for rehabilitation.

What does the government have to say about the Bloc Québécois motion? That is exactly what we are asking for, redress and an apology from the federal government.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am not sure. Is the member talking about yesterday's motion?

Today we are talking about truth and reconciliation. The bill that is before us is a significant step in terms of recognizing how important it is that all Canadians have a role to play in reconciliation. I would think that is a step forward, as I would anticipate that we would see many different activities on the statutory holiday that would be educational for all of us.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I agree with having a national day for truth and reconciliation. It is an important step in the right direction. However, what is even more important is for Canada to recognize the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. I am wondering how long it is going to take for that piece of legislation that is so needed, and we are seeing that across Canada right now.

When is that going to be tabled?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister and the government, in fact Liberal members of Parliament, have been very clear in support of it. I suspect it is only a question of time. There was an attempt previously that made it fairly far; unfortunately, it got stalled at the Senate level. I appreciate the question.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to be here today to speak in support of Bill C-5. I wish to honour the important work of sister Georgina Jolibois that initiated the development of the bill, and to commend the government's effort to ensure that this legislation is realized. This is a critical piece of legislation: a small piece of justice as we begin to move forward learning about the true history of Canada. These are stories I also possess as somebody who has had to work through her own intergenerational impacts.

My mother was from Wood Mountain Lakota First Nation in Treaty 4 territory in the province of Saskatchewan. She was a street kid who ended up in child welfare after my grandmother abandoned her and her younger brother in a motel room in Moose Jaw when she was five years of age. Due to the fact she was the eldest child, my grandmother left her in charge of her younger brother with specific instructions to ration a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and jam for the five days she had to leave them in search of money.

There were no supports for indigenous women in the 1930s. There were no social safety nets. There were no human rights. Sexism was rampant and racism was fierce. My grandmother had no one to turn to, especially as an indigenous single mother, so she left her children. I remember my mother telling me how she, along with my uncle, gleefully ate the loaf of bread, resulting in a complete depletion of their food ration in only one day. Hungry, scared and alone, my mother decided to contact the Children's Aid Society. At five years old, my mother had become street savvy and, having no other relatives to turn to at the time, contacted the Children's Aid Society. My mother and her brother needed to eat. They were hungry.

It is beyond most people's imaginations, especially those persons who have been privileged with human rights, how a mother could leave her young children in a motel room. It is beyond the minds of many privileged persons to genuinely appreciate what events in my mother's life led her, at five years of age, to understand how to deal with her and her brother's hunger. My mother knew who to call, and how to work with the bureaucratic child welfare system, to get fed. She had learned to survive just like my grandmother, who had absolutely no resources or supports to assist her. I am sure my grandmother's struggle rang so loudly that she could not hear the musical and healing reverberations of the jingle dress. The jingles were too faint and muzzled to hear above the noise of the struggle she faced every day. There was no time for healing or inner reflection. She was hungry and alone while the Canadian government wilfully perpetrated acts of genocide, making it impossible for her to survive.

My grandmother's choice to leave her young children in a room did not stem from a lack of love. My grandmother started living on the streets as a child and eventually became an alcoholic in adult life as a way to deal with the violent genocide she experienced as an indigenous child and then woman. Dislocated from her family for reasons directly impacted by the Indian Act of 1876 and the institutional disruptions to my family, including residential schools and the child welfare system, she did not have anyone or anywhere she could turn to. She was not even considered a human being by the Canadian government under the 1876 Indian Act, which defined a person as any individual other than an Indian. This violent colonial history has often been invisible to settler populations, due to the masterful way governments have hidden their dirty little secrets of genocide. This has supported a level of cognitive dissonance in Canada that has paved the way forward for ongoing human rights violations against indigenous peoples.

It is not surprising that many indigenous people suffer from unresolved colonial trauma today, and continue to suffer as a result of the wilful human rights violations perpetrated by governments. One only has to look at the number of indigenous children currently in care, more now than at the height of residential schools, to see the long-term impacts that violating indigenous people's fundamental indigenous human rights has had on indigenous nations.

The contemporary child welfare system, or what I like to refer to as the dumping ground of society, is there so that no one has to see the legacy of cultural, social and family disruption that has resulted from colonization.

Understanding the impacts of colonialism in Canada is imperative if we are going to move forward in a manner that honours all persons. Going back in our shared history and reflecting on historical disruptions to better understand why things are the way they are today is imperative. For Canada, it is about exposing truth and working through all the cognitive dissonance that keeps it sick. For families and communities that have experienced genocide, it is about relearning how to be together as families, communities and nations. This is the journey I have had to follow while trying to understand my grandmother's reasons for causing such pain towards my mother, whom I love dearly. This has been a very difficult journey for me.

As a result of my family history, for most of my younger years, I grew up without extended family. In fact, we were so devoid of family connections that my parents asked a close friend if we could call him “Uncle” Larry. He was not a biological uncle; however, they wanted us to experience having family outside of our own immediate unit. I remember how excited I was to meet Uncle Larry. It was my first time ever being able to call somebody “uncle”, and I remember talking about my Uncle Larry to my friends. Finally, I was able to participate in playground conversations about weekend family engagements with extended family members. I was not close to Larry. In fact, if I saw him today, I would not even know what he looked like. I do not even remember his last name, but our relationship made me feel normal.

I was pretty much without extended relations until my mother's side of the family had a reunion when I was 13 years old, and I was reunited with my aunts, uncles and cousins who had been separated by child welfare. It felt like I had known my relatives my whole life. Our instant closeness flowed through our blood members' shared stories of resistance, struggle, survival, hope and pride in our ancestors.

We are the descendants of Sitting Bull: one of the most revered leaders in North America. Our nation's history, in fact, has become a Hollywood story, often romanticized in movies like Dances with Wolves, which chose a Caucasian woman to star as the leading Lakota lady. Painted in brown theatrical makeup, she was swept off her feet by the white soldier who was part of the U.S. army. They fell in love, and she willingly chose to leave her family to build a new life with this heroic, white settler. I vividly remember that, for at least two years after Dances with Wolves was released, any time I mentioned I was Lakota, I would frequently hear, “Wow, Dances with Wolves.” That comment would make me nauseous, because it epitomized the myth of the kind white settler who lived side by side with indigenous peoples resulting in a respectful, lasting and loving relationship: the great colonial lie.

This myth makes a mockery of the violent colonial attacks against the Lakota Nation, and contradicts historical accounts passed down orally by my ancestors who settled in Wood Mountain after the Battle of Little Bighorn. This battle between the U.S. army and indigenous nations, including the Cheyenne Nation, occurred as an act of resistance to the wrongful dispossession of our ancestral lands. Led by Chief Sitting Bull, indigenous people bravely fought to defend our lands from the U.S. army. Under the barbaric racism and violent leadership of General George Custer, white settlers attempted to encroach on our territory.

Although I often hear about the sad death of Custer during this battle in history books, rarely do I hear any discussion about the many women and children who were violently murdered while the army attempted to attack one of our camps. To me, Custer symbolizes the greedy white settler with a compromised moral character who stole our lands.

Our story was not of great white saviours, but of a massacre led by the racist American army under the leadership of the violent and savage General George Custer. Canada has now celebrated over 150 years as a nation on stolen indigenous lands and talk about reconciliation with indigenous peoples seems to be the new trend.

However, there is no reconciliation in the absence of justice and it is becoming clearer that the present Liberal government is unwilling to move beyond mere rhetoric. I have become increasingly annoyed each day watching the news, seeing my indigenous brothers and sisters fighting for justice without action by current governments. Who really needs to reconcile?

In the case of the Lakota nation, our only goal was to stay on our lands, maintain our families and our culture. We did what any community members would do if a group of people came onto their land, forcing them to move without cause. Of course, their first action would be to defend their lands. Moreover, if the same party continued to violate their human rights, tensions would continue to rise, resulting in a need to take action. That is exactly what we did.

The experience of my beautiful Lakota nation was violent, exploitive and marked by grotesque violence against our women and girls by our colonizers. Great leaders such as Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, our women and girls, children, grandmothers and grandfathers were murdered or forced to flee our ancestral land to make room for the settlers. We were forced off the very lands we had lived on since time immemorial. Our beautiful way of life was disrupted by violent colonialism, and it is not over.

In Canada, governments continue to violate our ways of life with wilful and violent acts with almost a complete disregard for our fundamental indigenous human rights. That was the kind of violent colonialism my grandmother experienced throughout her lifetime. She was born into colonial violence and as a result never lived a life where she was honoured as a life-giver and a human being. Unlike the main character of Dances with Wolves, she could not wash the brown off her skin and enjoy all the privileges that one's pigment can offer. She had to endure the violent racism that was perpetrated against her every day. In spite of all her barriers, she survived. It may not have been a story of My Fair Lady, but she survived. That does not speak of her weakness, but to her resilience as an indigenous woman finding her way through daily human rights violations.

My grandmother was a human being, deserving to be loved and to experience joy. This was made impossible through the insidious violence and racism enacted by the Indian Act of 1876. She did not have many choices. When people are stripped of the basic necessities they require to have joy such as housing, food and safety, growing into a whole person becomes difficult. That was also true for my grandmother, whose life journey was defined by the systemic impoverishment of indigenous people that began with the dispossession of our lands. Based on justifications rooted in the doctrine of discovery, they deny our right to self-determination and continued to wilfully violate our fundamental indigenous human rights. It is exactly that belief, enforced through colonial policies and legislation, that left my grandmother homeless.

I only met my grandmother twice. The last time was when my mother welcomed her to stay in our home prior to a lung operation that would end her life. My mother, in spite of being abandoned in a hotel room, took her mother home. She shared love, compassion, laughter and care with my grandmother in her final days, in spite of her own struggles that resulted from her being a child in care. My mother's kindness came from a place of non-judgment, a place of love and a place of compassion.

I remember asking my mom how she could take my grandmother into her home when she had abandoned my mother as a child. She responded by saying her mother was pretty much on her own when she was 12. She was completely alone in the world. She had no rights and no way to support herself. There were no social safety nets at the time and she did the very best she could with the tools she had.

That was the most powerful teaching of forgiveness that I have ever heard in my life. As I sit here and think of my grandmother, the very thought of the isolation she must have felt brings me to tears. How sad that due to racist, paternalistic and misogynistic policies, my grandmother was never given an equal chance to have joy. Instead, her life consisted of finding ways to survive the obstacles of human rights violations that continue to be enforced under the Indian Act and within Canadian policies.

My mother deeply understood the realities that my grandmother faced and instead of becoming resentful, she focused on the love her mother demonstrated while she was pregnant with her. Although my grandmother was an alcoholic, she sacrificed her addiction to alcohol to support a healthy pregnancy with my mom. I remember my mom saying that in spite of the fact that my grandmother was an alcoholic, “she abstained from alcohol while she was pregnant with me, gifting me with all the physical tools I needed in life to succeed and it was for that reason that I would always love her”. My mother understood that as a result of colonizations, relationships became messy and that ethical decisions extended beyond an individual's choices because injustice left individuals without choices.

I often wonder if people could physically see what a heart looks like when it has been broken or wounded. Maybe it would encourage them to be a little kinder, a little more gentle, a little less judgmental, a little more loving and a little less hurtful. Unfortunately, the life of my grandmother reminds me that when we completely dehumanize a person, we can begin to justify unthinkable acts and are able to turn a blind eye to human suffering.

I think I carry some of her pain and sorrow in my blood memory. It is the kind of intergenerational trauma that brings on feelings of being unlovable and unworthy of joy. These are the words we learned in Canadian institutions that tried to assimilate us. I still hear those voices in my mind and heart at times, but I have found ways to overpower those voices. It is the resiliency I inherited from my ancestors, the kind of resiliency that was emulated through my mother's spirit.

Unlike the trauma that overtook my grandmother's life, my mother managed to overcome great obstacles. She became a statistical miracle and because of that, I was afforded the good life. Can anyone imagine living through the trials and tribulations that my mother did and making it out sane? This was in spite of the genocide and the gross human rights violations she experienced early on in life. She was one of the first indigenous psychiatric nurses in Saskatchewan, an awarding-winning researcher, a scholar and a social justice warrior who assisted in changing child welfare legislation to support former children in care and rights for persons experiencing mental health issues. My mother was a woman of beauty and grace.

I honour my mother and grandmother today. It is a day, one day of remembrance, one day to honour. We need that day, as do thousands and thousands of Canadians who are open to learning about Canada's true and consistently evolving history in our relationship with indigenous peoples. There is no reconciliation in the absence of justice, so I am here to state loudly that we need to honour this little piece of justice.

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, I have often said one of the great honours of being a parliamentarian is to hear speeches like that in this House. While we have to do it virtually during COVID, I want to thank the member opposite for reminding us of the shameful and troubling history that we inherit in this country, but the important and critical work we have to do going forward.

I listened to what can only be described as a story that is as powerfully painful as it is joyful in terms of where it is leading us as a country and in the transformation in one family's life. I ask the member opposite, as we move toward recognizing this day, what she would see as important ways to mark the day, what children should do, what government members should do, what educators should do, what all the parts of Canadian society should do to make sure that this day of reconciliation is not a day of reconciliation, but in fact the celebration of the achievements of reconciliation that I hope we see in the days ahead.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, it is important to recognize it is a day of reflection, and part of what I was sharing today are some of my reflections and many of the reflections I have on that very important day, but we need to go beyond that day.

I was trying to share is that it is a day, but that does not change the living realities of indigenous people in this country, whether it be defending our lands or me as an indigenous woman walking down the street being hypersexualized. We need to make sure that day flows into what we do every day, and that this is an important day for us as indigenous people to reflect on our experiences, but for fellow Canadians and allies to learn about this history and think of ways to do better.

[Philip Lawrence, Conservative, Northumberland—Peterborough South, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would first like to congratulate the member on a great honour to her mother. I wonder what advice the member would say her mother might have to newcomers, who are maybe coming from very difficult situations, so they can make it just like her mother did.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, first I would like to point out that for newcomers coming to Canada, one of the first steps in inviting new people on Turtle Island is teaching them the true history of this country. I know many people in my riding, which is a very diverse riding, who are shocked when they find out true Canadian history. That is a first step, but it goes beyond people to how we need to change systems to ensure people can thrive and not just survive.

This is the story of my grandmother at a time with no social safety net, and now during COVID we see an inadequate social safety net. It is more than inspirational stories, it is about putting forward programs and services and legislating human rights so everybody can have what they need to survive and thrive.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague and her family for their resilience and strength in the face of those hardships.

The first nations and the Inuit and Métis peoples have suffered greatly. The creation of a day of commemoration is a first step. I am thinking of various events, such as the kidnappings perpetrated by Jacques Cartier, General Amherst's idea to give indigenous people blankets infected with smallpox and Macdonald's genocidal actions with the highly racist 1876 act. I do not want to name it because its title is racist. That law is still in effect.

In addition to a day of commemoration, does my colleague not agree that real and sincere reconciliation will not be possible unless the 1876 act is completely reformed?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, this is, like I said, a little piece of justice. It is critical we fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The kinds of acts of genocide that have been perpetrated against indigenous peoples are very clearly linked to willful and violent human rights violations.

However, we need to do more than just adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we need to act on it and we need to respect it in the kinds of decisions we make in the House of Commons or in all places of power and decision-making so that indigenous peoples throughout these lands can finally have their minimum human rights recognized.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I felt very compelled today to rise and share what a deep honour and privilege it is to serve beside the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre. Her existence in this space is an act of resistance.

In her sharing today, she talked about the importance of land and every child becoming an adult and working through their traumas. I am wondering if the hon. member could expound on the connection between the dispossession of land and the apprehension of children as it relates to her experience and those of indigenous peoples from Turtle Island all the way to Palestine.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, culture is rooted in land. When they dispossessed us of our land, they dispossessed us of our power. Our language and teachings come from the land. If we look at what is happening across the country right now, indigenous people are rising to defend their lands. That is our lifeblood.

All we have left are these small parcels of land. We have less than 1% of the total land mass in the country, yet governments continue to infringe on our human rights, violently taking us off our lands and trying to maintain this neo-colonial project to integrate us. We just want to be on our land. We want to stay on the little bit of land we have, which is less than 1% of the total Canadian land mass right now. We want to live our way of life, our culture and pass the teachings down to future generations.

When we dispossess people of their lands, we dispossess them of their identity and culture. That is what we are seeing around the country. They are doing what anybody would do if somebody came onto their lands, without cause, and took them out to push forward a political and economic agenda. We need to stop that.

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Speaker, I was deeply moved by the member for Winnipeg Centre. I am always interested and moved by the personal stories she shares, which are important perspectives to hear in this place.

I hear from indigenous people in my riding that reconciliation is dead or it is just a word. What would the member see as the priorities to move on next from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendations? It is important to have this day, to recognize it and commemorate it, but what would she like to see us move on next as a Parliament?

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, this is a little piece of justice, but it is important to remind everyone that these were calls to action, not calls to discussion. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission laid out 94 calls to action very clearly. We have to go beyond discussion and flowery words about forming relationships. We develop relationships, respectful relationships, through action.

If we are really serious in this country about reconciliation, then we have to fundamentally change the way we do things, and it must be rooted in human rights, the kind of human rights that are articulated through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The frustration comes from that. On one hand, we hear talks of reconciliation, but then when we look at the news, we continue to see—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

My apologies but we need to resume debate.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin today by acknowledging we are on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation, and it continues to be home to many first nations, Métis and Inuit people.

We hear about land acknowledgements a fair bit these days when we go to different events and the like. It is very important that we treat this not as a checkmark, as we continue to talk about issues and about a national day of truth and reconciliation, but as an opportunity to learn the history of the lands.

Last night, as I was preparing for today, I took some time to learn more about the history of this region. This is an important part of what the bill can be, going forward. We are talking about a day, but it is more than just a day. It is about ensuring that Canadians, in working with indigenous communities and peoples across the country, learn the true history, about which the member for Winnipeg Centre so eloquently spoke. I really do appreciate having heard from the member for Winnipeg Centre. She had much to contribute to this conversation. Then we can build our path forward as a country.

This bill would create a national day of truth and reconciliation on September 30 each year. It would be a federal statutory holiday. Creating this day responds to call to action 80 of the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action. We have a commitment to respond to all the calls to action that fall within the federal space, and this is one step forward.

It has its roots, though, in the private member's bill that was brought forward by a former member of this place, Georgina Jolibois. I really want to thank her for all the work she did to bring this forward. The work that we did on her bill in committee in the last Parliament set the base for where we are now. I had the honour to be the chair of the committee that studied her bill. It was a great starting place for a lot of learning.

I would like to point out, because I forgot to mention it in advance, that I will be sharing my time with the member for Mount Royal, who will also have much to say on the bill.

I hope we can build on all the work we did in committee. We can take that as a starting place when this bill goes to committee and move quickly together on it. From everything I have heard in the debate, we are in a good place to get it there and will be able to move quickly to ensure we can celebrate and commemorate this day on September 30 of 2021.

I would also like to thank all the witnesses who came to committee and shared their knowledge. As we heard from the member for Bow River, who also served with me on that committee in the last Parliament, it was a place for tremendous learning for the members. It is worth thanking the people who took the time to inform us in that way.

As one step forward on the path to reconciliation, the bill is important as it creates a pause, a chance for us to educate, remember, commemorate and to think about where we want to go as we move forward.

When I was in high school, residential schools were still open. In fact, through most of my time at law school, residential schools were still open. However, I never learned about them. We never talked about them. We learned so little about indigenous history and indigenous leaders. This was a tremendous loss. We need to do better. We need to ensure that we take this opportunity so this essential learning is there and is recognized. We need to take that time.

I listened to the member for Cariboo—Prince George speak about growing up. He lived just down the street from the residential school, which is at the heart of Orange Shirt Day. He did not know about the school. He did not know what was happening. He talked about his process of learning more about it and about this day being a difficult one. It is going to require us to rethink parts of our history, a history about which we had not be taught. It is important we hear from people like the member for Winnipeg Centre and about the hard, honest truths.

I mentioned some of the previous speakers in this debate. I want to highlight the fact that this has been a special debate for this place. So often it is partisan in here. We do not truly speak with one another and share. Then there are those moments, those bills where we have a debate and we get to hear and share stories, learn from one another and come together. This debate has been one of those times. I want to thank everyone who has participated. I look forward to working with all of them as we go forward to ensure we move the bill through this place quickly and on to the other place.

I mentioned the members for Cariboo—Prince George and Bow River. The members for Fredericton and North Island—Powell River also told very personal stories about their children, their histories. They talked about the importance of recognition and respectful learning as a path forward for their children, that dignity. I would like to thank them for sharing that. It was important to have that part of our history.

When we talk about this day, it is important to think about the words in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report:

All Canadian children and youth deserve to know Canada’s honest history, including what happened in the residential schools, and to appreciate the rich history and knowledge of Indigenous nations who continue to make such a strong contribution to Canada, including our very name and collective identity as a country. For Canadians from all walks of life, reconciliation offers a new way of living together.

We have spent a lot of time in this place talking about residential school history and the need to tell the truth about our history. However, that statement also includes the path of hope, the fact that it is about reconciliation and offering a new way of living together. It highlights the need to appreciate the rich history and knowledge of indigenous nations.

During the study of the bill put forward by Georgina Jolibois in the last Parliament, there was much discussion about how this day should be commemorated. On that point, I find that the words of the president of ITK, Natan Obed, go to the heart of some of this conversation. He said:

It would be, in our position, much better for the day to be positive and be forward-looking than to be a remembrance day of sorts for certain grievances in the past—although history will be, of course, a part of the overarching conversation. I know there are direct links between the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action and this particular piece of legislation. I don't want to lose those entirely, but I do want Canadians and first nations, Inuit and Métis to have the ability to talk about the positive and the great strength that we bring to Canadian society, and the great leaders we have within our communities, and the visions we have for the future as Canadians but also as indigenous peoples exercising our right to self-determination.

It highlights the need that as we talk about our history, we also remember to learn more about strong indigenous leaders and their contributions to the country.

I would like briefly talk about why September 30 is important, an issue that has come up in the past.

September 30 is an important date because September was seen, as was told by Phyllis Webstad, as the crying month. That date is at a time when kids are back in school, so it is an opportunity for teachers to speak with their students about these issues. At the committee, some people suggested that perhaps we should look at appropriating another day, for example Remembrance Day. That is not the right way to go. The debate I have heard so far in this place has centred very much on the idea that we should move forward with the date that has been chosen.

I look forward to working with members from all across this place to ensure we can move quickly to make this day a reality.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for recognizing my speech last week. She talked a lot about sharing stories. I want acknowledge that when we look at this day, what we are asking is for indigenous people to share stories that are intimate, painful and, often, from their lived experience. I am wondering how do we create a safer environment where we are not asking indigenous people to bleed to educate non-indigenous people.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for that question because it is very important. We need to take direction from indigenous people at how best to approach this because the burden should absolutely not be placed on them to retell this honest and difficult history.

This has to be something that we work on together. We need to work together to find the appropriate way to commemorate and respectfully tell the story in a way that does not push down indigenous voices while we are trying to create a safe space. We need to find a way that actually empowers those voices and the sharing of those stories that, at the same time, acknowledges this should not be an extra burden for indigenous people. I absolutely think that we need to very much take our cues from indigenous people in our country as to how best to approach this. That should be an important part of our discussions as to how we will commemorate it.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We will have three minutes and 30 seconds after Oral Questions for questions.