Madam Speaker, it is absolutely dismaying to me that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has not become law. It should be the blueprint for the Canadian government going forward with all our policies and laws, yet that is not the case.
Given the action of the Liberal government, it has demonstrated time and again that it has not put the basic human rights of indigenous peoples at the forefront. Why else would the Liberal government continue to challenge indigenous children in the courts? Why did it take Dr. Cindy Blackstock decades to get the governments to move forward on that? Why did the government not abide by the 10 compliance orders from the Human Rights Tribunal?
All of this tells us that the Liberals have not been focused on doing this work and they are not sincere with what they say to match up with what they actually do.
Going forward, it is essential for all of us to push the government to get the job done. Indigenous peoples, the first peoples of this land, deserve to be recognized, honoured and respected, and their basic human rights must be honoured.